Highland Council

Early Learning and Childcare

Delivery Plan

September 2017

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CONTENTS PAGE

Section One: Introduction and Executive Summary 3

Section Two: Philosophy for ELC in Highland 4

Section Three: Current Provision of ELC 6

Overview 6

Local Authority Provision 7

Partner Provision 9

Quality 10

Early Years Structure 12

Workforce 14

Processes and ICT Systems 15

Funding of ELC 16

Consultation and Engagement 18

Section Four: The Rationale for Expansion 20

Supporting New Arrangements 20

Impact of Flexibility and expansion 22

Rural Poverty and Phasing 24

Section Five: Future Provision and Priorities 25

Service Delivery Model 25

Expanding Provision with Partners and New Providers 26

Quality 27

Phasing 28

Workforce 30

Infrastructure 33

Section Six: Implementation Plan 35

Quality Plan 39

Workforce Plan 43

Phasing Plan 45

Community Engagement Plan 47

Infrastructure Plan 48

Risk Management Plan 58

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Section One: Introduction and Executive Summary

Our vision in Highland is that all of Highland’s children have the best possible start in life, enjoy being young and are supported to develop as confident, capable and resilient young people in order to fully maximise their potential. This vision forms the guiding principle within Highland Council where services to children and young people are delivered through the integrated Care and Learning Service, working in partnership with NHS Highland and the Third Sector. This vision is shared in our communities through community planning structures and partnerships, and is fundamental in planning services across the four areas that make up our unique Geography.

We share the Scottish Government commitment to ensure that the expansion of early learning and childcare (ELC) is delivered to all our children in order to enrich their lives and provide them with the skills to develop into confident and capable young adults and set the trajectory for the rest of their lives. We want to be able to demonstrate to their parents and carers that services we provide in Highland are of the highest quality to ensure their confidence in the provision. We need those services to be flexible in order to best meet the needs of children and parents, and accessible so that all children are able to take up their entitlement.

This plan for Highland will help to shape the evolving journey of early years social policy that will develop over the next 15 – 20 years in Scotland. We have detailed the steps we have taken to expand provision so far and our vision to take this expansion forward into 2020. This plan will offer the Scottish Government assurance that we are fully committed to expanding the current 600 hours of funded early learning and childcare for all three and four year olds and eligible two year olds, to 1140 hours by 2020. We will work with parents, partners, communities and other key stakeholders to ensure that this happens and we are committed to delivering high quality ELC that is child centred and meets their needs, the needs of their parents and the needs of communities.

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Section Two: Philosophy for ELC in Highland

Our philosophy is built on the knowledge that the foundation for future health and wellbeing of our children is established at the earliest stages of life. We know that the care, stimulation and nurture a child receives from pre-birth onwards sets that trajectory and our services are built around the Highland Practice Model that has a focus on early support, early assessment and early intervention to ensure all our children get the best possible start in life. We will do this by ensuring that we focus on:

Childrens rights to experience unconditional love and secure attachments in their daily lives to equip them with the building blocks they require to enable them to grow and flourish in life

Supporting the role of parents and carers as the primary and most important adults in a child’s life

Building on family nurture models of engagement, particularly with those who may struggle due to health and social inequalities

Providing an environment where children are enabled to actively construct their own learning, supported by sensitive and rich interactions with adults

Working in partnership with parents to ensure that all Highland’s children have the best possible start in life and are ready to succeed

The principles for early learning and childcare must be focused on high quality provision, which is flexible, accessible and affordable. It must also be needs led.

The needs of children

Children will be safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected and responsible, and included

Children will be recognised as capable and competent individuals Childrens learning will be dynamic and holistic Children will be supported to utilise their capacity and right to initiate and lead

their learning, and be active participants and decision makers in matters that affect them

The needs of parents

Parents will be enabled to choose accessible ELC settings that are of the highest quality for their children

Parents will expect flexibility in the provision that meets the needs of their family life and enable them to work, train or study

Parents will have access to affordable ELC, particularly those parents who find it difficult to make ends meet

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The needs of communities

Communities should expect that the expansion of ELC will impact positively on the health, social and economic circumstances of families living in Highland by enabling employability through providing parents with greater flexibility and affordability

Communities will recognise opportunities within ELC as a route to employment and gaining qualifications

Communities will support partnerships between local authority, health and third sector to ensure that the uniqueness of Highlands urban, remote, rural and island localities enable them to work together to seek solutions to support the expansion of ELC

In Highland we acknowledge the increasing evidence that supports the view that the highest rate of social and economic return is through investment in the earliest years of life. We have already committed to that philosophy through our integrated childrens service model, working with our partners in the private and third sector to deliver ELC and through our partnership with the Care and Learning Alliance (CALA) who deliver many services on our behalf. Our diversity of settings is a strength that offers parents real choice however the expansion of ELC will take us all much further as we work more closely with children, parents and communities to ensure all Highland’s children grow up in best place in Scotland.

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Section Three: Current Provision of ELC

Overview

There are approximately 2200 babies born annually in Highland Council with 17.4% of our population aged 0-15 years. Our geography consists of a mix of urban rural, remote and island communities spread across an area that measures 26,484 square km. Some communities are only accessible by single track road, crossing bridges or by ferry and Highland accounts for a third of the land mass of Scotland.

The delivery of funded ELC for 3 and 4 year olds in Highland is distributed across 130 settings and 54 partner providers. The partner providers are a mix of private businesses and third sector run groups (voluntary and committee). This equates to an approximate 70/30 ratio which we aim to retain where provision is of a high quality and meets the other principles of flexibility, accessibility and affordability. This will be dependent on parental consultation and an ability to offer the expansion and flexibility required.

Parents in Highland can choose which provider they want to use for the funded hours and there is no restriction placed on this by the local authority, it is purely down to provider capacity. Parents can also choose to split their child’s placement across two providers and have the option of 15 local authority settings that provide Gaelic medium, some on the same site as English, with 2 Gaelic partner providers.

The majority of provision for eligible 2 year olds is within partner centres or with childminders. The exception to this is the Family Centre in Merkinch, Inverness which is situated in an area of deprivation and provides places for up to forty 2 year olds. There are a small number of eligible 2’s in local authority nurseries where local provision in very remote and rural areas has meant that the school is the only provider.

The number of families who take up the funded hours for 3 and 4 year olds is high, but uptake of eligible 2 year old entitlement is still low and we continue to focus on ensuring clear messages are being delivered to parents. We work closely with our health visitor leads and the revised health visitor universal pathway contact at 13 – 15 months includes a conversation with parents about the entitlement. Messages around eligibility continue to be shared with our integrated family team staff and third sector partners who provide services to families including the Citizens Advice Bureau and CALA.

It is however worthy of note that within small rural communities there is often reluctance from parents to take up entitlements related to benefits due to a notion of stigma and everyone knowing, and we see the same reticence in take up of free school meals in our schools. We offer discretionary funded places to 2 year olds whose needs are detailed in a Child’s Plan to ensure their health and wellbeing outcomes are met. We know that a child’s needs are not only based on family

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income but they may be impacted on by parental illness, family breakdown or other factors.

Registrations in Highland for 2017

Table 1 details the registrations for this year which shows 73% of children across all age groups have taken up their place in local authority provision.

Table 1

May 2017 2 year olds

3 year olds (ante-pre)

4 year olds (pre-school)

5 year olds (Deferred)

Total

Local authority settings

25 1529 1886 245 3682

Partner provider settings

88 656 536 62 1342

Childminding services

8 8

Total 118 2185 2422 307 5032

We can currently accommodate all 3 and 4 year olds across all settings where parents request it and we ensure there is no restriction on the number of places our partners can offer. We know that some parents chose not to send their children for the full 600 hours provision, particularly the parents of 3 year olds. Most parents whose 4 year olds attend take up their full entitlement.

Local Authority Provision

Since 2007 Highland Council has offered a limited childcare service that operates from 8am – 6pm term time only, in any new school being built. When the plans to expand to 600 hours of ELC were instigated in 2014, a decision was made to pilot increased flexibility in two of our local authority settings and also to move away from the traditional nursery session plus wraparound care. We have taken the learning from those initial pilots to influence and improve our delivery as we move forward.

In 2017/18, 53 of our local authority nurseries offer more than 600 hours of ELC to children and any additional hours over entitlement can be purchased by parents. In this respect we are phasing in the capacity to deliver additional hours but we charge to subsidise the additional revenue that is incurred. The exception to this is when a

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Childs Plan is in place and the Family Team who supports the child will fund the additional hours and not the parents.

We continue to ensure that those settings who have not yet done so, promote the offer of flexibility to parents, and from 2018/19 this will mean at least 4 hours will be delivered over 5 days to every child. This is currently being discussed with our head teachers and unions as are the plans for phasing.

Early Level Classes - development by the Early Years Education Support Officers

As Highland has such a diverse geography with a mixture of densely populated towns and very sparsely populated small communities, innovative approaches have been required in order to deliver services. 58% of our schools have less than 70 pupils. Because of this and to ensure ELC is delivered to children in our remote and rural communities, early level classes have been developed. Last session this was provided in seven local authority schools in rural areas which saw nursery children and P1s together in an early level class, and this year we are providing early level classes in the schools listed in Table 2.

Whilst it is our aim to keep class sizes as small as possible, due to the collective number of children across nursery and P1 the stated number may exceed 25. However, to put this into context, some three year olds may not have taken up places until January or April and these numbers do not reflect this. The reality is also that young children rarely have 100% attendance either due to parental choice or childhood illness.

Table 2

Early Level Classes – session 17/18 School N3 N4 P1 Total P2 - 7

Strathdearn 2 9 9 20 40 Teanassie 5 6 7 18 34 Kingussie 5 6 11 22 70 Kyleakin 4 4 1 9 18 Ullapool Gaelic 6 15 9 30 34 Milton 2 12 10 24 63 Scourie 4 3 4 11 9

In some cases forming an early level class has provided an additional teacher for the children and has stabilised staffing. Early level classes are an attractive option for head teachers in rural schools where composite class arrangements can be difficult due to a spike in numbers at a particular stage, especially if it is in P1 or P2, with a smaller intake of P1s coming in behind. Also, if the school roll drops the traditional approach to class arrangements would mean a potential loss of teacher entitlement

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for the next session. Furthermore, due to accommodation pressures the use of any nursery space for an early level class makes better use of the available resources.

The most important benefit of early level classes is to the children. The educational value for P1’s being in a less formal structured environment than they would necessarily be in a composite class with older children in a two or three teacher school is acknowledged. Staff report that spending time with the younger children with a focus on free, unstructured play and greater access to the outdoor learning environment means that the P1’s are more able to settle and focus on numeracy and literacy with the teacher when the younger children move into sessions with the EYP, or go home.

The nursery children also benefit from taking part in more school activities and are being mentored by the older children which impacts positively on their confidence and desire to learn. Transition is not an issue as children share resources, staff and the same environment. We therefore continue to support this model for areas of Highland.

The EYESOs have developed guidance to assist schools to meet the standards within an early level class and also to support those who would want to consider this option to meet the needs of children and the school for the following year.

Partner Provision

Partner Centres

ELC for eligible children in Highland is also provided through third sector and private partners. There are currently 54 partner providers across Highland and 28 of these provide a full day care service from 8am – 6pm. Parents can pay the provider for additional hours on top of their 600 hours entitlement and this is popular as many of the providers operate throughout the year.

When ELC was initially established in Highland the priority at that time was to get services up and running quickly to meet parental eligibility requirements. This now means that there is some duplication, with both local authority and partner providers doubling on provision in a locality, where 3 and 4 year olds from the same family can attend different providers. Over the years we have continued to rationalise provision of services whilst taking account of local needs and this has meant that as local authority flexible provision has grown, the number of partners that we fund has reduced.

Having met the target to deliver 600 hours in August 2014 the planning and implementation of expansion to an entitlement of 1140 hours by 2020 has resulted in us focusing even further on rationalising services. There has been a reduction in this year’s core budget, whilst the additional funding from the Scottish Government to

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increase flexibility and implement 1140 hours gives us a clear steer to continue to map local provision, ensure the delivery of a quality service, consider long term requirements, promote flexibility and reduce duplication, whilst achieving best value and affordability.

Childminders

There are currently 265 childminders registered in Highland. To date, we have two commissioned to deliver the 3 and 4 year old provision and other childminders are used by parents for any additional non funded hours. Consultation with parents in the past has demonstrated that they have a preference for settings rather than childminders for the 3 and 4 year old provision. Parents have said they prefer the group experience for their children and also to mitigate the impact if a childminder is ill and cannot work.

However, we continue to consult with parents and promote the use of childminders for their ELC, particularly in rural areas. We want more childminders to be part of the service delivery and will continue to work with them and the Scottish Childminding Association to find ways to ensure more are commissioned to meet expansion requirements.

There are a small number of childminders who we fund to provide a service to eligible 2 year olds and all childminders who obtain a grade 3 mean score or over with the Care Inspectorate can apply to take 2 year olds. Despite a continued focus on supporting childminders there are very few who take up the option to deliver to eligible 2’s. We continue to address the provision required for eligible 2 year olds including the option of working with new partners and the use of other community based assets.

Quality

High quality ELC for all children is at the heart of our expansion plans. Our early year’s workforce provide a service that meets the standard we expect of qualified practitioners and we offer continuous professional development (CPD) to all providers including childminders. Training is delivered around a core suite of competencies and additional areas of knowledge and skills that we expect staff to be proficient in. We work with our partners in CALA, NHS Highland and HIMATS to deliver CPD to staff.

We continue to review and map current learning and development opportunities, highlighting areas of good practice and any gaps which we need to provide further training on. For example we need to focus on the requirements of eligible 2 year olds and ensure practitioners understand their development pathway.

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Abundant international evidence confirms the value of high quality early learning and childcare in improving outcomes for children across a range of indicators. This is especially so for children facing greater adversity or developmental challenge. Highland partnerships are committed to maintain and improve the quality of ELC, and we have a structure for ensuring this. The team of EYESOs work with Area Managers, Quality Improvement Officers and third sector partners to promote self-evaluation and quality improvement. The relative compactness of this team allows for the rapid sharing of good practice and reduction in postcode differences in provision of quality.

Priorities and values are based on the Highland Practice Model to ensure that all children get the best start in life and are ready to succeed. The foundations for ensuring the curriculum is delivered are built on How Good Is Our Early Learning

and Childcare (HGIOELC), Building the Ambition and the Care Inspectorate

standards.

All partner providers complete an annual improvement plan which the EYESO team evaluate to ensure the principles required for quality ELC are clearly demonstrated and evidenced. This past year the EYESOs have focused on providing more support to our partner providers to ensure the teacher input is delivered and relationships developed. This has helped to develop an area wide perspective on all of the ELC providision as we move towards 2020.

We expect our settings will gain grade 3 or above in all areas from the Care Inspectorate and equivalent from Education Scotland and if this does not occur the EYESOs use the feedback from Inspectors to assist providers to put in place action plans to address any areas of concern however, the responsibility for this is with the provider. Quality support visits to all providers are a key part of the EYESO role as is the content and delivery of CPD that takes account of evidence based best practice.

Highland Inspection Mean Scores

Inspections

Local Authority Partner Provider

Care Inspectorate Mean Score

4.5

4.6

Education Scotland Mean Score

4.0 4.0

ELC providers must have the necessary skills to effectively engage with parents and the ability to assist them with any support they may require to promote secure attachments. Enabling parents to be the best that they can be is a priority in early years particularly where vulnerable or disadvantaged families may feel disempowered. We have a core suite of parenting support and interventions that has been developed through the Supporting Parents Improvement Group and facilitated

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by the Family Resource Co-ordinators (FRCs) that will ensure families are able to access a range of differing approaches to parenting so that they can select those that best meets their needs.

Early Years Structure

The strategic direction for early years is centrally led but operationally managed within the four areas in Highland. The structure has been in place for just over a year with the Project Manager for the ELC expansion being a recent addition.

The structure has enabled us to strengthen relationships amongst all our staff that have a role in supporting early years. It is reducing silo thinking, challenging historical processes and helping shape the future provision of early years.

The Early Years Officers (EYOs) are the first point of contact for nursery enrolment, clearing and allocation of early years staffing including Early Years Practitioner (EYP) hours, school building requirements, roll pressures and placing requests. Their role has become ever more important as flexibility and expansion grow.

The FRCs ensure the development, enhancement and sustainability of family services across all sectors continues. They work with schools, partners and childminders and facilitate the childcare and family resource partnerships, to ensure that flexibility and expansion is on everyone’s agenda. They are also responsible for mapping provision of early years and family support services and manage the parental consultations around expansion out with the schools.

