I will take just a few minutes to outline the draft Provision of Early Learning and Childcare (Specified Children) (Scotland) Order 2014, which is subject to the affirmative procedure.
The purpose of the instrument is to define the eligible pre-school children under section 47(2) of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 who are entitled to the mandatory amount of early learning and childcare. Those children are defined as three and four-year-olds starting from the first term after their third birthday and two-year-olds with a parent in receipt of out-of-work benefits starting from the first term after their second birthday or the first term after their parents start receiving out-of-work benefits, as specified in the order.
The provision will come into force for three and four-year-olds from August 2014; and the provision for two-year-olds with a parent in receipt of qualifying benefits will come into legal force from 31 October 2014.
We have been working very closely with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, local authorities and all key delivery partners to ensure that our ambitious timescale for August is met. Our and COSLA’s shared assessment of local authority progress is that every local authority has plans in place and is in a very strong position to deliver from August, reflecting considerable momentum and effort that will continue apace through the start of the autumn term.
We have laid an amended order to ensure that the introduction of this provision is more effective, with a period until 31 October 2014 to resolve any outstanding issues around the margins and to ensure that requests for places are met and that they are of high quality.
We and COSLA are absolutely clear that we fully expect the introduction of this provision from the start of the autumn term. We have made that commitment and we know that parents will have that expectation. Some local authorities have already informed their local populations to that effect. We have funded the provision on that basis and we will increase information and publicity over the next few weeks on the basis of an August start.
We will continue to work very closely with all key delivery partners to support plans and progress towards implementation. In addition to the revenue and initial capital allocations, we have laid an order that is subject to the negative procedure to suspend temporarily requirements under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 on local authorities to consult on establishing new early learning and childcare provision, which will come into force on 28 June.
We have drafted, and engaged widely on, statutory guidance on the early learning and childcare provisions and on national guidance on the concept of early learning and childcare to support good practice in delivery. We have appointed a consultant to work one-to-one with local authorities and groups of local authorities to address key challenges that arise for local authorities. We have provided an additional £3.5 million to expand and develop the early learning and childcare workforce, which will include training and continuous professional development for new and existing staff.
The stopping dates and transitional arrangements for starting primary school will continue as they currently operate. All children who turn five from the March before to the February after the autumn term are in-between the dates when they can start school, but those with a birthday in January or February will be entitled to an additional year of early learning and childcare if their parents choose to wait until the August after their fifth birthday. When parents choose to defer, local authorities have the discretionary power to provide an additional year of early learning and childcare that would be based on the assessment of wellbeing and need.
The order reflects our priority to ensure that the expansion of early learning and childcare to wider cohorts of children is manageable, sustainable and of high quality. The order focuses on the children who are most vulnerable in the first instance, with additional opportunities to remove barriers to work for parents or to create wider opportunities to engage with parents through employment or family support. The order also reflects the wide consensus and desire identified during the passage of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill to expand entitlement to more vulnerable two-year-olds than the most vulnerable specified in the act.
I hope that that covers the gist of what we are doing with this order. I am happy to take the questions that I am sure the committee will have.