Scottish Government provides £460,000 for extra early years training

This will fund extra opportunities for early years training for teachers and for Professional Development Awards for Childhood Practice students.

The move comes as the Scottish Government expands the pre-school entitlement for three- and four-year-olds and the most vulnerable two-year-olds to 600 hours a year from the autumn, through the Children and Young People Bill.

If Scotland votes yes to independence in next year’s referendum, the government has pledged to offer 1,140 hours to all children from the age of one, which would mean almost doubling the current workforce.

The extra funding for training includes:

Since 1 December 2011, managers and lead practitioners in daycare services in Scotland have been required to have a qualification at SCQF level 9, including a BA in Childhood Practice or Professional Development Award in Childhood Practice, or a post-graduate diploma, for registration with the Scottish Social Services Council.
Education secretary Michael Russell said, ‘High-quality learning and childcare benefits families, children and their communities. And by giving parents new opportunities to return to work, boosting family incomes, it supports sustainable, economic growth. That’s why we are building on our 2007 expansion of the pre-school entitlement – working to increase funded early learning and childcare for three and four-year-olds, and the most vulnerable two-year-olds, to 600 hours each year from the autumn, through the Children and Young People Bill.