1140 hours of early learning
While the Scottish Government delayed the requirement to introduce the 1140 hours until August 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, since the end of October 2020 all three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds in Midlothian have been offered the expanded hours at either a school, voluntary or funded provider. Alternatively, they can be offered the hours across two settings or one setting and a childminder.
Learning communities
These are geographical, centred on our main population areas:
The communities include all providers, including council, private and voluntary sector nurseries and childminders.
Your choices
All providers meet a new national standard. This is so your child gets the same quality early learning, whether they attend a council nursery, childminder, private nursery or other setting. We work with all of the funded providers to make sure they continue to meet the new national standard.
Your child does not have to go to the school nursery to get a place at the catchment school. They can go anywhere you choose either within or outwith Midlothian, as long as the provider meets the national standard and has a place available.
Delivery model
Children are not be entitled to a set pattern of hours, but will get an offer of 1140 hours. We plan to have at least one school ELC setting in each learning community open for 50 weeks of the year. Most schools will operate according to the school term time. This will mean children would go for 30 hours a week (6 hours a day, 5 days a week during term).
Private and voluntary providers - for example day nurseries, childminders, pre-school and playgroups - can be more flexible as many are open all year round. They can also offer you more childcare to 'wrap around' the 1140 hours entitlement. However this is a private arrangement between you and the provider. It must not be a condition of taking up the funded hours. You should contact them to find out more.
If a provider is open for more weeks than the school term, the funded hours could include:
- Shorter funded days over more weeks. For example: 4.5 hours in either mornings or afternoons, 5 days a week for 50 weeks of the year.
- Or longer days for for 2.5 days a weeks for more weeks. For example: 9 hour days, 2 days a week, and one morning or afternoon session for 50 weeks of the year.
- More options will be available, depending on the results of our pilots.
Robust arrangements are in place to make sure children are well supported when moving from early learning and childcare into Primary 1.
Start and end times
We have a limited amount of time for flexible drop-offs and pick-ups within the hours allocated.
Meals
We are committed to providing a free meal to children with a funded place.
Funding follows the child
As all providers offer the same high quality care, they are what's known as 'provider neutral'. This means you can be confident about choosing a place for your child. You won't have to pay for any of the funded entitlement up front, including any deposit. Funded providers also can't charge top-up fees or ask families to buy extra hours to access the funded hours.
Applying
We will be writing to you about your options. We plan to move to a centralised system to allocate places. We will update these pages with more information when we have it.
Until then, apply to your preferred provider, including details of your first, second and third choice of settings. Links to the list of all providers in each learning community are in the learning communities section above.
Our 1140 hours newsletters
We’ll keep you up-to-date with newsletters and other information:
- Find out more about the 1140 hours (PDF)
- June 2018 issue (PDF)
- Find out more about what's happening nationally.
Previous survey results
In November and December 2017, we asked how you could best use the expanded hours. Here's what you told us.
Careers in childcare
Many more staff will be needed in nurseries and childminders. Would you consider a career in childcare?