The Area Care and Learning managers have a full understanding of all early years provision within their locality and actively engage with not only the developments and challenges within local authority nurseries but also with partners. Peer support within groupings of staff is encouraged and enables practitioners to come together on a regular basis as knowledge experts to support and develop services. This is essential in Highland due to our vast geography and the ever changing landscape of early years.

As we increase our services to manage the expansion of ELC our structure will need to expand and change. We will monitor the impact that the continuous growth and development of the service will have on our ever increasing workforce in terms of provision, training, CPD, quality and maintenance of standards. We do acknowledge that this level of change in ELC will require a strong strategic direction.

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Early Years Structure

Midwifery

Development

Officer

Early Years

Educational

Psychologist

Director of Care and Learning

Senior Manager Early

Years

Project

Manager ELC

expansion

Quality

Improvement

Team

Heads of Service Area C&L Managers

Area Education

Quality

Improvement

Manager

Family

Resource Co-

ordinator x 5

Early Years

Officer x 4

Early Years

Education

Support

Officer x 10

Schools

Childcare

Managers

x 13

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Workforce

In August 2014 we increased our early year’s workforce staffing within the local authority nurseries from 350 to 500 EYPs whilst standardising most contracts to 23 hours a week. This included 16 hours contact time and 7 hours planning and preparation. This allowed us the potential to increase contracts for staff who wanted to increase their hours up to a maximum of 35 hours a week. In August 2016, approximately 50 staff increased their contractual hours so that more flexible provision could be offered.

In September 2017, the total number of EYPs has steadily increased and this continues to grow as we increase flexibility. As many children are now in a setting for more than 4 hours the ratio of staff to children means that the workforce is continuously expanding. Approximately 80% of the EYP workforce is qualified to meet the SSSC requirements. We support those that are not qualified to undertake the required qualifications.

In April 2016 we recruited 10 new posts of childcare managers in schools that were leading on the expansion of ELC. This has recently increased to 13. A childcare manager is recruited to a school where there is, or there is the potential to have, an 8am – 6pm service for 3 – 12 year olds. The childcare manager is managed by the head teacher within the school and is a member of the school senior management team. They are responsible for the day to day management of the ELC provision, including out of school care.

The childcare manager works closely with the head teacher to ensure that high quality learning, teaching and childcare is delivered in the nursery and out of school care settings. They also provide support to the clerical staff who manage the new billing systems when additional hours are purchased by parents in those schools which do not have their own childcare manager. Schools are allocated additional clerical hours to support the expansion due to the accompanying workload this incurs. Schools offering flexibility are also allocated additional management time, to ensure the quality of learning and teaching is maintained in the nursery.

Without the childcare manager posts, it would not have been possible to prepare for expansion as it would be too burdensome for the head teacher to manage. In preparation for further expansion in August 2018 more posts will be established in the larger nurseries where an increase in flexible delivery and the offer of out of school care for all primary age children is anticipated.

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Processes and ICT Systems

The introduction of a flexible provision with the ability to offer additional chargeable hours to children and families has provided us with many challenges. Not least of these has been the billing process required to ensure that parents who wish to purchase additional ELC are accurately charged. Providing an extended day for nursery children has also enabled the growth of out of school care offered to all primary children within the school and generated an additional income for the authority.

To enable this flexible provision we have invested in resources to accurately capture the fully flexible service we offer, together with the option for parents to buy more hours as there was no national system that could facilitate this. We explored the use of SEEMIs and NAMs but this did not allow us to capture the fully flexible hours that we offer. We also consulted with IT companies in England but they were looking to charge substantial amounts to procure their services.

We have procured an ICT consultant to develop the software we require for our flexible system database which will allow us to continue with flexibility. There has also been a commitment from our own Care and Learning IT team, focused continued support from the Corporate Improvement team and the Revenues and Benefits teams to ensure our systems are workable and in place. We also have an agreement from Highland Council to move to Direct Debit and voucher payments rather than invoicing parents which previously caused so much additional work and inaccurate charges being made.

It would have been unsustainable to continue the previous processes we had in place which was not equipped to deal with flexible charging. The process for the development of the database is as follows:

Phase 1 developing the database through numerous discussions with the childcare managers, clericals, support staff and many others. Gathering all of the relevant information required, rigorous and continued testing

Phase 2 further development of the software as process rolls out from August 2017– current position

Phase 3 will include partner centre details to capture any split placements and enable us to accurately follow the child

Phase 4 will be to consider the ability to enable a handheld device to enter daily register which can be uploaded into the database for busy, fully flexible 8am – 6pm provisions.

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Funding of ELC

Highland Councils spend on early years’ services in 16/17 was approximately 16 million gross. In 16/17 we spent more than £ 2.8 million on partner centre provision and £9.2 million on devolved nursery provision. Provision of ELC in Highland is more expensive because of the diverse geography and the distances between settlements. We have to provide care in many remote and rural areas for very small numbers of children. In more urban settings, there would be no justification for providing separate care settings for these very small rolls. In this respect there will be greater costs incurred in Highland compared to an urban authority with a similar size population.

Partner providers

Highland Council allocates funding to partners for 3 and 4 year olds based on either a per capita or block grant payment. We have reviewed payments to partners and have increased these by 5% for 2017/18 on the basis that this is the increase agreed within the local authority for the cost to parents of in-house services. The future per capita payments are captured below and the block grants will also increase by 5% each year to 2021/22

The per capita payment is paid to all private providers regardless of how many funded children they have. Partner centres with 21 or more funded children also receive per capita payments.

Year Payment per child per hour (3 and 4 year olds)

2016/17 £3.80 2017/18 £4.00 2018/19 £4.20 2019/20 £4.41 2020/21 £4.63 2021/22 £4.86

Block grant payments are paid to third sector partners where there are 20 or fewer funded children attending. This is in order to provide sustainability in some of our remote and rural communities. There are 4 bands of block grants which include funding for 1-10 children or 11-20 and a rent element is included for those who do not have access to a free school let.

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2017/18

Roll Without school let

With school let

CALA without school let

CALA with school let

0-10 £28,280 £24,797 £25,895 £22,411 11-20 £31,834 £28,348 £29,447 £25,963

All partners receive additional benefits from the local authority within the payment which includes access to CPD and ongoing EYESO support. The current partner rates take account of staff salaries required to run the provision and include rent, insurance, resources, consumables, snack and manager costs. Some receive support with management of their settings from CALA through a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Highland Council.

Partners receive £5.00 per hour for eligible 2 year olds and this payment has been judged as fair through discussions with providers. Where 2 year olds have ASN the funding to provide support for them is at the rate of £8.50 additional to the £5.00 which equates to £13.50 per child per hour.

These payments are in line with our colleagues in the Northern Alliance who are looking at similar increases.

We will continue to work with partners in order that we can support them to pass the living wage to staff and welcome the Scottish Governments guidance around fair work packages to assist with this. We recognise the current difference in pay that third sector partners can afford to offer their managers is much lower than Highland Council pay.

The report of the Barclay Review of Non Domestic Rates published on 22nd August 2017 and the subsequent Scottish Government response has confirmed that a new day nursery relief will be set at 100%, introduced from 1st April 2018. This will significantly remove the burden of rates from some of our day nursery providers.

Local Authority

Funding is paid directly to nurseries through the devolved nursery budget and parents can purchase additional hours on top of their free allocation, where space allows. The charge to parents for additional hours in 2017/18 is £4.00 per hour.

Where we provide out of school care from 3 – 6 pm, we charge £10.60 per session. However, after consulting with head teachers and parents we are currently testing the feasibility of hourly payments for out of school care in six settings across Highland. If this proves successful and popular we will roll this out to all settings into next year.

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We welcome the awaited National Standards for Funded Provider Status to enable us to ensure a provider neutral framework and we will continue to ensure that we support the settings that are best placed to deliver the high quality outcomes required to help close the attainment gap.

Consultation and Engagement

We continue to consult with parents about the provision they require and in local authority and partner providers the beginning of this consultation process often takes place following enrolment when parents are asked about the hours they require to meet their needs.

FRCs are responsible for mapping service provision across the operational areas and also undertake parental and community consultations. A recent Survey Monkey provided the following results, March 2017:

Parents were asked what was important to them in choosing the ELC provision. Ranked in order were: reputation, affordability, flexibility, social and emotional opportunities for children

Parents were asked why they use the funded hours. Ranked in order were: it allows me to work, my child is entitled to 600 hours, it is good for my child’s development

When parents were asked if they would use the 1140 hours, 60% said they would use the full 1140 hours

50% of parents said they would use a school nursery for the 1140 hours 25% of parents favoured a split placement between 2 settings for the 1140

hours 50% of parents would like full year provision 40% asked for term time only 10% of parents asked for holiday cover only.

Consultation has also been undertaken by the childcare managers in settings where flexible provision is offered and that feedback has enabled us have a fuller picture of what parents want. Where parents are already used to accessing flexible and additional hours they are able to visualise what the expansion means to them in an informed way. Key messages from the consultations with parents already using flexible hours are:

Parents say they would use all of the additional hours Flexibility rather than number of hours offered has enabled parents to return

to work much quicker The move from 3 hours 10 minutes to at least 4 hours is seen as a more

workable option for parents which better fit in with their employment

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Many parents state that they are happy with school hours with others saying they would appreciate holiday cover

Earlier start times for the funded hours are popular

CALA have also undertaken surveys and consultations and have shared this with Highland Council. The majority of parents that responded said:

They would benefit from additional hours to able them to work Their children would benefit from additional hours to ensure social skills Sessions that would best suit their needs include: Mon to Thurs - long

sessions, Mon to Friday, 9 – 3pm,

In order to ensure head teachers and partner centre managers are kept abreast of current expansion plans from a national and local perspective, workshops have been delivered twice a year in each operational area. This has also enabled managers to come together to share best practice. The focus has been to gain views on how people see the expansion delivered in their setting and to discuss the impact this may have on staff and services. The information shared with managers allows them to have discussions and consultations with parents around flexibility and expansion.

The team of EYESOs have developed a newsletter and blog to share best practice and developments which is increasing knowledge across the Authority. We work closely with our maternity services and have discussed how best we capture the views of new parents whose children will be entitled to 1140 hours in 2020.

We have established an ELC Strategic Group chaired by the Director of Care and Learning. This group has multiagency membership which allows proper consultation amongst partners to shape the plan for delivery into 2020. ELC expansion is also a standing item on our Early Years Improvement Group where an improvement methodologies approach can deliver the tests of change to inform expansion.

Impact of consultation

We continue to assess the level of uptake of additional hours that parents ask us to deliver in order that we can make more accurate assumptions on what parents may require in 2020. We currently know that in 2016/2017 parents have purchased over 75,000 hours in the 53 local authority settings offering flexibility. The assumption is that demand will be greater when the hours become fully funded.

Continuously consulting with parents will ensure that we respond to their needs in order to shape the provision and address any staffing requirement on a school by school basis. This enables us to increase our workforce incrementally as our provision and flexibility increases and grows.

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Section Four: The Rationale for Expansion

Since August 2014 when the entitlement was increased to 600 hours the early learning and childcare service in Highland has undergone constant review and further expansion in order to incrementally expand the workforce, grow the service, plan the structure and face the challenges. Supporting New Arrangements A change in systems, culture and practice can have an impact on the quality of provision. Nursery staff and head teachers reported a reduction in quality during the initial expansion of flexibility in the pilot nurseries. As the understanding and impact of change at such a pace has developed, so too has the realisation that to ensure the efficient running of the school and the quality of teaching, learning and childcare, we must support head teachers to manage this. The biggest impact was largely based around head teacher management input into nursery and also clerical administration. In order to address this impact on quality a decision was made to allocate management time to schools with double session nurseries, and the larger single session nurseries were allocated additional time from August 2016. It was agreed that a degree of flexibility in determining this allocation was required. If it was purely based on the number of nursery children enrolled, it would not reflect the workload associated with the provision of greater flexibility of delivery nor for a teaching head as opposed to a cluster head teacher or of a school with an Early Level Class. The allocations have been revised over the past two years and for August 2018 a new formula has been arrived at which should address and acknowledge the workload issues of the new delivery models and quality issues. It is as follows: - Table 3 ELC Management Time Allocation 18/19

Nursery Roll*

Basic Mgmt Time Allocation

Term Time Flex ELC 9am – 3pm

Term Time Flex ELC 8am – 6pm

Term Time Flex ELC 8am – 6pm + 4 wks in summer

Maximum Allocation (before Childcare Manager) or add GM session

Up to 32 children

0.1 0.1 0.2

33 -56 children

0.2 0.1 0.1 0.4

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57 – 72 children

0.3 0.2 0.1 CHILDCARE

MANAGER + 0.1

0.6

73 - 88 children

0.4 0.2 0.2 CHILDCARE MANAGER + 0.1

0.8

89 children and above

CHILDCARE MANAGER + 0.1FTE

We will ensure that this management time is being utilised effectively and within the nursery as we move forward and systems become embedded.

We have invested in additional clerical hours for schools to support flexibility however the development of the database will significantly reduce the clerical time required to produce bills and invoices. We are keeping the current arrangements in place for this year to allow bedding in of the database and change in systems. Guidance has been developed to support school clericals through the processes and training has been delivered to them prior to the roll out of the database.

To enable easier processes for parents accessing nursery provision for 2017/18 we have moved to the option of on-line enrolment through the Highland Council website for parents wishing a place in a local authority school or nursery. Parents can still choose to attend the school in person during enrolment week if preferred, however in the larger nurseries it is a busy time for school clerical staff and parents can spend a long time waiting for their turn which is difficult for working parents.

All parents are invited to the open day held before the end of term and it creates a much more relaxed time spent with the nursery staff and head teacher to have a conversation to discuss their requirements for flexibility and any non-funded hours.

As we work in an integrated service in Highland where assessments and developmental overviews are shared between health staff and schools to aid transition, any areas of concern for a child’s health and wellbeing are already known to the nursery. On-line enrolment has proved popular with parents and has eased pressure for the schools and we anticipate that this new system will grow into the future.

From August 2017 we now offer payment by Direct Debit or childcare voucher only for parents who choose local authority provision. This will also include a choice of tax free childcare once the scheme is functioning. The decision to move to Direct Debit payment for parents accessing local authority nurseries has meant that they will now be able to spread their payments over the year which will allow them the ability to manage their finances more effectively. This will also significantly reduce the errors in manual billing processes.

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Impact of Flexibility and expansion

The route to flexibility in Highland began several years ago and we are now in a position to offer parents a flexible service in 53 of our local authority settings. Our private partners and a few voluntary ones offer full day care which has meant that parents have been able to choose the provider that best meets their needs.

Parents who use the local authority nurseries that are open 8 am – 6 pm can choose the hours that suit them best whether that be full day or part day, with no set times which they must select from. This flexible approach has seen us move away from sessions or blocks of hours.

As we progress over the next 3 years we will ensure a continued dialogue with our partner providers to support them to deliver the hours that are required by 2020. The learning we have taken from growing the expansion incrementally enables us to identify processes that we have had to change or develop to access flexibility.

We will continue to listen to the views of parents and where there is more than one provider in a community we will ascertain which service they value and will not assume that this will be a local authority provider. Where there is only one provider in a community and it is offering a quality service then we will continue to use that partner. We will continue to have a mixed economy of provision but where partners cannot deliver the requirements and principles of expansion we will have to make a decision on future funding.

The main issue around increasing flexibility has been around changes to existing contracts and working practices, accurate tracking of the flexible patterns of children coming and going at different times, provision and additional funding for children with additional support needs (ASN), expanding English and Gaelic Medium ELC where there is only one nursery room that was able to be shared in the past, billing for additional hours and provision over lunchtime.

ASN

The offer of full flexibility in the 53 local authority settings and the flexibility that partners can provide means that we see parents of children with ASN taking up the offer of non-funded flexible provision. Whilst this is encouraged it does mean that the additional costs for this have to be absorbed by the service. To charge parents extra to cover any additional needs would be in breach of Equalities Legislation. Therefore, the provision for ASN will be fully costed now to ensure that all of our children are offered the best start in life no matter who their provider of ELC is.

With approximately 20% of our children having higher levels of ASN that require additional resources, the assumption is that as we continue to offer flexibility and expand provision more children will take up their allocation.

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Gaelic Medium

In Highland we have 15 settings that offer Gaelic medium provision and it will often be the same classroom that is used for the English session at another time in the day. As we expand and phase in more hours this will increase the pressure on available space. In terms of immersion in Gaelic language up until P4, it is not possible to provide a mixed ELC nursery which will mean that both groups of children will require a separate room for their ELC hours and additional costs will be incurred to provide this.

Database

The billing and invoicing issues that we have had will be resolved as we move to our new database and payment arrangements which should reduce administration of this part of the service. This will allow the resources currently provided to support billing to be managed more effectively to undertake other ELC related tasks.

