Fair Funding for our Kids was set up by two mothers who were frustrated at not being able to access free childcare
A campaign which focused on increasing free nursery provision for children in Scotland has been brought to an end.
Fair Funding for our Kids was set up by two Glasgow mums three years ago who were frustrated they couldn’t access their free childcare hours.
But now Katherine Sangster and Carolyn Lochhead have decided to end their campaign, which focused on highlighting that councils were offering unsuitable nursery placements to parents.
A statement from the founders said: “It’s been a difficult decision, but with the 2020 deadline for doubling free childcare hours just a year away, we feel the time is right to move on. Not least because by then, we won’t have children in nursery anymore.
“We’re proud of everything we’ve achieved. Councils are, gradually, moving away from the half day nursery place. Our first survey, in 2015, found that 98% of all council nursery places were for half days. By the time of our final survey, in 2018, this stood at 68%: a reduction of over a quarter.
“We didn’t achieve all our aims. We are acutely aware that there are still many parents being offered 9am-12.10pm places that they cannot make use of, therefore missing out on their funded hours.
“There are still parents who need their child to go to nursery in a different council area than the one they live in, but cannot get any local authority to accept responsibility for their needs.”
The Scottish Government intends to double the free hours entitlement to 1140 hours per year, by 2020. The campaign has welcomed the expanded free hours but said it wants an end to councils capping the number of partnership places they will fund and wants a national agreement on funding for children who live in one area but need to attend nursery in another.
The statement ended: “We have no doubt, if these aspirations are not met, there will be another group of parents who will get together around a kitchen table and decide that enough is enough. We hope you’ll help them have their voices heard.”
