Early Learning and Childcare
ELC Insights Dashboard Now Live
The Improvement Service, in partnership with the Scottish Government and a group of co-design councils, has launched the first iteration of the ELC Insights Dashboard. This new online tool is designed to help local authorities make better use of data in planning and evaluating their funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) services.
The dashboard presents interactive data on quality, accessibility, flexibility, and uptake, bringing together information from multiple sources into a single, easy-to-use platform. It supports improvement by enabling users to identify trends, benchmark performance, and explore local service needs.
A narrative report accompanies the tool, offering illustrative scenarios and highlighting opportunities for deeper analysis in future versions. Development will continue in partnership with councils to ensure the tool evolves with their priorities and remains fit for purpose.
For more information, contact:
Rob Beal – Rob.Beal@improvementservice.org.uk
Mairi-Louise MacDonald – Mairi.Macdonald@improvementservice.org.uk
ELC National Improvement Project - Funded ELC for Eligible Two-Year-Olds
The National Improvement Project is supporting five local authorities (Aberdeenshire, Falkirk, Glasgow, North Ayrshire, and North Lanarkshire) to improve uptake of funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) for eligible two-year-olds. This targeted offer plays a key role in tackling child poverty and supporting positive outcomes for children and families.
In the first phase of the project (Discovery), the Improvement Service worked with each council to build a detailed understanding of their local context. This included deep dive sessions with Early Years teams, analysis of local and national data, and input from the Promise Design School Sprint. Each council received a tailored scoping report summarising strengths, challenges, and opportunities - these now form the basis for the next stage of the project. A summary report will shortly be published on the Improvement Service website which will highlight key themes emerging across all five authorities.
We are now entering the Define and Develop stages, working closely with councils to prioritise key challenges and co-design solutions that reflect the needs of local families and services. The project will also support learning across authorities, surfacing promising practice and informing wider system improvement.
Case Studies
This recent case study highlights how East Dunbartonshire Council has strengthened its ELC workforce through a well-structured, professional learning programme.
Learning That Lasts: East Dunbartonshire’s Approach to ELC Professional Development
This month we’ve also just published a new case study highlighting how one local authority is helping to build a sustainable ELC workforce through a tailored trainee programme.
Dumfries and Galloway: New Local Authority Trainee Program Strengthens Early Years Workforce
ELC Parent Survey Offer
We are also finalising a national parent survey offer to support local authorities with their statutory consultation duties around ELC.
As a team, we have developed a survey template using Microsoft Forms, along with a detailed offer document outlining three levels of flexible support to councils:
Option 1: A ready-made survey template for local authorities to edit and issue themselves
Option 2: Tailored support to adapt the template to suit local needs before distribution
Option 3: Full delivery support, including drafting, and analysing the results on behalf of the local authority
Please get in touch if you’d like to speak to us about how we can support you with this work: elc@improvementservice.org.uk
Scottish Community Planning Network
The first in person event of 2025 for the Scottish Community Planning Network was held on Monday 2nd June and saw 65 colleagues from across Scotland come together both in person at COSLA Conference Centre and online via MS Teams. As the event focussed on Safer Communities, the invite was extended to relevant CPP partners- specifically from Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and it was great to see so many partner colleagues join us on the day. Along with Police Scotland and the SFRS, the network heard excellent presentations from the Scottish Police Authority, Scottish Ambulance Service and Scottish Community Safety Network on the day too.
You can access a summary of the day including the slides presented by clicking here.