Lunchtime provision

It has been suggested that as we move forward with flexibility we may see a slump over lunchtime where children move in and out of nursery from one block to another depending on hours offered. However, due to our offer of full flexibility we have not encountered this. In fact our larger busy nurseries are even busier over lunchtime and we have to look at additional staffing at this time.

Feedback from our childcare managers indicates that as flexibility grows, parents request that children stay for lunch which would indicate that as we move to longer day provision this demand will increase.

Free school meals for eligible nursery children have been met by the early years funding. However, we do see an ongoing challenge and find it difficult to equate the health and social inequalities of having our younger children who do not qualify for a free school meal being charged for lunch when older siblings in P1-3s continue to be funded. We have raised this with the Government as one of the challenges that we have to manage at a local authority level.

The revenue costs for expanding the provision of nursery meals that takes account of any capital programmes involved is provided within the Financial Template

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Rural Poverty and Phasing

Addressing the hidden depths of rural poverty and the impact that this can have on children and families in Highland is behind our intention to phase in additional hours incrementally across the whole of Highland. Due to our vast geographical area we endeavour to take a universal, preventative and early intervention approach to ensure the needs of all of our families are considered, and that equity is ensured across all integrated childrens services.

Rural poverty impacts on every area of life and the level of income required to sustain a standard of living that will ensure the health and wellbeing of our children is a challenge. We know too well that the average earnings are lower in rural areas and where parents do manage to gain employment, it often means having more than one job to ensure their family’s basic needs are met.

We know that families in rural areas often have to travel great distances to access services and fuel poverty is a very real issue in some of our communities. The adverse effects of low income, reduced access to employment, the uncertainty of seasonal work, part time contracts, lack of transport and poor housing all impact negatively on families.

Many of our families have to spend an average of 10-20% more on everyday requirements as basic as food and shelter, and living in rural poverty means that child poverty is a real concern for us in Highland.

Therefore the importance of providing access to increased ELC across all of our communities is at the heart of our plans to phase to ensure no family misses out. This is important in an area such as Highland as rural poverty and the impact it has on children cannot be overstated. By providing a level playing field through our expansion plan we will ensure we do not increase the poverty gap between those living in more affluent urban communities and those that experience rural poverty.

The plans for phasing will also ensure that building the workforce incrementally will be more manageable particularly in rural areas where access to staff is limited. To move from 600 hours to 1140 without any element of phasing would put service provision at risk.

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SECTION FIVE: Future Provision and Priorities

The key guiding principles of quality, flexibility, accessibility and affordability are at the forefront of the rationalisation of services as we move forward with expansion of early learning and childcare.

Service Delivery Model

ELC service delivery will be based on the already expanding, flexible model that we have in place and will be further enhanced by our plans for phasing. This will take account of our unique geography and we will base this on continuous local consultation, which will focus on individual settings within an ASG and an operational area. We will ensure that families continue to be able to choose the provider of their choice, that they can split placements if they want to and that a flexible model of provision will continue to expand and develop.

Settings will continue to choose their hours of provision but will ensure that the phasing plans are fully implemented each year and that all are able to offer the minimal hours stated until full 1140 hours by 2020.

We are aware that the model on which we base our provision will need to change from term time only to 4 weeks summer provision in some of our settings. In the future we will see a small number of local authority nurseries offering full year provision but this will be needs led, based on parental requirements. For Highland it is neither practical nor affordable for all settings to be open from 8am - 6pm, or all year. Many of our local authority nurseries will offer a 9am-3pm provision.

Within our phasing plan we will offer expanded weeks of provision in each ASG and this will be considered within the context of the mapping of provision will continue to be undertaken, through discussion with head teachers and where we have full day care partner providers who operate a service which we would not want to put at risk. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure the capacity they have to deliver extended provision is made available to parents. We acknowledge that the use of high quality partner providers is more cost effective than building new provision.

ELC is not compulsory and we will ensure that although we plan to provide for all children that we are careful to not over provide or we will have settings that remain empty, even after the demand lag has passed.

Demand and supply in Highland as indicated by the National Record of Scotland Population Projections indicates that the overall population for the next 5 – 10 years will remain largely unchanged however, for Inverness the expansion in the population will continue to grow where other areas may reduce or largely stay the same.

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Expanding Provision with Partners and New Providers

We will continue to work alongside our partners to deliver a high quality flexible accessible and affordable ELC provision. We will ensure that we include partners in any discussions and developments around expansion to ensure we have listened to them and considered their views.

We will continue to review our commissioning rates; we will look to increase payments but will be asking for reassurance from partners that the funding we provide will cover the costs of the living wage. This will be considered in future agreements.

We will formalise the arrangements for eligible 2 year olds and continue to make headway with destigmatising the take up of this provision by families. We want families to see it as an option to enable them to take up study, training or employment and we want to develop more stay and play and family nurture based learning.

Low uptake of 2 year old provision remains a challenge for us but so is the availability of provision in some Areas and we will examine the use of other assets in local communities. We have begun discussions with partners in High Life Highland around our use of assets outside of school buildings to help with expansion requirements. We will work with them to explore how we can use these for local authority expansion particularly for eligible 2 year olds and also consider where they could offer to deliver the service.

We will continue to work closely with CALA to support progression of further work around provision for eligible 2’s in areas across Highland and we are discussing CPD training needs of staff working with 2 year olds. Another element of the work with CALA is developing a test of change using a vacant janitor’s house on school grounds in an area of need where no provision is available. A second test is looking at a similar service for eligible 2’s by sharing premises with the primary school.

CALA are also being supported and part funded by Highland Council to deliver a programme around developing the young workforce, with an emphasis on working in the childcare sector which we will continue to monitor.

We are aware of the significance of intergenerational work and the current notion of developing nursery type provision within care home settings. In one rural area the care home is experiencing recruitment issues which appear to be linked to lack of local childcare provision. We are currently in discussion with our NHS Highland partners around possible localised solutions.

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Quality

We have learned that a rapid expansion of both opening times and flexibility in ELC settings can raise risks to the quality of learning and teaching. We have therefore considered ways in which we can reduce this impact with the main risks and mitigating actions set out in the following table. Much of this is already in place but it is important that the focus on quality of teaching, learning and childcare is maintained during the expansion process.

Risk Mitigation “Dilution” or perceived dilution of learning as children spend more time in settings

Rigorous self-evaluation materials and quality assurance processes Continued rollout of understanding of Building the Ambition

Rapid expansion of workforce leading to reduced average skills and knowledge

Refreshed induction processes and materials for EYPs Clear CPD structure and progression

Flexible provision making it harder to plan with and for individual children and monitor learning

Revised planning, observation and tracking processes designed to work in flexible contexts Testing and introduction of continuous profiling

EYP shifts, longer days and flexibility make it harder for children to have single point of contact for attachment and emotional regulation

Review of key worker functions to ensure all children have points of contact with transitions built in

Longer days for children reducing learning through fatigue

Freedom for settings to plan flexibly for their populations Revised planning processes to support balanced approaches when children have long sessions

Difficulties in common approaches and planning between settings where children have split provision

Introduction of continuous profiling Local quality indicators agreed to support communication between settings

Flexible and busier drop-offs reduce opportunities for parental engagement

Wide sharing of good practice solutions to family engagement Support websites and other materials for families to use

General quality declines as managers and officers concentrate on managing expansion

EYESO team maintain focus on quality of provision Early years meetings held regularly to support good practice New CPD for setting managers on “running a setting”

Decoupling of ELC from “Education” within Care & Learning as processes/contexts diverge

Education managers supported to keep focus on early learning within wider planning

Over rapid expansion of outdoor learning as capital solution might run ahead of quality of provision

Establish clear quality indicators and learning rationales for outdoor learning

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Phasing

The rationale to focus on expansion to full provision in areas of deprivation only would not target rural poverty in Highland but would focus purely on Inverness and we would be unable to deliver the 1140 hours due to an inability to expand the infrastructure and workforce that would be required in the short time frame, which would include a new school build. As our main concern around phasing is about any potential impact on the quality of learning, teaching and childcare, we know from experience that moving to a flexible approach had this effect. Therefore by increasing incrementally we will minimise the impact on quality and manage this more effectively.

To deliver the full 1140 hours in only a fraction of our provision for next session would not enable the expansion to occur at a pace that would be justifiable in terms of equity. It would also be difficult to provide the same commitment to fund our partner providers without it raising discussions around fairness. We argue that an incremental increase in hours across the whole of Highland means that all families would benefit, the workforce could be expanded incrementally and the outcomes for flexibility and expansion would be more realistic and achievable.

Phasing in the hours as we plan across all providers will ensure that no family in Highland is excluded or marginalised from the offer. Through this approach we will make the most difference to more children and their families who will all benefit from an increase in hours offered. This will be more acceptable to our families, communities and partnerships. Politically, an offer of fully funded provision in one area as opposed to another would be challenged.

However, we do recognise that it would be beneficial to test a fully funded model in an area of deprivation to ensure our most vulnerable children benefit from the expanded hours. This will also ensure a fully tested model of full implementation that we can learn from.

Therefore we will include two settings in Highland where children will have access to the full 1140 hours. The first is in Merkinch Family Centre in Inverness which is in an area of high deprivation. This will provide up to 30 eligible 2 year olds, with 1140 funded hours if parents choose this and it will allow additional family nurture work to take place. The Family Centre is an all year provision and it is also where we intend to place one of our ELC graduates next year. The anticipated improved outcomes for our younger children will be a true measure of how the expansion and additionally will impact on their attainment, health and wellbeing.

The second site where we plan to offer the fully funded hours will be in a partner centre in Dingwall that offers provision in an area of deprivation and this will reflect our desire to ensure a provider neutral approach.

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We will ensure that the messages around phasing are clear and consistent across Highland, and that it is manageable, affordable and accessible. For that reason and following discussion and consultation the approach will be is as follows:

Phase 1 17/18

600Funded hours

Last year of 3 hours, 10 minutes.

Phase 2 18/19

760 Funded hours

Phase 2 18/19

1140 Funded hours

All settings move to a minimum of 4 hours a day for 5 days term time. Within an ASG – in LA settings with Childcare Manager move to at least one school offering 4 weeks provision over the summer.

2 settings in areas of deprivation offer the full funding

Phase 3 19/20

840Funded hours

The 4 weeks offered in the summer would become standard therefore offering 80 more hours at 20 hours per week. Schools not opening in the summer, move to a more flexible approach e.g. 9am -3pm or 8am –6pm

Phase 4 20/21

1140Funded hours

All local authority centres offering minimum 9am – 3pm with ASG options for 4 weeks in summer.

As we already offer non funded hours to parents in the nurseries currently offering 8am – 6pm provision, we know that the uptake of these hours is increasing year on year. We therefore assume that parents will take up the offer of 20 hours funded provision – or 760 hours a year in 2018/19.

Incrementally phasing in the hours as described will allow us to offer more hours to our existing workforce of EYPs so that they can increase up to 35 hours if they wish, before we need to look for new staff. As we move to an offer of 4 weeks of summer provision in an ASG, contracts will be negotiated with the trade unions to allow the increase in weeks being offered to staff to cover this. Initial information has already been shared with trade unions.

In terms of capital spend we will need to ensure that consideration and priority is given to settings where expansion to 760 funded hours would require a level of infrastructure input so that they are ready for 2018/19. We are also obtaining more detailed information from our partner providers as part of the local area mapping, on their ability to deliver the 1140 hours. The focus is on the basis that provision is of the highest quality for children, and flexible enough to meet family needs.

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Workforce

As we move forward with the expansion of ELC and more nurseries are offering an extended day, our need to increase the workforce grows incrementally. Initially current EYPs will be offered more hours, but not all staff will want this. In this situation we will continue to advertise more hours. We estimate that we will need to provide an additional 250,000 hours to deliver 1140 hours in 2020.

We recognise that in larger nurseries that do not have a childcare manager there is a need to have a senior post that can support the head teacher with the responsibility of managing a growing early years workforce before 1140 hours becomes available for all nursery children. We will introduce a senior EYP who will provide leadership and management to a growing workforce and they will be employed in settings that are unlikely to be delivering a full day care service for all ages in the future, and therefore will not become entitled to a childcare manager.

The senior EYP will be developed from the current establishment and will be full time (35 hours) to enable them to fulfil the leadership and management role required, and will also be a key member of the nursery team. They will still have 16 hours of contact time and key worker duties however, they will also have a lead role in terms of planning, staff rotas and day to day supervision.

The criterion for having a post of Senior EYP will not be based on the number of staff, many who may be working only 23 hours, but on the fulltime equivalent required to meet the flexible delivery. Therefore, if there is the equivalent of 4 x 35 hours (140 hours) per week EYPs in a centre or more, then a senior post would be appropriate. A centre that has a childcare manager would not at this stage qualify for a Senior EYP however this may evolve in the future depending on service provision. The post will also create career opportunities for existing EYPs to apply for a senior role and further progression into a childcare manager position into the future if desired.

Many of the nurseries in Highland are small and rural with less than 10 children, so although two members of staff are required to maintain the ratio of staff to children, it is not a second EYP that is needed. It is often general assistance with lunch, snack and toileting that is required. In the larger settings currently offering flexibility, and in all nurseries in 2020 when children will be in attendance for more hours in the day then assistance with lunches, nappy changing and general welfare needs will increase, not necessarily duties that would require an EYP.

Therefore an ELC support worker will be introduced in settings where there are at least 12 children accessing school lunches on a daily basis as part of their flexible day. They will attend to the duties that are not necessarily those of an EYP and will therefore be cost effective. We do not see a slump in uptake of hours over lunchtime in settings that offer flexibility in fact the opposite is the case as we move away from

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sessions. The role will form part of the workforce in small rural settings where 2 EYPs are not required to meet the ratio.

The support worker will require Social Services (children and young people) SCQF level 6 (previous SVQ 2) qualification for SSSC registration and this is important for them to be seen as a valued member of the early years workforce. Having a post at this level will also enable those staff who are anxious about studying at SCQF level 7 (SVQ3) but who work well with children, an opportunity to gain experience and a qualification, which may then lead them onto further study and an EYP role.

LA ELC Staffing Structure from 2017/18

Title Basic Hours/week

HC Pay Grade

Contracted Weeks/year

Required Qualification

SSSC registration

Childcare Manager

35 9 52

BA Childhood Practice

Manager

Senior Early Years Practitioner

35

7 40 + holidays

Social Service (C&YP) SCQF 7(previous SVQ 3) Leadership training

Practitioner

Early Years Practitioner

23

5 - qualified 4 – unqualified

40 + holidays

Social Service (C&YP) SCQF 7

Practitioner

Out of School Care Practitioner

20

5 - qualified 4 – unqualified

40 + holidays

Social Service (C&YP) SCQF 7

Practitioner

Early Learning and Childcare Support Worker

Various

3 39 + holidays

Social Services (C&YP) SCQF 6

Support Worker

Modern Apprentice

23 Scottish Living Wage

40 + holidays

Social Services (C&YP) SCQF 7 in post training and mentoring

Practitioner

In terms of the ELC support worker role it is not the intention to immediately change the existing arrangements in any settings where there are currently two EYPs for less than 10 children. However, in the event of any future change in staffing, a review will be undertaken to ascertain if the current nursery rolls are to remain below 10 in the longer term, and if so this new structure will be implemented when recruiting new staff. There are currently 55 local authority nurseries with less than

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10 children enrolled for the next session, which equates to more than a third of all the local authority provision.

Looking to the future and the required workforce expansion, we will have early year’s modern apprentices (MA) in Highland. We have not until now had any early year’s MAs in Highland Council and this role will help create greater opportunities for employment in the early year’s sector and support the development of the required workforce for the future. This is particularly important in rural areas where we will have the ability to ‘grow our own staff’.

In order to support the expansion of ELC in an area the size of Highland where there are so many providers and a widely dispersed workforce we have introduced a project manager role to develop the resources and infrastructure that is required now and into the future.

The continuous process of ongoing engagement and consultation with the ELC national project and delivery steering groups requires a project manager to coordinate activity. This role is responsible for the development of local delivery programmes, monitoring and feedback around progress both to national partners and local teams to ensure the expansion plans stay on track time and budget wise. Furthermore, it will ensure that there is a consistent approach to development and expansion across all four Areas of the vast geography of Highland.

We will make appointments to deal with the additional demands for senior management and leadership capacity during the implementation phase. There will therefore be 4 change posts developed, one for each area, to ensure that the business of expansion is effectively led, and the capacity to deliver on this huge process of change in systems, culture and practice is managed.

We have a bank of non-teaching staff to ensure that we are able to supply staff to cover unexpected absences. We also work with CALA to support a staff bank through a Service Level Agreement and will continue to explore how this may be more effective across ASGs to ensure we are able to offer reassurance of availability and some continuity.

