According to The Scottish Household Survey 2025, 83% of Scottish households with pre-school children use some form of childcare, however, families consistently report that provision doesn’t match their real-world needs. To effectively meet those needs, we require a rich and diverse range of providers, offering high-quality services, choice, flexibility, inclusion and wraparound support.
A new report from Nesta and Isos Partnership finds that Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings in Scotland and Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in England “have evolved into a critical first port-of-call for families, with most settings reporting that they deliver direct support to families on the ground.”
In our own settings this is exactly the case. We have, and are, creating partnerships with numerous local and national family support agencies so that we can provide even greater wraparound support for families.
For instance, in many of our settings we work with Felix, formerly FareShare, to redistribute food to families who need it most. We don’t see this as a food bank style offer which, although crucial for families, is often not fully utilised due to the stigma associated with them. This is a major barrier that stops people from getting help, driven by feelings of shame, the fear of being judged and the idea that others need it more.
In contrast, by giving access to food in a childcare setting where registration or referrals are not required, families don’t feel the same type of stigma. Indeed, stalls are set up in the entrance or lobby and can be accessed freely throughout the day. By providing this informal set up we allow families, and the local community, to take what they need in a dignified way where they do not feel judged.
We also provide clothing and costume swaps in each of our settings this helps local families to trade or donate children’s winter jackets and seasonal dress-up outfits (like Halloween costumes) to reduce financial stress during the cost-of-living crisis. The scheme has proven to be so popular that it was applauded in Scottish Parliament by Jackie Dunbar MSP.
However, support provided by our settings are not ‘uniform’, something that was also highlighted in Nesta’s report, instead services are based on the needs of families within a particular location and, of course, different partners have differing offers depending on that location.
As an example, in our Cummings Park Nursery in Aberdeen we have created a partnership with NHS Grampian and now have a Speech Therapist and a Health Visitor on site within the nursery. Having these professionals on site has been a great help to the Team and to families at Cummings Park; families have access to the advice and support they need, when they need it and the team can identify and provide effective support to children and young people much earlier.
One parent using the service told us, “Hadn’t had a health care visit since my son was 6 weeks old so it was great to get one when we enrolled.”
In our Tillydrone Nursery we host a Community Nurse who promotes self-care and resilience with the aim of preventing ill health occurring in the first place. This supports long-term health and wellbeing and the increased likelihood of children growing up to be healthy adults.
The service also provides Peep sessions which encourage families to support their children’s learning in the home environment, with an emphasis on keeping things simple and cost effective.
In Dundee we’ve partnered with Dundee Bairns who share essential household items such as bedding, kitchen items, and cleaning products, further ensuring that every child has access to basic necessities regardless of their circumstances.
These are just a few of the local and national initiatives that we deliver that go beyond childcare and provide even greater support for the families using our services.
We aim to increase and diversify the support provided through our settings and we actively engage with our local communities to understand the needs of families and to build strong partnerships with more organisations. We believe in the concept of “It takes a village to raise a child” and use this as a guiding light in our relationship with our neighbours.
If you are based in Aberdeen, Dundee, Moray or in Aberdeenshire and provide family support, get in touch – we’d love to work with you so that we can provide even more support to families.
