Aberdeen City Council’s Education Operational Delivery Committee has approved a review of the city’s expanded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) provision which highlights the positive impact the expansion has had on quality across the local authority’s pre-school settings.
The review indicated that the expansion programme and the multimillion investment in the ELC buildings estate had helped improve quality assurance arrangements and the provision of professional learning to successfully drive improvement.
Committee Convener, Councillor M Tauqeer Malik, said: “We warmly welcomed the opportunity to expand our ELC provision to help us in our commitment to reducing poverty-related attainment gaps and improving long-term outcomes for children and their families.
“The review shows we have made significant strides in this area and indicates the importance of our £23 million investment in new ELC settings in driving the improvements.
“As more ELC developments near completion, including our innovative outdoor learning settings at Hazlehead and Duthie parks, I am sure we will see this positive trend continue”.
The review also showed that the delivery of the expanded hours was on time, in line with the national deadline and met with the approval of parents and carers of children with the vast majority of the 453 respondents to a November 2021 survey saying they were very satisfied or satisfied with the range of ELC models and providers in their local area.
Councillor M. Tauqeer Malik: “My thanks goes out to everyone involved in the Council, and our partners in ensuring our expanded ELC programme has had such a positive impact on the lives of young children, families and carers”.