The Scottish Government allocation of additional graduates to work directly with children in areas of deprivation means that there are 6 posts allocated to Highland. We are submitting our Graduate Template alongside the Delivery Plan that describes the local decisions we have made around where they should be placed.

Our future position is to continue to promote high quality and flexible ELC, through a motivated and skilled workforce who have the best interests of children and their welfare and development at heart.

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Infrastructure

We are mindful of making best use of assets and the sequential decision making process advised by the Scottish Government whether that be capital spend on refurbishments, extensions or new builds.

We will therefore:

Use what we have within the local authority including workforce, natural environment, infrastructure and buildings

Use what we purchase enhancing the use of partner assets, developing existing partnership models to provide a mixed economy, strengthening provision including blended models and childminders

Create what we need where full use of existing local authority services and assets plus enhanced commissioned services still leaves a gap, create or build new capacity including outdoor nurseries

As we move nearer to 2020 we will consider what the demand versus capacity is and we will continue to consult with parents to help shape this. However, in the meantime in order to plan for 2020, we have to make assumptions about future demand. However, if not all parents take up the places offered, we have to be prepared for a potential lag in demand.

Mapping and consultation across areas, Associated School Groups (ASGs) and individual settings has helped us to build the profile of all available provision and we know in terms of infrastructure that we will need to look at some form of modification (refurbishment, extension or new build) in approximately 80 of our local authority settings.

Many are Victorian buildings which can provide challenges around expansion. We have looked at each ASG carefully to gather a list of priorities for 17/18 and beyond, and also to consider what the requirements will be to enable full use of existing assets. This will mean using the current space more effectively, extending, refurbishing, using demountables or (lastly) new builds.

We will look at the use of other public assets outside school buildings that may be available in the local area and whether it would be more feasible, affordable and accessible to expand partner provision. Guidance from the Scottish Government suggests that there can be no capital allocation from the Council to partners, which presents challenges regarding an equitable approach across the sectors. In Highland we are dependent on many of our partners particularly in rural locations to ensure we are 1140 ready and with this in mind we work in partnership around the use of vacant space within our rural schools to ensure we have capacity to provide 1140 hours by August 2020 and this is incorporated into our capital plan. However we

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intend to continue to pursue the issue of capital support with Government, in order to sustain a ‘provider neutral’ approach.

The use of the natural environment and opportunities for outdoor learning are increasingly valued for children. Where this is a solution for provision, it will be supported, provided the overall quality of children’s experiences can be maintained or improved.

We continue to consult with families and communities as we plan the requirements to deliver into 2020, not just for the here and now. Any new primary school plans need to include provision of 1140 hours ELC as do local discussions around new housing plans and new employment opportunities emerge. The phasing of any capital investment will have to be carefully considered, in particular with regard to the availability of internal Highland Council resources, the capacity within the construction industry and prevailing market conditions.

The investment will comprise a range of solutions, including being part of new build school projects, stand-alone new build nursery projects, modular units, extensions and refurbishments. Some projects will also be combined with works to address other issues in schools, where it would be best value to address these at the same time as the nursery works where possible.

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SECTION SIX: Implementation Plan

Elements and context

Actions

Quality Quality provision must be maintained during the period of change

Continue to improve data collection to monitor the quality of provision

QA, Improvement Planning and Support Visit process to be reviewed by the EYESO team this session

Rollout refreshed training on Building the Ambition HGIOELC and Self-evaluation, based on the Highland Early Years Rationale

HGIOELC/self-evaluation training will be offered in-house by the local EYESO to settings where self-evaluation has been identified as an area for improvement

Rollout and review of “Running a setting” training for managers and link with partner universities to create Masters level in Early Years pedagogy

Review and test induction processes for EYPs Review CPD structure and establish clear

progression Testing and rollout of revised approaches to planning,

observation and tracking Testing and introduction of continuous profiling ELC website developed to include good practice on

split placements Development of “good practice” quality standards for

split placements continue to improve quality of interactions between

staff and children Review of keyworker functions and guidance ELC website developed to include good practice on

family engagement Development of guidance and quality indicators for

outdoor learning and outdoor settings Ensure continued engagement with Quality

Improvement Team and links to Early Level through additional resource allocation

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Phasing 1140 implementation in individual settings can begin as capacity becomes available and be phased through to 2020

53 LA sites now offering flexibility – learning from and sharing best practice

Ensuring all LA providers move away from 3 hours 10 minutes in all settings, to complete hours (e.g. 4 hours over 5 days)

All settings offer 20 hours from August 2018 to ensure rural deprivation captured

2 settings in areas of deprivation offer the full funding Purchasing of additional hours made easier for

parents by introducing and developing the Database Direct Debit, voucher or tax free childcare payments

only. Stopping invoicing and therefore supporting settings to offer flexibility

Support large scale expansion by ensuring information is shared and explained – Head teacher workshops, CPD, Blog, newsletters

All local authority nurseries supported by FRCs to increase flexibility (this includes breakfast club and OSC)

Encouraging a model that offers parental choice Working with childminders and SCMA to support

commissioning and split placements Supporting partners with expansion planning and

blended models Community Engagement Families and communities do not change in a uniform way, especially in a time of change over a comparatively short period. It can be expected that there will be an element of ‘demand lag’ for the new offering that can be understood and managed via community engagement

FRCs, childcare managers, schools and partners continue to consult and engage with parents/carers and consider new models

Ensure parents have an informed choice around how they use their hours and future provision

Ensure messages to external stakeholders are clear and robust

Schools and PC managers being equipped to offer advice around expansion to parents and staff Childcare partnerships understand expansion

Use opportunities within CPPs to inform and discuss expansion of ELC

Workforce Areas to address to include: leadership, consultation, industrial relations, recruitment plans

Working closely with all relevant stakeholders and providers of further education to ensure we are prepared and able to deliver the requirements

Career development opportunities continue – including introduction of new structure

Ensure alignment is with the Developing the Young Workforce agenda

Develop training for operational managers in settings

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including ‘How to manage a setting’ through the CPD calendar

Keeping unions informed and working closely with HR Working in partnership with the Care Inspectorate Continually reviewing the workforce requirements,

employing new staff to meet flexibility and expansion of hours, addressing training needs and ensuring staff are supported to undertake qualifications that are required.

Strategic leadership capacity during the implementation required in each of the 4 areas

Development of EY modern apprentices for next session and subsequent years

Develop the role of new graduates funded by SG and ensure knowledge skills and expertise are fully utilised

Continue to support peripatetic manager role with CALA to support voluntary organisations where one manager can support up to five small provisions

Funded Providers Considerations of the implications of Living Wage and note of future development of national funded provider and quality standards

ELC partner agreements reviewed to consider provider neutral, rates reviewed and clarity around expectations of delivery

Improved partnerships and more transparency Include partners in mapping of services, workshops,

consultations, meetings and any developments to help shape expansion

Infrastructure (Physical Estate plan) Extent of refurbishment

Phase 1 plans in place for August 2017. These are based on capital discussions in all 4 areas and knowledge of Estates team

Consider use of partner and community assets for expansion not just schools

Detailed Infrastructure Plan (below) Financial Projections 5 year projections to 2021/22 Including incremental capital and revenue costs

Capital costs: 17/18 £1.800 million 18/19 £4.950 million 19/20 £10.120 million 20/21 £16.775 million 21/22 £6.655 million Total £40.30 million Revenue costs: 17/18 £21.33 million 18/19 £29.54 million 19/20 £31.64 million 20/21 £44.80 million 21/22 £44.69 million Financial Template submitted alongside Delivery Plan

Planning Assumptions including

Sufficient funding for revenue and capital available from SG to support delivery plan

Sufficient time for spend – planned and delivered

38

financial assumptions

Total capital cost of all the projects over expansion period is provided

Total revenue costs over expansion period are provided. Dependent on workforce planning decisions and mapping, phasing plan in discussion with Scottish Government Delivery Team

2017-18 expansion activity Including reporting on 2017/18 funding allocation £1 million revenue 17/18 £1.6 million capital 17/18 project

Robust database management system continues to

be developed to capture all flexible hours and billing Consultant fees to deliver the IT process required in schools. Costs £25,000 17/18

Workforce - early years practitioners, childcare managers, clerical hours, management time, project manager, FRCs, SEYP, EY support worker, MAs, EYOs, EYESOs

ASN support for additional childcare Costs of phasing – training, resources, qualifications Increased fees to partners North Area

Bonar Bridge Primary – internal alterations Dornoch Primary – conversion of former store Noss Primary – internal alterations

South Area Cauldeen Primary – internal alterations, part of

major project Lochardil Primary – move to new modular unit

and convert Stratherrick Primary – internal alterations

West Area Portree Gaelic Primary – part of new school

Project management, stakeholder management and change support What project management support will be made available to the change effort, include risks and dependencies in change

Project manager early years expansion role developed and now in place

Estates team involvement will increase Full support from partners in finance Corporate improvement team input will continue Continued work with benefits team Learning and development team undertaking joint

working around workforce expansion Keeping all key stakeholders - practitioners, partners,

communities, unions, HR, members, planning partnerships included and involved requires ongoing commitment and change support

Strategic change support required in each of the 4 operational units due to increased provision in the areas

Risk Management plan in place

39

Quality Plan

Key: Early Years Team

SMEY: Senior Manager Early Years. PM: Project Manager. EYESO: Early Years Education Support Officer. FRC: Family Resource Co-ordinator. CCM: Childcare Managers. EYO: Early Years Officers. HT: Headteachers. PCM: Partner Centre Managers

Improvement Activity

Measures Who/When Evidence of Impact

Continue to improve data collection to monitor the quality of provision

Integrated approach within Care &Learning to establish and understand what quality looks like for children, parents and communities

Agree core data set to monitor quality Establish monitoring arrangements and

agree role and remit Establish alignment with other quality

teams (QIOs) to examine trends or gaps

SMEY March 2018 EYOs and PM December 2018

Improvement in data that reflects child development outcomes and parent satisfaction Maintenance or improvement in quality grades from:

Care Inspectorate Education Scotland QA reports from

EYESO/QIO

QA, Improvement Planning and Support Visit process to be reviewed by the EYESO team this session.

Visit records and evidence from settings EYESOs June 2018

Self-evaluation grades from settings and visits show ongoing improvement and clear strategy for next steps at authority level for CPD

Rollout refreshed training on Building the Ambition HGIOELC and Self-evaluation, based on the Highland Early Years Rationale

Numbers of attendees Evidence of follow-up improvements in

setting plans etc Course evaluations

EYESOs 2017 onwards

Improvement in data that reflects child development outcomes and parent satisfaction. Maintenance or improvement in quality grades from: Care Inspectorate Education Scotland

40

QA reports from EYESO/QIO Improved P1 attainment data

HGIOELC/self-evaluation training will be offered in-house by the local EYESO to settings where self-evaluation has been identified as an area for improvement.

EYESOs will continue to monitor self-evaluation on Support Visits and Quality Assurance Visits

EYESO ongoing

Robust improvement planning with clear evidence and key data.

Rollout and review of “Running a setting” training for managers and link with partner universities to create Masters level in Early Years pedagogy

Attendance numbers Course evaluations

EYESO From September 2017 QIT

Managers of settings require fewer support visits. More visits show impact of training sessions where leadership, confidence and boldness to trial new improvement projects focus on learning through play and management structures communicated effectively with staff, children and families.

Review and test induction processes for EYPs

EYESO judgement on fitness of induction process for expanded and flexible ELC

HT/PCM New staff are familiar with learning, teaching and assessment tools and remain positive about their roles in the setting. Recruitment is straightforward and posts are filled.

Review CPD structure and establish clear progression

Early Years Meetings feedback and participation

Self-evaluation will be embedded in all other CPD delivered by EYESOs.

EYESOs will support managers to

EYP EYESOs June 2018

Evaluation forms are specific for action plan and staff implement these plans back in the setting. Reflected in self-evaluation statements

41

monitor the impact of CPD Testing and rollout of revised approaches to planning, observation and tracking

Numbers of settings adopting and maintaining

Self-evaluation data from settings Visit records of EYESOs

EYESO 2017 onwards

Emerging literacy data improved. Individual profiling and young person’s understanding of self-evaluation improved. Improved quality of interactions and observations to support effective planning and profiling.

Testing and introduction of continuous profiling

EYP and manager assessments of practicability and effectiveness, including parental feedback

Continuous profiling group 2016 onward

Learning conversations enable next steps, more clearly. More evidence of parental feedback.

ELC website developed to include good practice on split placements

Blog posts and usage statistics EYESO team Wide variety of examples to upload and share good practice identified by EYESO.

Development of “good practice” quality standards for split placements

Staff comment in PRDs of growing confidence, sharing of practice impacts in other settings

EYPs Examples of split placements shared with EYESO team and shared on setting visits.

Continue to improve quality of interactions between staff and children

EYPs to attend and implement Words Up training

Self-evaluation shows management monitor the quality of interactions

EYPs

Improved language outcomes as measured by development overviews.

Review of keyworker functions and guidance

Reduced behaviour incidents ELC improvement plans reflect careful

planning for keyworker role

EYESOs Staff self-evaluations are positive about their key role. Planning for learning and teaching is reflected in the setting with the children.

ELC website developed to include good practice on

Staff comment in PRDs of growing confidence around family engagement,

Family comments in questionnaires,

EYESOs Wide variety of examples to upload and share good practice identified by EYESO.

42

family engagement audits describe impact at home on play and interaction with their children

Visit records show evidence of staff using Bumps2Bairns to engage families

Development of guidance and quality indicators for outdoor learning and outdoor settings

Staff have a clearer idea of the elements of quality outdoor learning and what this looks like in practice

EYESO Planning reflects outdoor learning experiences as opposed to activity. Staff can notice, observe, plan and assess using creativity particularly with the outdoor learning environment.

Ensure continued engagement with Quality Improvement Team and links to P1 transition

Greater consistency and easier transitions between ELC and P1

QIT QIT will be able to support further development of ELC and transitions into P1

43

Workforce Plan

Improvement Activity

Measures By who/when

Evidence of Impact

Working closely with all relevant stakeholders and providers of further education to ensure we are prepared and able to deliver the requirements

Explore more work based learning with all providers and remove barriers to part time and accessible learning

ELC project board ongoing

Incremental increase in the ELC workforce

Career development opportunities continue – including introduction of new structure

Introduce new roles to ensure a career pathway – ELC support workers, Senior EYPs

SMEY Workforce Manager

Increased workforce at all levels

Ensure alignment is with the Developing the Young Workforce agenda

Discussions within school settings include the ELC

QIT PM

More young people decide on a career in ELC and a career in ELC as a positive destination

Develop training for operational managers in settings including ‘How to manage a setting’ through the CPD calendar

Include in the CPD calendar EYESOs September 2017

Headteachers are more confident in this role

Keeping unions informed and working closely with HR

Ensure regular liaison and information sharing

PM SMEY Workforce manager

Unions and HR understand impact of expansion

Working in partnership with the Care Inspectorate

Regular discussion and information sharing

SMEY EYESOs Ongoing

Working relationships develop and mature

44

Continually reviewing the workforce requirements, employing new staff to meet flexibility and expansion of hours, addressing training needs and ensuring staff are supported to undertake qualifications that are required.

Clear workforce planning undertaken in each Area year on year to ensure needs are explored and monitored

New staff training needs addressed and supported

PM Workforce Manager EYOs EYESOs Ongoing to 2021/22

Increase in high quality, appropriately trained workforce continues to evidence best practice Workforce will continue to grow and develop as we move forward with flexibility.

Strategic leadership capacity during the implementation required in each of the 4 areas

Strategic development of ELC expansion is supported in each of the operational areas

SMEY Strategic Group

Area decisions around expansion and flexibility meet local needs

Development of EY Modern Apprentices for next session and subsequent years

Job description developed and work with training providers to ensure support and mentoring is provided

PM FRCs HR October 2017

More young people move into EY modern apprentice roles

Develop the role of new graduates and ensure knowledge skills and expertise are fully utilised

Develop job description; decide which areas will benefit from graduates in discussion with Area and Education QIT. Discussion with education providers

PM September 2017

New graduates in post for August 18/19

Continue to support peripatetic manager role with CALA to support voluntary organisations where one manager can support up to five small provisions

Role is promoted to ensure sustainability of settings in remote and rural communities

CALA FRCs

Accessibility and flexibility offered to parents

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Phasing Plan

Session Funded Hours

Maximum hours per week

Approach Action

17/18 Phase 1

600 16 Last year of 5 “sessions” of 3 hours 10 mins

Notify all HTs and Partners September 2017.

Decisions for 18/19 agreed by December 2017 in order that enrolment info and guidance for 18/19 clearly outlines the arrangements for August 2018.

