Expansion of Early Learning and Childcare – Reinstatement of 1140 statutory duty - Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA)

Executive Summary

• On 29 April 2020, the duty on education authorities to provide 1140 hours of ELC to eligible children from 1 August 2020 was revoked due to the ongoing pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scottish Government has now reinstated this duty to come into force from 1 August 2021.
• Throughout the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Scottish Government has supported local authorities to continue to deliver, and work towards the delivery of 1140 hours of funded ELC where they are not already doing so. The Scottish Government has worked closely with local authorities to understand the impact that the pandemic has had on delivery plans, and to consider any risks to delivery. Based on this engagement the 1140 Joint Delivery Board, co-chaired by the Minister for Children and Young People and the COSLA spokesperson for children and young people recommended a new delivery date of August 2021.
• A 'provider neutral' Funding Follows the Child approach will still be introduced alongside the national roll-out of the expanded entitlement in 2021. Funding Follows the Child is underpinned by a National Standard^[1] that all providers delivering the expanded hours – regardless of whether they are in the public, private or third sector, or childminders – will have to meet. This will provide reassurance to parents and carers that any provider offering the funded hours will be able to offer their child a high quality ELC experience.
• It is recognised that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may make it more challenging for providers to meet all aspects of the National Standard. The Care Inspectorate suspended routine inspections as a result of COVID-19 in March 2020 but have since reinstated scrutiny of ELC, including childminders and school aged childcare. Current scrutiny is undertaken on a risk and intelligence based assessment and includes self-evaluation, virtual inspections and on-site inspections. This may mean that some settings who were working towards improving their Care Inspectorate quality evaluations ahead of the introduction of the National Standard in August 2020 will not have an opportunity to complete this work and/or may not have been re-inspected. To support the ELC sector to work towards the implementation of the National Standard during the pandemic Interim Guidance^[2] was published in July 2020.
• This Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) has been undertaken to consider whether the reintroduction of the statutory duty to deliver 1140 hours to all eligible children from 1 August 2021 is likely to have effects on island communities that are significantly different from their effects on other communities (including other island communities) in Scotland.
• This ICIA found that the reintroduction of the statutory duty was unlikely to have significantly different effects on island communities when compared to other communities in Scotland. However, it did find that some issues around implementation of the duty are likely to be more acute for island communities, and mitigations for these issues are set out below.