Work through the staffing implications of the changes and set plan in place for August 2018 implementation. Financial cost of funding the additional 4 hours per week included in SG financial template

Within an ASG one setting where there is a Childcare Manager (13) will open for 4 weeks of provision in summer 18. Parents can pay for additional hours, or they could change their 17/18 funding arrangements once they know about it in the new year to be spread over the available weeks. Where there are more than 1 Childcare Managers in an ASG, decide which provision that should be or if more than one setting should be open. Management support provided by all other CCMs in the ASG to joint plan/support/provide cover.

Project Manager with Childcare Managers and Unions to work out contract implications and negotiate changes to contracts of those who wish to change to full year (52 weeks) Childcare Manager focus group to consider possible locations and feedback to group. Senior Management Teams in Areas should base decisions on parental consultation around flexibility and additional hours required, Family Resource Co-coordinators key role. Capital priorities must include provision for 20 hours for 17/18

18/19 Phase 2

760 20 All LA centres to move to minimum of 4 hours per day for 5 days - Term Time Centres can offer more if they want (eg

Recruitment of staff if existing staff not prepared to increase from 23 hours to 27 hour costings in delivery plan to SG. Work with HT to understand

46

9am – 3pm) how 20 hrs can be delivered particularly where there are challenging environmental situations (capital/distances) that may not be resolved by Aug 18. Work with HT to submit CI variations to increase capacity by utilising outdoor space where needed. Consider further development s and staffing required by 2020 to ensure continuity of service and smooth transitions

Within an ASG - in LA centres with Childcare Managers move to 4 weeks summer provision with possible max funding of 20 hours per week across the summer as well. Parents can spread hours out across the available weeks.

New staffing model – decisions around whether summer provision is across an ASG not an individual school. Through ongoing consultation, where there is parental demand and uptake secured, consider if any centres would offer full year provision for the ASG.

1140 30 2 settings in areas of deprivation will offer the fully funded 1140 hours

Work with settings to ensure all elements for full expansion are in place: space, resources, workforce, family nurture

19/20 Phase 3

840 20 The 4 weeks in the summer would become standard and therefore there could be 80 more hours @20 hours per week of entitlement. Schools not opening in the summer could move to the more flexible term time approach 9am – 3pm or 8am – 6pm

Need to work with those centres with accommodation issues – working through increase or development of new ASG outdoor facilities

20/21 Phase 4

1140 30 All LA centres offering minimum 9am – 3pm with ASG options for 4 weeks in the summer too. May have one of two open all year if parental demand is there (working parents)

Consider impact on costs if a LA nursery open all year (PPP schools )

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Community Engagement Plan

Ensure staff in Highland understand the vision for expansion of ELC and are aware of progress through differing means of communication including: workshops, meetings, blogs, newsletters, through Improvement Groups and childcare partnerships, Committees, Directorate meetings.

Improvement Activity

Measures Who Evidence

FRCs, childcare managers, schools and partners continue to consult and engage with parents/carers and consider offer of extended hours

Parental consultation is included in all expansion plans

Parents understand they can split their placements

ELC staff FRCs CCMs PCM

Parents will choose flexible hours that meet their needs at the setting of their choice

Ensure parents have an informed choice around how they use their hours and any future provision

Ensure clear messages are delivered through any meetings, posters, newsfeed

Social media opportunities explored

FRCs CCMs PCM

Parents will say that they understand the offer to them Parents will say that they are able to choose the setting accordingly

Ensure messages to external stakeholders are clear and robust

Include key stakeholders in ELC project board to inform discussion and sharing of information

PM ELC project board

Key messages around expansion are evident in discussions

Schools and PC managers being equipped to offer advice around expansion to parents and staff

Regular information to head teachers and PC managers to ensure understanding as new information is received from SG

PM CCMs

Parents and staff understand developments and key messages

Child care partnerships understand the plans for expansion

ELC expansion is a standing item on agendas

FRCs Fully understanding is evident in discussions and agenda

Use opportunities within CPPs and Improvement Groups to inform and discuss

Area officers ensure ELC expansion is on the CPP agenda and key Improvement groups

ELC staff FRCs SMEY PM

ELC features in CPP plans

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Infrastructure Plan

HIGHLAND COUNCIL - EARLY LEARNING AND CHILDCARE EXPANSION PROGRAMME

SUMMARY (27/09/17)

Item

Overall 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22

Capital Cost (£M)

No. of Projects

Capital Cost (£M)

No. of Projects

Capital Cost (£M)

No. of Projects

Capital Cost (£M)

No. of Projects

Capital Cost (£M)

No. of Projects

Capital Cost (£M)

No. of Projects

1 Mid Area 8.850 17 0.000 0 1.300 6 2.750 7 4.800 4 N/A N/A

2 North Area 5.550 14 0.850 3 1.000 5 0.950 4 2.750 2 N/A N/A

3 South Area 16.850 33 0.650 3 2.100 7 5.750 9 8.350 14 N/A N/A

4 West Area 5.050 17 0.300 1 1.950 5 1.600 7 1.200 4 N/A N/A

5 Catering Equipment (Where No Capital

Project) 0.300 N/A N/A N/A 0.100 N/A 0.100 N/A 0.100 N/A 0.000 N/A

6 Client Capital Programme

Management 0.200 N/A N/A N/A 0.050 N/A 0.050 N/A 0.050 N/A 0.050 N/A

7 Potential Programme

Delivery Issues N/A N/A N/A N/A -2.000 -3 -2.000 -3 -2.000 -3 6.000 9

8 Sub-Totals 36.800 81 1.800 7 4.500 20 9.200 24 15.250 21 6.050 9

9 Programme Contingency

(10% of Years 2-5) 3.500 N/A 0.000 N/A 0.450 N/A 0.920 N/A 1.525 N/A 0.605 N/A

10 Overall Totals 40.300 81 1.800 7 4.950 20 10.120 24 16.775 21 6.655 9

11 Confirmed Capital

Allocation 1.694

1.694

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

12 Additional Capital

Required 38.606

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ELC EXPANSION - MID AREA (27/09/17)

Project Addit.

Kitchen Dining

Project Value

Type Year Comments <£100K

£100K to

£500K

£500K to £1M

£1M to £3M

1 Avoch Primary Yes 1 Refurbishment

2018/19

Part of larger project

2 Craighill Primary - EM Yes 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

3 Ferintosh Primary 1 Outdoor New outdoor centre for Dingwall ASG

4 Hill of Fearn Primary 1 Refurbishment New early level class

5 Hilton of Cadboll Primary 1 Refurbishment Alterations to existing

6 Mulbuie Primary 1 Extension Currently shares space with canteen

7 Ben Wyvis Primary Yes 1 Extension

2019/20

Part of larger project

8 Kiltearn Primary 1 Extension Part of larger project

9 Milton Primary Yes 1 Extension Minor extension for kitchen/dining

10 North Kessock Primary 1 Extension Part of larger project

11 Strathconon Primary 1 Extension Part of larger project

12 Strathpeffer Primary Yes 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

13 Tarradale Primary 1 Extension Part of larger project

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14 Alness - Bridgend Primary

New 1 New Build

2020/21

Potential New ELC Centre 15 Alness - Coulhill Primary

16 Alness - Obsdale Primary

17 Dingwall Primary 1 Extension Part of larger project

18 Invergordon - Park

New 1 New Build Potential New ELC Centre

19 Invergordon - South Lodge

20 Strathgarve Primary 1 Refurbishment Possible conversion of former school house

Total No. of Projects 4 8 3 2

Total Cost (£M) 8.850

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ELC EXPANSION - NORTH AREA (27/09/17)

Project Addit.

Kitchen Dining

Project Value

Type Year Comments <£100K

£100K to

£500K

£500K to

£1M

£1M to

£3M

1 Bonar Bridge Primary 1 Refurbishment

2017/18

October holidays

2 Dornoch Primary 1 Refurbishment Conversion of former external store - on site

3 Noss Primary 1 Refurbishment Alterations to toilets to allow third room to be used

4 Crossroads Primary 1 Refurbishment

2018/19

Possible acquisition of current Scallywags building

5 Farr Primary (Bettyhill) 1 Refurbishment Part of larger project

6 Keiss Primary 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

7 Melvich Primary 1 Refurbishment Internal alterations

8 Tongue Primary 1 Extension Nursery extension only

9 Brora Primary 1 Extension

2019/20

Additional accommodation required

10 Golspie Primary 1 Refurbishment Refurbishment of vacant space

11 Halkirk Primary 1 Refurbishment Partner centre in school building

12 Reay Primary 1 Extension Possible move of partner centre to school building

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13 Newton Park Primary Yes 1 Extension

2020/21

Additional accommodation required

14 Thurso - Miller Academy Primary

New 1 New Build Potential New ELC Centre 15 Thurso - Mount Pleasant Primary

16 Thurso - Pennyland Primary

Total No. of Projects 5 6 2 1

Total Cost (£M) 5.550

53

ELC EXPANSION - SOUTH AREA (27/09/17)

Project Addit.

Kitchen Dining

Project Value

Type Year Comments <£100K

£100K to

£500K

£500K to £1M

£1M to £3M

1 Cauldeen Primary 1 Refurbishment

2017/18

Part of major extension/refurbishment project

2 Lochardil Primary 1 Extension Part of larger project

3 Stratherrick Primary 1 Refurbishment Internal alterations

4 Ardersier Primary 1 Refurbishment

2018/19

Additional accommodation required

5 Auldearn Primary Yes 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

6 Cannich Primary 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

7 Dalneigh Primary Yes 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

8 Duncan Forbes Primary Yes 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

9 Holm Primary 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

10 Raigmore Primary Yes 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

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11 Central Primary 1 Extension

2019/20

Additional accommodation required

12 Cradlehall Primary 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

13 Crown Primary Yes 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

14 Hilton Primary Yes 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

15 Kirkhill Primary 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

16 Milton Of Leys Primary Yes 1 New Build New nursery annexe

17 Smithton Primary Yes 1 Extension Part of major extension/refurbishment project

18 St Joseph's Primary 1 Refurbishment Possible use of church building for GP to allow room to be converted

19 Tomnacross Primary 1 Refurbishment Conversion of former school house

20 Aviemore Primary Yes 1 Extension

2020/21

Additional accommodation required

21 Balloch Primary 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

22 Beauly Primary 1 New Build Part of new school

23 BSGI/Slackbuie Yes 1 Extension Options for expansion of Gaelic school being considered; modular unit probably required before 2020

24 Deshar Primary 1 Refurbishment Minor refurbishment

25 Drakies Primary 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

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26 Grantown Primary Yes 1 Refurbishment

2020/21

Refurbishment of vacated kitchen/dining

27 Kinmylies Primary Yes 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

28 Muirtown Primary 1 Extension Additional accommodation required

29 Merkinch Primary Yes 1 New Build Part of major extension/refurbishment project

30 Nairn - Millbank

New 1 New Build Potential New ELC Centre

31 Nairn - Rosebank

32 Ness Castle Primary 1 New Build Part of new school

33 Newtonmore Primary - EM/GM

1 Extension Additional accommodation required

34 Stratton Primary 1 New Build Part of new school - likely to be beyond 2020/21

Total No. of Projects 2 20 9 2

Total Cost (£M) 16.850

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ELC EXPANSION - WEST AREA (27/09/17)

Project Addit.

Kitchen Dining

Project Value

Type Year Comments <£100K

£100K to

£500K

£500K to £1M

£1M to £3M

1 Portree Gaelic Primary 1 New Build 2017/18 Part of new school

2 Ardgour Primary 1 Extension

2018/19

Additional accommodation required

3 Auchtertyre Primary 1 Extension Part of larger extension - relocate to school building

4 Portree Primary 1 Refurbishment Move partner to refurbished rooms vacated by Gaelic Primary

5 Scoraig Primary 1 New Build Part of larger project

6 Ullapool Primary 1 Extension Part of larger project

7 Arisaig Primary 1 Extension

2019/20

Additional accommodation required

8 Caol Primary Yes 1 Extension Minor extension for kitchen/dining

9 Gairloch Primary 1 Refurbishment Includes relocation of Toybox

10 Inverlochy Primary 1 Refurbishment Alterations to nursery building

11 Kilchoan Primary 1 Refurbishment Minor refurbishment

12 Mallaig Primary 1 Refurbishment Alterations to school building

13 Sleat Primary 1 Refurbishment Alterations to school building

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14 Broadford Primary 1 Refurbishment

2020/21

Part of larger project

15 Dunvegan Primary 1 New Build Part of new school

16 Invergarry Primary 1 Refurbishment Part of larger project

17 Spean Bridge Primary 1 Extension Part of larger project

Total No. of Projects 2 14 1 0

Total Cost (£M) 5.050

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Risk Management Plan

Ref

Risk

Category

Risk Description/Underlying Concern

Mitigation Actions (controls) (time/cost/quality

Level of Risk (Likelihood X Impact)

1 Quality of ELC service declines during the period of expansion

Quality Workforce

Quality becomes compromised as current workforce structure changes and new structure becomes embedded Existing workforce feel unsettled & not communicated with around the expansion plans Unable to recruit to new posts

Regularly Communicate & share Highland Council ELC Delivery Plan (included updated versions) Develop and utilise childcare managers within Quality & Improvement Focus group Ensure current staff feel valued and actively involved in future expansion plans

4X4=16

2 Focus becomes specifically about expansion of hours to 1140 hours

Service redesign

Focus is predominately on expansion impacting on allowing flexibility and choice Flexibility of LA schools to offer additional summer holiday does not increase in line with planned timescales Use of language means we continue to focus on current provision

Quality & Improvement Focus group explore way we can ensure we increase flexibility and choice without an impact on current quality Childcare managers own the future plans around expanded provision and promote this with staff and HT’s Encourage discussion of phasing and 1140 hours in all ELC expansion discussions and promotionally

3x3=9

3 Partner provision declines

Quality Workforce

Staff move from partners to LA workforce Partners are unable to recruit new staff Partner provider provision is no longer sustainable in some areas

Provider Neutral approach, makes work in private sector more viable (financially & through professional development) Provider Neutral/Funding Follows the Child Sub Group focuses on risks & identifies ways to manage the risk

4x4=16

4

Processes are not put in place to manage the expansion plan

Operational Administratively unable to manage additional demand Current IT system to manage changes develops

Billing Focus Group support the further development of new data system for billing

3x3=9

59

Resources not in place to cope with increase in hours

Phasing gradually undertaken over next three years to ensure accommodation is fit for expansion and workforce is available

5 Lack of commitment to buy into national strategy and deliver at a local level

Governance Operational

There is a lack of buy in from other parts of the organisation regarding the Blueprint and local ELC expansion plans

Regular reports to People’s committee Feedback to Care & Learning Directorate and senior management team provided on a regular basis and an understanding of the implications of the expansion plans Director of Care & Learning actively involved in ELC work at a national level and feeding back to the directorate on this work at a national level

4x4=16

6 Lack of communication and engagement with parents, families and local communities around 1140 expansion

Governance Operational

Parents, families and communities have a poor understanding around the plans for expansion and therefore uptake of 1140 hours is poor.

Parental Engagement Focus Group established to ensure effective communication within large nursery settings Family Resource Co-ordinators have key role in engagement with childminders, partner centres, families and wider communities Mapping exercise and questionnaires sent out and reviewed on a regular basis Regular updates to People’s Committee that includes information on engagement Communication plan is developed Communication with ELC workforce including Head Teachers Newsletter and social media utilised to communicate expansion plans

3x3=9

7 Focus becomes about infrastructure and not utilising what we have and what we currently purchase

Governance Finance

Risk that we focus only on new builds which has large cost implication to the authority

Regular meetings with Estates team to explore creative solution to expansion plans that include using what we have, developing outdoor space and working more collaboratively with our partners.

3x3=9

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8 There is an insufficient workforce to provide the expansion plans

Quality Workforce

Lack of understanding around expansion implications on the workforce mean that there are insufficient qualified/experienced staff available to provide 1140 hours

Workforce Development Group meets regularly and identifies risks Introduction of Early Years Modern Apprenticeships from August 2017 Introduction of Senior EYP post from Autumn 2017 Identify additional settings offering full flexibility and Out of school care provision that may warrant introduction of childcare manager posts Ongoing review of current work force in each location

3x3=9

9 Lack of financial understanding of costs of expansion impacts on funds provided by Scottish Government

Finance Governance

Highland Council under estimate capital and revenue plans for the next five years Financial projections provided to Scottish Government under estimate actual cost Actual cost of expansion plans rise in the intervening years

Clear and concise completion of Financial Template to support SG report Regular reviews of capital plans for each area and actions to plans, including ‘quick fix’ solutions are followed up within designated timescales

5x5=25

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ELC Strategic Group Members Designation Aileen Mackay EQIO Amanda Graham Head teacher Anthony Standing SDS Beth Brown EQIM Bill Alexander Director of Care & Learning Claire Pardoe UHI Dawn Meston Family Resource Co-ordinator (North) Derek Martin Area Care & Learning Manager (Mid) Eairdsidh MacGilleathain UHI Fiona Bremner Accountant Fiona Skinner UHI Hayley Brown Family Resource Co-ordinator (South) Heather Keyes UHI Jaci Douglas Chief Executive CALA Jackie Ross Family Resource Co-ordinator (Mid) Jacquelyn Jennett Area Care & Learning Manager (North) Jennifer Campbell Project Manager ELC expansion Jim Steven Head of Education Karen Ralston Area Care & Learning Manager (South) Liz Scott Family Resource Co-ordinator (South) Mona Wilson Bòrd na Gàidhlig Norma Young Area Care & Learning Manager (West) Robert Campbell Estates Manager Sandra Harrington Senior Manager Early Years Seonag Campbell SDS Sophie Dunnett UHI Tracy McIlvar Family Resource Co-ordinator (West) Other contributors Sue Nield Catering Services Manager Jennifer Godsman Project Co-ordinator Evelyn Miller Cleaning and FM Manager Sandra Breach Early Years Officer Margaret MacDonald Secretary Care & Learning David Walker Project Co-ordinator

Early Learning& Childcare

Delivery Plan

Alternative Formats

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Education & Social Care Moray Council High Street Elgin IV30 9BX

Phone: 01343 543451

˝

:

ContentsAlternative Formats 3Introduction 5Moray Council Area 6Strategic Framework 8National Context 8Local Context 9Our Current Provision 10Workforce 11Quality 12Funded Providers 13Infrastructure 14Leadership and Quality Assurance 14Parent and Carer Consultation 15Proposed Future Service Model 16Vision 16Moray’s Offer 16Service Model 17Implementation Plan 20Quality Plan 20Phasing 22Communications and Engagement Strategy 24Workforce Plan 25Funded Providers 26Infrastructure (Physical Estate) Plan 27Financial Plan 28Project Management 30

3

Early Learning & Childcare D

elevery Plan

4

Mor

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Introduction All Scottish local authorities have a statutory obligation to make available 600 hours of Early Learning & Childcare (ELC) to three and four year olds whose parents request this provision. Funded places must also be provided for vulnerable two year olds. In Moray this provision is delivered via a combination of school nurseries, independent (private and third sector) providers and childminders.

The Government has committed to increasing funded ELC hours from 600 to 1140 hours by August 2020. ‘The Blueprint for 2020: The Expansion of Early Learning & Childcare in Scotland’ sets out the Scottish Government’s vision for the expansion of ELC provision across Scotland, underpinned by the principles of quality, flexibility, accessibility and affordability. The blueprint prioritises the delivery of high quality experiences for every child, recognising the significant contribution that universally accessible ELC can make to a child’s development.

Key Principles:

Quality: enhancing the quality of our ELC provision, which complements other early years and educational activity to close the attainment gap, and recognises the value of those we entrust to give our children the best start in life.

Flexibility: providing services that are more flexible and responsive to parent/carer needs (i.e. ELC settings open for longer and during the school holidays).

Accessibility: ensuring flexible provision is available for all children and their parents/carers, including children with additional support needs and those living in remote and rural locations.

Affordability: reducing the costs of accessing flexible ELC for parents/carers, whilst ensuring we provide a financially sustainable service that makes the most effective use of public funds.

Local authorities will remain the primary guarantor of quality in the ELC sector, and will become the key enabler of flexibility and choice. Local authorities have been given responsibility for delivering the expansion in their local communities and are being asked to consider the development of enhanced service models that reflect, and are responsive to local needs. Planning for the expansion will necessarily evolve over the coming years, however this Delivery Plan details Moray Council’s initial plans for the redesign and expansion of our ELC service.

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Moray Council AreaMoray is situated in the north-east of Scotland, with the coastline of the Moray Firth along its northern edge, and borders the council areas of Highland and Aberdeenshire. It covers an area of 2,238 km2 and has a population in the region of 95,000.

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The main centres of population are in Elgin, Forres, Buckie, Keith and Lossiemouth, and there are a number of smaller settlements along the northern coast. The south of Moray includes the rural area of Speyside, with widespread remote populations. 42.2% of the Moray population live in a rural area, and a further 4.1 % live in settlements with fewer than 500 people. The area includes two large Ministry of Defence bases (Kinloss and Lossiemouth) with highly mobile populations.

In 2015 16.2 per cent of the population in Moray were aged 16 to 29 years. This is lower than Scotland as a whole where 18.2 per cent are aged 16 to 29 years. Persons aged 60 and over made up 26.5 per cent of the Moray population. This is higher than Scotland wide where 24.2 are aged 60 and over.

There are approximately 1,000 births in Moray each year; however there has been a drop in the birth rate in recent years. The primary school rolls have increased slightly since 2011, which would suggest an increase in the number of families moving into Moray. The population of Moray is projected to decline overall by 2.2% by 2037, with the under 16 population projected to decline by 13.3% over the 25 year period. Elgin, Forres and Lossiemouth are the three settlements where demand for ELC is expected to increase due to large scale housing development and an increase in the number of service people and their families moving to the Lossiemouth base.

The percentage of Moray’s population who are income deprived is lower than the Scottish average; however 18% of children aged pre-birth to 8 years live in income deprived households.

The number of Moray children requiring some kind of additional support from nursery onwards has increased dramatically over the past 5 years (the number of schoolchildren with Additional Support Needs (ASN) has risen by 132.5% since 2009, and the number of pre-school children with ASN has risen by 250% in the last 3 years), with a significant proportion of the annual ASN budget of £7.6 million going to help children with social, emotional and behavioural needs. In order to reverse the upward trend of demand on our ASN and Health and Social Care Services budgets, we need to invest in prevention and intervention measures at the earliest stages in our children’s lives.

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2007

Increase of funded ELC entitlement from 412.5 hours to 475 hours per year.

2014

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014

• Increase of funded entitlement to 600 hours per year for all three and four year olds and eligible two year olds.

• Introduced the new term of ‘Early Learning & Childcare’ to capture the learning journey that takes place from birth.

• Introduced the legal requirement for local authorities to increase flexibility and choice in how funded hours are offered, informed by ongoing consultation with parents and carers.

• Introduced the legal requirement for local authorities to consult with parents and carers on Out of School Care (OOSC) provision which will best meet their local needs.

• Enshrined in law key elements of the GIRFEC approach.

2020

All three and four year olds and eligible two year olds entitled to up to 1140 hours of high quality ELC per year, with greater flexibility as to how that entitlement can be accessed.

Strategic FrameworkNational Context

The Scottish Government’s aim is to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up and to give all of our children the best possible start in life.

Scottish Government (2008) Early Years Framework

Building on work already in progress through the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) approach the Early Years Framework provided a new vision for Early Years in Scotland, and included a number of elements that would underpin transformational change including:

• a coherent approach – creating a service around our children which is less fragmented;

• putting quality at the heart of service delivery – the skills, knowledge, attitudes and qualifications of the workforce are a key focus in improving quality;

• services that meet the needs of children and families – developing integrated education & childcare services and developing a progressive scheme for helping parents with the costs of childcare;

• prevention and early intervention – identifying and responding to needs and risks at the earliest possible opportunity.

A Blueprint for 2020: The Expansion of Early Learning & Childcare in Scotland

It is widely acknowledged that the provision of universally accessible and high quality ELC enriches children with the skills and confidence to carry into, and multiply, throughout their schooling, and is a cornerstone for closing attainment and inequality gaps.

Expanding entitlement to ELC is also one of the most important tools to support long-term inclusive growth in Scotland’s economy. Parents and carers will benefit from a high quality, flexible system as it helps to support people into work, training or further study which may not have been previously accessible.

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Local Context

Moray Community Planning Partnership has a vision that Moray is the best place in Scotland to grow up.

Moray Community Planning Partnership Early Years Strategy (2016-26)

The Moray Early Years Strategy looks to deliver the aims of the Scottish Government’s Early Years Framework and Collaborative by prioritising four main outcomes:

• Moray is a place where children have a home, feel secure, healthy and nurtured.

• Moray is a place where children and young people thrive.

• Moray is a place where children are able to reach their full potential.

• Moray is a place where children have a voice, have opportunities, learn, and can get around.

Moray Children’s Services Plan (2017-2020)

The Moray Children’s Services Plan is the result of close working and cooperation between partner agencies involved in delivering Children’s Services across Moray, and places the GIRFEC approach at the heart of our service delivery. The plan identified three priorities for the period of the plan:

• Ambitious and confident children – to improve the life chances of children, especially the most vulnerable, by supporting them and their families at the earliest stages.

• Healthier children – children get the healthiest start in life and are supported to achieve the best possible mental health and wellbeing and there is equity for vulnerable groups.

• Safer children – to protect children from the risk of harm, abuse and neglect and promote and support safer environments and communities.

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Current Service DeliveryOur Current Provision

Moray Council delivers approximately one million hours of funded ELC per year through 22 school based nurseries, 36 funded providers (private and third sector) and 2 childminders. Two funded providers offer specialist provision for children with complex additional support needs and two funded providers are fully outdoor nurseries. Between 60% and 70% of actual funded hours are delivered through our funded providers per year, which differs from the national profile of 75% of Scotland wide ELC provision delivered via school nurseries.

Moray contracted ELC provision (2-5 year olds) (2017-18)

Provision Total FTE places %

School Nurseries 525 29.5

Independent School 28 1.6

Workplace Nursery (Moray College)

48 2.7

Private Sector Providers 713 40

Social Enterprise 114 6.4

Third Sector Playgroups 350 19.7

Childminder 2 0.1

Total 1780 100(Note: There are currently 78 registered places for the care of 0-2 year olds across Moray)

There are 121 childminders registered in Moray, 16 childminders are currently contracted with Moray Council to provide funded hours for eligible two year olds, of which two are currently delivering funded hours.

The current ELC offer to parents/carers for children attending nurseries/playgroups is a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 ELC sessions per week for a minimum of 38 to a maximum of 39 weeks per academic year, in line with local school holiday agreements. No child can receive more than 3 hours 10 minutes of continuous ELC without a rest period of at least one hour, or more than 6 hours 20 minutes in any day, or more than 5 ELC sessions in any week. (A ‘session’ is a period of 3 hours 10 minutes). There is no restriction on the number of funded hours that can be taken with a childminder each day.

Uptake of ELC amongst three and four year olds is very high with up to 100% of children taking up the majority or all of their entitlement across both school and funded provider settings. In contrast uptake of eligible two year olds is low, with 7% of the current population taking up the entitlement. This is lower than the national average of 9% and well below the Scotland wide figure of 25% of two year olds being eligible for funded ELC. Moray Council has been working with our partners to promote the two year old entitlement, and these promotion efforts will continue as we expand and develop our ELC service. All two year old provision is currently provided via our funded partners.

Funded ELC is evenly distributed across the authority area, and is largely accessible for our families and carers, however half of our settings currently offer a traditional inflexible service delivery model (term-time only, sessions of 3 hours 10 minutes, 5 days per week, parental choice limited to morning or afternoon sessions, no wraparound hours available). A fully flexible all year model is currently available in three settlements only (Elgin, Lossiemouth and Kinloss).

Moray Council ELC Delivery Models (2017-18)

Provision Number of Settings

Number of places

%

Fully Flexible – All Year Model

10 542 30

Term-time only sessional days with wraparound

11 363 20

Traditional local government delivery model

37 875 50

Total 58 1780 100

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Moray Council operates a notional ‘funding follows the child’ model for Early Learning & Childcare, with parents and carers able to choose the provision that best meets their needs. However all school and funded ELC settings are currently asked to prioritise the allocation of places based on the following criteria:

1. existing attendance at the setting;

2. those resident in the secondary catchment area and with a sibling at the setting;

3. those resident in the secondary catchment area;

4. children with a Coordinated Support Plan (CSP) and/or subject to assessment by the Education Authority;

5. those residing outwith the catchment area, and with a sibling at the centre;

6. those residing outwith the catchment area.

Priority within any of the six categories will be given to older children first, and then to those resident closest to the requested provision. Moray Council will place a temporary cap on funded places with any new provider that establishes itself in the area to ensure there is minimal impact on the business and sustainability of existing funded providers.

For the academic year 2016/17 Moray Council paid funded providers the following rates (per child) for the provision of early learning & childcare:

• Three and four year olds: £3.42 per hour

• Two year olds: £5.46 per hour

The rate for three and four year olds is well below the average paid for commissioned ELC places across Scotland (£4.58 per hour (2015/16 rates) as per the Scottish Government’s Financial Review of Early Learning & Childcare in Scotland – September 2016). The rate for two year olds is closer to the national average of £5.72 per hour (2015/16 rates) but is still at the lower end of the scale. Current Moray Council policy is to increase the funded provider rates in line with the Local Government pay award (currently a 1% increase per annum).

Workforce

Moray Council employs a total of 45.92 FTE equivalent ELC staff across all school nursery settings. The FTE figures include management time for teachers and senior nursery nurses.

Current ELC workforce by post

Job Title Unit Cost (£) Total FTE Total Cost £ (17/18)

Teacher 45,723 7 320,061

Senior Nursery Nurse

31,326 17.68 553,730

Nursery Nurse

27,762 15.45 428,875

Classroom Assistant

17, 845 5.79 103,378

Total 45.92 1,406,044

The school nurseries are managed by the Head Teachers, with Deputy Head Teachers often taking management responsibility for the Early Years stages of the school. The Head Teacher and Deputy Head Teacher costs are not included in our Early Years budgets. All Moray Council ELC staff working within our school nurseries are currently employed on 35 hour per week term-time contracts.

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Quality

Both our local authority and funded partner portfolios demonstrate a spread of quality (in both Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland terms) with the funded partners currently demonstrating higher scores overall for educational quality. In a number of settings the quality of ELC provided is below the standard we need to achieve for our children and families.

Quality Scores

These are mean scores based on Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland quality gradings.

(A ‘n/a’ or 0 score indicates that the relevant agency has not completed a recent inspection of the setting).

A mean score of below ‘4’ is highlighted as red to indicate quality concerns).

Moray Council School Nurseries

Setting Name CI Mean Quality Score

Ed Scotland Mean Quality Score

Aberlour Primary School 4.5 4.0

Burghead Primary School n/a 3.4

Cullen Primary School 5.0 n/a

East End Primary School 4.3 2.4

Findochty Primary School 4.3 3.4

Hopeman Primary School n/a 4.2

Hythehill Primary School n/a n/a

Keith Primary School 5.0 3.6

Kinloss Primary School 5.0 n/a

Lhanbryde Primary School 5.0 4.0

Millbank Primary School 5.0 n/a

Milne’s Primary School 3.5 n/a

Mortlach Primary School 2.8 3.4

New Elgin Primary School 4.8 4.2

Pilmuir Primary School 3.8 3.6

Portgordon Primary School 4.0 n/a

Rothes Primary School n/a 4.4

St Gerardine Primary School 5.0 3.8

St Peter’s RC Primary School 4.8 n/a

St Thomas Primary School 4.5 n/a

Seafield Primary School 4.5 4.0

Tomintoul Primary School 5.5 n/a

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Funded Providers

Setting Name CI Mean Quality Score

Ed Scotland Mean Quality Score

Aberlour & Craigellachie Pre School Nursery

n/a 4.6

Ark Childcare Ltd 4.3 3.6

Bishopmill Pre School Centre 4.8 4

Building Blocks Nursery 4.3 n/a

Cullen Play Centre 4.5 4.2

Curious Minds Education Centre n/a 0

Drumduan Kindergarten 4.8 3.6

Dyke Pre School Centre 4.0 3.8

Earthtime’s Outdoor Nursery – Without Walls

3.5 n/a

East Beach Nursery 4.8 n/a

Fochabers Nursery & Out of School 5.0 n/a

Garmouth & Kingston Playgroup 4.8 4.2

Hop, Skip & Jump Nursery n/a 3.8

Jack n Jill Pre School Centre 4.5 4.4

Keith Play Centre 5.0 4.2

Kinloss Day Care Centre 5.0 4.6

Knockando Playgroup n/a 4

Ladybird Developmental Playgroup 0.0 5.2

Liberty Kids 4.0 n/a

Magic Roundabout n/a 4.4

Miltonduff Playgroup n/a 3.6

Moray College Nursery 4.8 n/a

Mosstodloch ELC 0.0 5

Newmill & District Playgroup 4.5 0

Noah’s Ark Developmental Playgroup 4.8 5

Portessie 4.3 3.8

Portknockie Nursery 4.8 4.2

RAF Lossiemouth Childcare Centre 5.0 5

Rainbow Castle Childcare n/a 3.2

Rainbow Childcare & Education 5.3 5

Rothiemay Playgroup 5.0 n/a

St Sylvester’s Nursery n/a n/a

Stramash Outdoor Nursery 3.8 n/a

The Cabin n/a n/a

Torridon Little Learners n/a 5

VIP Childcare n/a 4.6

Funded Providers

Initial high level engagement with funded providers has indicated that they are responding to the challenges of the expansion in different ways. At this stage a minority of providers are considering increasing their registered places, or introducing more flexibility into their service delivery models. Funded provider engagement will continue and it is anticipated that the picture of independent provision across Moray will change over time.

All funded providers have expressed concerns about the impact of the expansion on their business models. The commissioning rate for Moray’s funded providers (17/18 rates set prior to expansion planning at £3.45 for three to four year olds and £5.46 for two years olds) is low and in many cases does not meet all the costs of providing the service. The majority of our providers are dependent on the sale of private hours to maintain their settings. Private rates in Moray range from £2.52 to £6 per hour. The average private rate charged by fully provisioned full year nurseries is £4.60. Increasing the number of funded hours commissioned from independent providers (replacing private hours) to meet the needs of the expansion is not sustainable at the current commissioning rate.

47% of our funded providers are able to pay the Living Wage to all members of staff. 53% of our funded providers are not able to pay the Living Wage to the full staff cohort, however in many cases the Manager and Senior Practitioners will receive a Living Wage.

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Infrastructure

By 2020 we will need to provide up to 2.5 million hours (100% uptake and utilisation) of funded ELC to 3, 4 and eligible two year olds. If we were to offer the expanded entitlement without changing our service delivery model we would have 2.6 million hours available but the service offer would not meet the terms of the Blueprint for 2020 in terms of flexibility for parents and carers and accessibility for all children and families. The majority of the available capacity would be located in Elgin and Lossiemouth, or within remote, rural or under-utilised schools, and would be session based.

The capacity of both Moray Council and partner assets if all operating a fully flexible, all year model is well beyond anticipated demand (approximately 3.7 million hours per annum), indicating we can achieve the expansion and meet the terms of the Blueprint for 2020 by making better use of what we have, by continuing to work in partnership with our funded providers, and by transforming how we deliver ELC in our own local authority settings.

Associated Schools Group (ASG)

Number of hours required – 2020

Number of hours available – current model

Number of hours available – flexible model, max. number of delivery hours

Buckie 380,760 233,472 471,380

Elgin Academy 548,340 674,465 729,335

Elgin High 416,100 491,384 549,075

Forres 404,700 366,167 506,235

Keith 174,420 137,589 267,920

Milne’s 156,180 124,260 255,500

Lossiemouth 297,540 502,420 685,000

Speyside 139,080 113,715 222,500

Totals 2,517,120 2,643,472 3,686,945

Leadership and Quality Assurance

Responsibility for the delivery of an Early Learning & Childcare Service is currently divided between three Heads of Service.

• Head of Lifelong Learning, Culture and Sport (responsibility for school nursery infrastructure).

• Head of Schools (responsibility for the delivery of the early years curriculum, quality improvement and contracting of funded providers).

• Head of Integrated Services (responsibility for broader children’s services input, including support for children with additional support needs).

School nurseries and our funded providers are supported by two Early Years Fieldworkers with a focus on teaching and learning support, staff development, dissemination of good practice, and working with parents, and four Early Years Speech & Language Development fieldworkers who support settings with strategies for dealing with challenging social, emotional and behavioural needs. All early years fieldworkers are qualified teachers and have remits that extend into Primary 1 and Primary 2. The Educational Psychology team will receive referrals as required, and the Additional Support Needs Education Support Officers (with remits from ages 2 – 18) will assess and respond to requests for assistance (equipment, additional staffing, support and advice) for children with exceptional support needs.

Quality assurance of our school nurseries falls within the remit of our Quality Improvement Officers (QIOs), with QIOs allocated to cover schools and nurseries within an Associated School Group (ASG). One QIO (0.5 FTE) has lead responsibility for Early Years with a focus on quality assurance, training and contracting arrangements with our funded providers.

Analysis has shown that existing arrangements for managing our Early Years’ Service lack the coherence to lead and drive forward change within a transformed and expanded service. The arrangements for developing and assuring a quality service could also be improved. The expansion is an opportunity to redesign our Early Years structures with a clear focus on leadership and quality improvement.

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Parent and Carer Consultation

An online parental consultation was undertaken in May 2017 and 409 responses were received. The following outcomes were noted:

• 80% of parents would use the additional funded hours if offered

• 52% of parents would prefer to use the additional hours during term-time

• 31 % of parents would prefer to use the hours across the full calendar year

• 3% of parents would like to use their funded hours outside of normal working hours i.e. evenings and weekends

• There is not a strong preference for a particular type of provision, although the preferred provision (by a small margin) is a school nursery setting

• 61% of parents would be happy to use a blended approach (e.g. nursery and childminder, school nursery and outdoor nursery etc.)

• 71% of parents would not be willing to travel outside of their local area to access the ELC services they need or prefer

Intended uptake of the additional hours was highest in the Elgin (87%), Lossiemouth (75%) and Forres (73%) ASGs, with the lowest planned uptake in the Keith ASG (57%). It is recognised that an online consultation is a high level snapshot, and that parents and carers views and intentions will change as they become more aware of the new service offer and the different options that will become available to them. Further in depth consultation is planned during the transition phase, in the lead up to full roll out of the entitlement in August 2020.

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Proposed Future Service ModelMoray’s Offer

To support the new vision a revised ELC offer for Moray’s parents and carers has been agreed:

• Parents/carers of three and four year olds and eligible two year olds are entitled to up to 1140 hours of funded high quality ELC per academic year. Any hours not used cannot be rolled over to the next year.

• Parents/carers can take up as much or as little of their entitlement as they wish.

• Where reasonably practicable children can receive their funded entitlement at times and locations that best support their learning and development, and fit with the needs of their parents/carers.

• Providing there is space available parents/carers can choose their preferred (Moray Council approved) provider(s) and agree when they will use their funded entitlement within the following set limits:

• No session longer than 10 hours• No session shorter than 3 hours• Not before 7am or after 7pm within nursery

settings (childminder sessions can be evening sessions)

• Maximum of two different providers

• Children accessing their funded entitlement over lunchtime are entitled to a free school lunch.

• Parents/carers can pay for additional hours beyond their funded entitlement if those hours are available.

Vision

Taking account of the Scottish Government’s strategic and policy intentions, and Moray’s own strategic priorities, Moray Council has agreed a vision for Early Learning & Childcare in Moray as follows:

“Our Early Learning & Childcare settings support and nurture our children and their families, at a time and in a place that best meets their needs, giving all children the best possible opportunity to achieve their potential”.

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Service Model

Moray’s Council’s proposed future service model is designed to deliver our vision and ELC offer and is built on the following principles:

• Prioritising the quality of our service provision

• Providing true flexibility and choice for parents/carers

• Make best use of the assets we already have (workforce, buildings, infrastructure)

• Developing a valued and properly resourced Early Years’ service, with a clear management structure and career path.

• Ensuring local authority supply is planned to meet anticipated need, and not to impact on independent ELC provision

We will continue to work closely with the independent sector to deliver a quality ELC service, with a focus on flexibility, accessibility and affordability. The partnership arrangements will be strengthened by a revised commissioning agreement, and a fair commissioning rate that ensures partners are supported to meet the terms of the Blueprint for 2020, the needs of families in their area, and the Living Wage and fair working practices requirements.

Moray Council’s strategy encompasses choice for parents/carers across different provider types. We will therefore transform our own model of ELC service delivery, with existing school nurseries located on primary school sites becoming Moray Council nurseries, managed by nursery managers reporting into a robust Early Years management and quality assurance structure within the central Education & Social Care team.

Where feasible and appropriate the local authority nursery provision will be extended to include two year old provision, incorporating funded two year old provision, and provision for two year olds who do not meet the eligibility criteria (with parents paying an affordable rate for the service). The inclusion of universal two year old provision within our local authority service model should remove any stigma

associated with targeted provision in areas where there is currently insufficient universal provision, and help to support eligible families to engage with ELC.

Nursery managers will be responsible for managing 2-3 ELC settings within a close geographical area and for engaging with their communities and nursery manager colleagues across Moray to ensure the hours and staffing levels within each setting are responsive to parent/carer needs. Nursery managers will also be responsible for working with funded providers, and with the central Early Years team to manage capacity within their areas to guard against an over-supply, which could impact negatively on the independent ELC sector and threaten the financial sustainability of the ELC service in Moray.

Moray Council ELC settings will operate a flexible service delivery model, with settings open from 8am to 6pm, 50 weeks per academic year (closed for local holidays and 5 in-service days) where there is a capacity requirement. In reality this will mean that a proportion of our settings will operate a fully flexible year round model, with the remaining settings operating a variation of the model, for example shorter opening hours, or open term-time only. We will look to accommodate parent/carer choice as far possible, and parents/carers will be able to use their funded entitlement at times that are most suitable for them. Parents/carers will also be given the opportunity to purchase top up hours where those hours are available at a rate of £3.50 per hour. The rate has been set at this level to ensure affordability for families, without impacting negatively on our independent ELC sector.

The delivery plan costings have been developed based on our current understanding of capacity and flexibility offered by the independent sector, and therefore the capacity required within our own settings. The plans for Moray Council settings may change over the course of the expansion as the ability of our funded providers to respond to the requirements of the Blueprint for 2020 becomes clearer.

A design and infrastructure standard for Moray Council’s settings based on the ‘Space to Grow’ design guidance has been agreed and a

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refurbishment programme is being developed to ensure all Moray Council’s ELC settings meet the standard as far as possible. Refurbishment efforts will focus initially on settings that are likely to adopt the fully flexible model (all day, all year) and will be phased in line with the phased roll out of the 1140 hour entitlement. The refurbishment priorities include:

• Meeting the needs of two year olds (changing areas, sleep/rest areas)

• Improving access to outdoor spaces

• Improving the quality of outdoor provision

• Ensuring there is space/equipment for serving lunches

• Creating relaxed, homely and comfortable environments

• Creating spaces for meeting with and working with families

Where feasible requirements for Out of School Care Provision will be incorporated into the refurbishment plans to provide flexibility in terms of the use of the spaces into the future.

There is minimal requirement in Moray to build new ELC centres, however we will be developing the ground floor of an underused sports and community centre into a standalone ELC setting in Buckie where there is limited ELC capacity currently, and investigating opportunities in Keith, where there is no scope for bringing the existing infrastructure up to a suitable standard. We are currently reviewing options in Keith and have held early discussions with private Care Home Managers in Keith regarding the potential for sharing their site, with a view to incorporating interaction between the children and elderly care home residents into the daily timetable within each provision. In Forres the large nursery building at Pilmuir primary school will be refurbished into an Early Years Hub that will include family nurture spaces and early stages (P1-2) classrooms.

Some funded providers have identified refurbishment requirements, or have clear plans for increasing their own capacity. Where the action is cost effective, and will enhance the ability of the provider to offer an improved service, it will be considered for funding.

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Implementation PlanQuality Plan

The policy vision for the expansion of ELC prioritises and safeguards quality provision of ELC, while offering parents’ choice and flexibility. Moray Council will implement a number of changes designed to deliver high quality outcomes for our children and their families.

We will redesign our central Early Years team to ensure there is a single point of accountability for the service, and appropriate teacher, officer and administrative support for an expanding service. Recruitment into the new roles will commence in late 2017 and will be phased in line with the roll out of the entitlement to 1140 hours.

The new structure includes:

• A senior manager with overall responsibility for Early Years (0-5).

• An Early Years Officer with responsibility for commissioning, contract management, process improvement, user engagement and training.

• Ten Nursery Managers with responsibility for managing up to three Moray Council ELC settings, and for managing supply and demand within their local areas.

• Two Early Years Quality Improvement Officers with responsibility for quality improvement across all Moray Council and funded partner settings.

• Twelve peripatetic teachers with responsibility for supporting our own nurseries, and funded provider nurseries to deliver high quality learning for all of our children.

• An Early Years Senior Social Worker with responsibility for developing and implementing family support strategies across all local authority and funded provider settings.

• Eight Family Support Workers with responsibility for designing, implementing and supporting family nurture activities across up to three Moray Council nurseries and supporting funded partners in the development and implementation of their own family nurture programmes.

• One Education Support Officer responsible for Early Years ASN support across Moray Council and funded provider ELC settings.

We will monitor and evaluate the impact of the new structure and adapt and amend if required.

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We will review and refresh our quality improvement framework for Early Years, and will develop guidance for all settings on how to deliver a coherent curriculum and provide a quality experience for all children in a flexible ELC setting. We will also develop a clear set of improvement priorities for all our ELC settings, ensuring consistent and clear messages regarding those priorities are regularly delivered.

We will review our approach to supporting eligible two year olds and children with additional support needs within funded provider and local authority settings, ensuring all staff are appropriately trained and supported to meet the developmental needs of all our children. We will also review the impact of our full Early Years training programme, considering how best to align our training with quality improvement activity, and exploring how technology could be used to make our training more accessible to the full ELC workforce.

We will develop a strategy for family support and nurture for Early Years, working with families within all our ELC settings to address inequalities and health and wellbeing concerns through prevention and early intervention. We will research high impact family nurture models and develop a coherent programme of family support, delivered in a way, and at times that work best for the most vulnerable individuals and families in Moray.

We will review our commissioning strategy, in line with the publication of the new Quality Standards, and prior to any further increases in our

commissioning rate, to ensure a stronger focus on positive outcomes for our children and families. We will agree a common threshold with regard to quality across all our ELC settings and work closely alongside our funded providers to ensure the threshold is consistently reached and exceeded.

We will review our ELC policies, processes and systems to ensure the service is managed as efficiently as possible, taking a digital first approach to registration, admissions, booking and payment of top-up hours, and recording of attendance. We will work closely with our Northern Alliance and other local authority partners to share best practice and develop joined up approaches as far as possible.

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Phasing

There will be a phased rollout of the entitlement in Moray based on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) scores.

Parents/carers of up 200 children (including children with additional support needs) will be offered the expanded entitlement from August 2018 based on their home postcodes (postcodes linked to SIMD datazones), with up to 900 additional children becoming entitled in August 2019, and all three and four year olds and eligible two year olds in Moray being offered the full entitlement from August 2020. The decision to roll out to a small cohort initially will enable Moray Council to build capacity, grow the workforce and understand ‘what good looks like’ in a fully flexible setting.

The intention is to refurbish Moray Council owned ELC settings and move them to the new service delivery model in line with the phased rollout of the 1140 hour entitlement, however this will depend on the practicalities of delivering a capital refurbishment programme within school settings within a tight timescale. Independent providers will also be encouraged to adapt their service delivery models where required in line with the rollout. Parents/carers accessing the transformed settings from August 2018 onwards will be offered flexible hours and the opportunity to purchase additional hours if they are available, regardless of whether they are entitled to 600 or 1140 funded hours. The intention is to offer free nursery lunches to all children attending these settings over lunchtime, in advance of the universal entitlement to free nursery lunches from August 2020, however this is also dependent on our ability to grow our catering provision within a short period of time.

The 200 children accessing the expanded entitlement from August 2018 are located in Forres, Elgin, Buckie and Lhanbryde, therefore refurbishment efforts, workforce planning and parental and community consultation will focus on these areas initially, with up to four Moray Council ELC settings moving to a flexible service delivery model from August 2018. The remaining settings will change to the new model from August 2019 onwards, with phasing dependent on the provision available in the independent sector and capacity requirements across the Moray area.

Three school based settings will continue to operate a traditional model of service delivery beyond 2020. Two settings (Portgordon and Findochty) are in schools under consideration as part of a ‘Schools for the Future’ Review. The third nursery (St Thomas) could be consolidated within a future new setting within Keith. Further investigation and consultation within the Keith ASG is required to determine the best approach to take to the provision of ELC services within Keith and the surrounding areas.

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Proposed Moray Council Nurseries Service Delivery Model Phasing Plan

2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 and ongoing

ELC Setting Model Hours Model Hours Model Hours Model Hours

Elgi

n A

cade

my East End Primary School Term-time

inflexible6.83 Term-time

inflexible6.83 Term-time

inflexible6.83 Term-time

flexible7

Seafield Primary School Term-time inflexible

7.17 All year flexible

10 All year flexible

10 All year flexible

10

Elgi

n H

igh New Elgin Primary School Term-time

inflexible6.92 Term-time

inflexible6.92 Term-time

flexible7 Term-time

flexible7

Buck

ie

Portgordon Primary School Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time inflexible

3.17

Cullen Primary School Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time inflexible

3.17 All year flexible

10 All year flexible

10

Findochty Primary School Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time inflexible

3.17

Millbank Primary School Term-time inflexible

6.83 Term-time flexible

7 All year flexible

10 All year flexible

10

St Peter’s RC School Term-time inflexible

6.92 Term-time inflexible

6.92 Term-time inflexible

6.92 Term-time flexible

7

Lady Cathcart Standalone Not open 0 All Year flexible

10 All year flexible

10 All Year Flexible

10

Forr

es

Kinloss Primary School Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time flexible

7 Term-time flexible

7

Pilmuir Primary School Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time inflexible

3.17 All year flexible (50)

10 All year flexible (50)

10

Keith

Keith Primary School Term-time inflexible

7.17 Term-time inflexible

7.17 All year flexible

10 All year flexible

10

St Thomas’ Primary School Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term time inflexible

3.17 Term time inflexible

3.17

New Keith Standalone Not open 0 Not open 0 Not open 0 All year flexible

10

Miln

es

Lhanbryde Primary School Term-time inflexible

6.83 All year flexible

10 All year flexible

10 All year flexible

10

Milne’s Primary School Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time inflexible

3.17 All year flexible

10 All year flexible

10

Spey

side

Aberlour Primary School Term-time inflexible

7.08 Term-time inflexible

7.08 Term-time inflexible

7.08 All year flexible

10

Mortlach Primary School Term-time inflexible

7.17 Term-time inflexible

7.17 All year flexible

10 All year flexible

10

Rothes Primary School Term-time inflexible

7 Term-time inflexible

7 Term-time flexible

7 Term-time flexible

7

Tomintoul Primary School Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time inflexible

3.17 Term-time flexible

7

Loss

iem

outh

Burghead Primary School Term-time inflexible

6.83 Term-time inflexible

6.83 Term-time flexible

7 Term-time flexible

7

Hopeman Primary School Term-time inflexible

7.17 Term-time inflexible

7.17 Term-time inflexible

7.17 Term-time flexible

7

Hythehill Primary School Term-time inflexible

7 Term-time inflexible

7 Term-time inflexible

7 Term-time flexible

7

St Gerardine Primary School

Term-time inflexible

7 Term-time inflexible

7 Term-time flexible

7 Term-time flexible

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Communications and Engagement Strategy

Moray Council has developed a communications and engagement strategy for the ELC expansion programme, which aims to build awareness of the project among a defined group of audiences and user groups. These include parents/carers, funded providers, local authority staff and community planning partners.

Key messages and outcomes of the strategy

For external audiences:

• increased awareness of the new ELC offer across a wide demographic

• easy access to information

• increased awareness of the opportunity for parents/carers to seek employment or undertake training for improved employment opportunities and greater economic activity

• increased awareness of career opportunities within the ELC sector

• a high number of registrations for ELC places and full take up of the ELC offer

• recognition of the funding source (Scottish Government)

for internal/partner audiences:

• increased awareness of the initiative, and Moray Council’s delivery programme

• collaborative working to achieve target registrations

• recognition of the funding source (Scottish Government)

Communications and engagement activity

• Press communications (in line with Scottish Government communications)

• local newspapers• radio• press features

• Online

• social media campaigns• information pages on Moray Council and

partner websites• multi-media information e.g. videos• regular newsletter inserts for partner

organisations and groups

• Print

• posters• information leaflets

• Community and parental engagement

• open public meetings for each Associated School Group (ASG)

• promotion and discussion opportunities/meetings with a wide range of community based groups in a variety of settings, particularly early year’s users and providers, along with others who can play a key role in promoting uptake

• specific targeting of potential beneficiaries who traditionally are not visible and rarely engage with local agencies

• direct consultation and engagement with eligible parents/carers and groups as part of the phased roll out of the 1140 hour entitlement

The communications and engagement plan will be initiated from October 2017 with the publication of dedicated ELC expansion Web pages, a local media and social media campaign, and the publication of a schedule of open public meetings. Parents/carers will be able to access information regarding when they will receive their entitlement (phasing by postcode) by the end of December 2017 at the earliest, or once we have received confirmation of funding from the Scottish Government at the latest.

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Workforce Plan

By August 2020 we will need to employ 120 additional ELC staff (FTE) within our local authority settings. This FTE requirement includes the new nursery manager posts and additional staffing required within settings to cover the extended opening hours, holiday periods and staff sickness. It also includes 5 hours per week for ELC Senior Practitioners and ELC Practitioners, and two hours per week for Classroom Assistants, of non-contact time for set up/tidy up, Continuous Professional Development (CPD), service planning, and family support activities.

The workforce plan is based on the Care Inspectorate staffing ratios for three to four year olds, two year olds and children with additional support needs. For planning purposes we have assumed that 3% of children attending all our nurseries will be two year olds, and 25% will have an additional support need and will therefore require the 1:5 staffing ratio. In reality there will be some nurseries where we do not provide a two year old provision, and some nurseries where there are fewer children with additional support needs. However in many of our nurseries there are also children with exceptional support needs who require at least 1:2 support.

The intention is that qualified teachers will no longer be employed directly within our ELC settings as part of the staffing ratio; however there will be more teachers employed within our central peripatetic team to ensure all of our pre-school children receive good quality contact time with a qualified teacher during school term-time.

We will also look to employ modern apprentices into our own settings to ensure we are growing our own workforce. The modern apprentices cannot be included in the staffing ratios.

We will need to recruit 21 Early Years staff into our central team, and two additional graduates allocated to Moray by the Scottish Government. The graduates will be supernumerary with one graduate recrioted to work in our new stand alone setting in Buckie (Lady Cathcart Nursery), and a second to work across two settings in Elgin (East End and New Elgin). We are planing to recruit trained teachers to these roles.

The recruitment of staff will be phased alongside the rollout of the 1140 hour entitlement.

Planned phased growth in Early Years staffing FTE equivalent (Financial years 2017-22)

Job role 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22

In E

LC S

etting

s

Nursery Manager 0 4 10 10 10

Teacher 7 4.4 1.95 0.5 0

Additional Graduate 0 1.25 2 2 2

Senior Practitioner 17.7 24 38.7 46 49.8

Practitioner 15.5 22.7 41 52 53.6

Support Staff (classroom assistants) 5.8 12 28.6 38.5

Modern Apprentices 0 5 10 10 10

Total (In ELC settings) 45.9 73.4 132.3 159 166

Cent

ral T

eam

Senior Manager – Early Years 0.3 1 1 1 1

Quality Improvement Officer 0.5 1.5 2 2 2

Early Years Fieldworker (Teacher) 6 8 10 12 12

Early Years Officer (commissioning) 0.3 1 1 1 1

Senior Early Years Social Worker 0 1 1 1 1

Family Support Workers 0 2 5 8 8

Education Support Officer (ASN) – Early Years 0 1 1 1 1

Administrative Officer 0.5 2 2 2 2

Clerical Officer 0.5 0.5 1 1 1

Total (Central Team) 8.1 18 24 29 29

Total Early Years Staffing 54.1 91.4 156.3 188 195

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In order to accommodate the extended opening hours new terms and conditions will be incorporated into contracts of employment and future recruitment campaigns for ELC staff. For existing staff there will be a full consultation on the proposals contained within this Delivery Plan with all affected staff and trade unions, as per Moray Council policy and staff conditions of service. Consultation will commence in October 2017.

The intention is that administrative activities to support the 10 Nursery Managers and Central team will be undertaken centrally, with additional administrative staff included within the expanded central team; however business process improvement and automation is key to ensuring the success of this approach.

Moray Council will develop a skills development pathway for existing Early Years staff to ensure all staff are able to reach their full potential. We will also look at retraining opportunities for other Moray Council staff who are on the redeployment register or are looking for new career opportunities.

Early Learning & Childcare is one of 8 growth sectors on the Moray Skills Pathway, which seeks to provide a structured pathway for young people (aged 3-18) into employment, and provides a framework for schools, the further education college and employers (including Moray Council) to work together to meet future workforce needs.

Moray Council will also support funded providers to train and develop their own staff over the course of the expansion period, assisting with training and back fill costs when staff are required to attend training or undertake personal study during normal working hours.

Funded Providers

Moray Council currently delivers between 60% and 70% of its ELC provision through funded providers. Moray Council is committed to the current mixed economy of provision and the expectation is that we will continue to commission between 55% and 60% of our required provision through the independent sector, providing the sector can supply models of service delivery that enable Moray Council to deliver its ELC Offer. There is a small predicted growth in the Moray Council share of provision due to the need to provide an expanded local authority service in areas where there is currently little or no independent sector provision. Moray Council will work closely with all funded providers during the transition period to ensure capacity is developed and managed to meet demand, without creating an over-supply in any settlement or area.

Some of our funded providers are small playgroups operating a limited number of hours per week. In many cases the playgroups will be unable to expand their hours due to limitations presented by their accommodation and staffing structures. Moray Council recognises that in some areas these playgroups will continue to meet a need and will continue to fund the provision if there is sufficient demand from parents/carers.

There are 121 childminders working across the Moray area. Two childminders are currently delivering funded hours to two year olds. Efforts have been made to engage with childminders and discuss the potential of partnership working with the Council. These efforts will continue as the expansion programme progresses. Communications to parents/carers will also highlight the different choices available to them, including childminder ELC provision.

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Infrastructure (Physical Estate) Plan

Moray Council has agreed a high level scope of works for our existing school nurseries and any additional provision that may be required. The works are required to either:

• create new capacity

• extend existing capacity

• ensure the settings are of a suitable standard to accommodate staff and children for up to 7-10 hours per day

Where feasible any creation of new ELC settings, or refurbishment of existing settings, will incorporate office space, multi-purpose rooms, family nurture spaces and requirements for Out of School Care e.g. larger unisex toilets.

High level Capital Plan Scoping

Works Required Number of settings

New standalone ELC setting (potential new build)

1

Extension/major refurbishment (school nursery)

2

Major refurbishment (standalone ELC setting) 1

Major refurbishment (school nurseries) 3

Minor refurbishment (school nurseries) 8

Extension/major refurbishment to LA building currently leased to funded provider

1

Extension/minor refurbishment to LA building currently leased to funded provider

1

There are no capital works requirements at eight of our existing school nurseries, either because the nurseries have been recently refurbished and meet the required standard, or because the schools are part of a ‘Schools for the Future’ review. At this stage we will also not be refurbishing any school classroom space leased to funded providers if the schools concerned are included in a ‘Schools for the Future’ review.

The intention is that capital projects can be phased in line with the rollout out of the entitlement to 1140 hours, however this is dependent on how quickly capital funding for the programme can be confirmed by the Scottish Government, and on the feasibility of programming a number of building projects on school sites within a very tight timescale.

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Financial Plan

The anticipated budget requirements for the delivery of ELC in Moray are detailed below. The objectives and desired outcomes of the Moray Council Delivery Plan can only be achieved if full and recurring funding is received from the Scottish Government.

Revenue Budget Growth

Current 2017/18 budget£m

2017/18£m (with growth)

2018/19£m

2019/20£m

2020/21£m

2021/22 & recurring£m

4.5 4.9 6.68 9.98 12.07 11.94

The growth in revenue budget requirement incorporates the following:

• A capacity requirement of projected demand +20% of ELC spaces to allow flexibility for parental choice. This is above the suggested national average of 15% to allow for the rural nature of parts of Moray so that families are not required to travel long distances to access the ELC they require.

• The increased workforce requirement within our own ELC settings to cover expanded hours and year round provision in some settings. All staffing costs are based on Moray Council pay scales.

• The increase in staffing within the Moray Council central early years team.

• The provision of free nursery lunches for all children receiving the full 1140 entitlement – with a phased implementation from August 2018 to August 2020.

• An increase in funded partner rates – up to £4.75 per hour for three to four year olds and £6.20 for two year olds by August 2020.

• An increase in running costs for our ELC settings, including any new provision. The running costs for our nurseries are currently integrated within our primary school budgets and cannot be broken down into detailed headings within our current systems. We have assumed a percentage of the running costs for the nursery spaces based on the FTE (staff) working in the nursery compared to the rest of the school, and added in a 25% uplift for settings that we are proposing to open year round. For PPP schools the uplift is higher due to the need to comply with the terms of the Facilities Management contract.

• Maintenance and lifecycle replacement costs for new and refurbished ELC settings (£15/m2 per annum).

• An increase in business rates liability for new builds and where buildings have been extended.

• Workforce development and training costs (Moray Council and funded provider staff).

• Short-term financial support (2017-19) for funded providers looking to increase their capacity, or improve their own settings in order to deliver a more flexible ELC service.

• Short-term project costs (2017-2022) to cover project staff and other costs.

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The Head Teacher costs are not included in our Early Years budgets and have not been included within these budget projections. There will be a small reduction in Head Teacher salaries as a result of the change in line management arrangements for Moray Council nursery staff, but the reduction is likely to be minimal and will not take effect until 2021 at the earliest due to salary protection. In some schools there may also be a reduction in the number of Depute Head Teachers employed within the school, but again any cost reductions will not take effect until 2021 at the earliest.

Capital Budgets

The projected capital budget requirement for the life of the programme is as follows (excluding 17/18 capital allocation):

Capital Works Cost (£m)

New build and refurbishment requirements – Moray Council ELC buildings

7.21

Provision for the expansion of our catering service infrastructure

0.4

Provision for ICT system procurement/development

0.15

Total 7.76

2017/18 Expansion Activities (including use of revenue and capital funding allocations)

Moray Council funding allocation for 17/18 is as follows:

Revenue Allocation (£) Capital Allocation (£)

405,000 643,000

Revenue Spend:

Increasing the funded provider rate for 3 and 4 year olds to £3.62 per hour

100,000

Grant funding for funded provider infrastructure improvement projects

80,000

Grant funding for funded provider training and development costs

20,000

Early Years Staffing – phased recruitment 37,000

Project Staff costs 148,000

Moray Council Workforce training and development

20,000

Total 405,000

Capital Spend:

Redevelopment of Lady Cathcart Sports and Community Centre

598,000

New nursery extension at Milnes primary school

45,000

Total 643,000

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Project Management

Moray Council has employed a Programme Manager to work full-time on the ELC expansion. The Head of Service (Lifelong Learning, Leisure and Learning) is the Senior Responsible Officer for the expansion and a project governance structure has been established.

Moray Council does not have capacity within its operational teams to take on the additional work associated with the ELC expansion. We will therefore be looking to recruit additional members of staff (temporary contracts) to the project team over the life of the project and their costs are including in our revenue projections from 2017 to 2022.

Early Learning and Childcare Expansion – Project Staff

Role FTE Annual cost (incl. on costs) (£)

Programme Manager 1 77,028

HR Advisor 1 42,030

ICT ( Business) Analyst 1 48,149

Communications/Consultation Officer

1 40,171

Project Catering Officer 1 40,171

Total 5 247,549

Any requirement for additional Housing and Property staffing will be kept under review.

Children & Young People's Services Committee

ELC Expansion Programme Board

Chair: Director of Education & Social Care Membership: Heads of Service

ELC Expansion Programme Manager

Early Years Stakeholder Group

• Service quality

• Infrastructure (physical estate)

• Workforce planning & development

• Communication & consultation

• Catering & janitorial

• ICT systems, processes and management information

Project Delivery

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Risk Register (as at September 2017)

Risk Category RISKThreat to achievement of business objective

Scope/potential consequences of risk (If, then, results in)

Assessment of Risk (likelihood x impact) Assume No Controls in Place

Likelihood Impact Score

Financial Capital fundingUnable to spend the 2017/18 capital funding within the timescales

High risk due to lead in time for major capital projects

3 3 9

People T&Cs Staff unwilling to change to new work patterns

Unable to staff settings during the school holidays.Unable to meet the flexibility principle of the Blueprint for 2020.Need to recruit large numbers of staff therefore risk is high

3 3 9

People Recruitment Unable to recruit suitable staff

Unable to meet the quality principle of the Blueprint for 2020. Unable to create sufficient capacity

4 4 16

Operational continuity and performance

Service quality Quality of service impacted during transition period

Impact on ELC for children in ELC settings.

3 4 12

Reputation User expectationsUnable to provide services to meet user expectations. Funded providers unwilling to change their service models

Unable to meet the flexibility and accessibility principles of the Blueprint for 2020. Unknown at this stage. Assumption is that staff want to be off during the holidays with their own holidays

2 3 6

Operational continuity and performance

Funded providers Staff from funded providers apply for new posts within the Council, leaving funded providers short staffed.

Partner providers are unable to sustain their businesses and provide ELC hours to support the expansion

4 4 16

Reputation School buildings We do not have the budget to bring the schools up to the same standard as the nurseries that are on the same site/adjoining.

Perceived lack of equality for children of different age groups. Brings the poor state of some schools into focus.

3 3 9

Operational continuity and performance

School buildings To achieve the refurbishment programme within the required timescales we will need to complete some works when the schools are open. Nursery classes will need to be decanted. Unable to find suitable decant accommodation.

Delays to the refurbishment programme if all works have to be carried out during school holidays.

2 3 6

D-02419 Produced by Moray Council