Early Learning and Childcare
New National Network Supporting ELC Workforce Planning
The Improvement Service has launched a new Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Workforce Planning Network, bringing together professionals from local authorities across Scotland who are involved in planning, developing and supporting the ELC workforce.
The network has been established in response to growing interest from councils in sharing approaches to common workforce challenges. While local circumstances vary, many authorities are working through similar issues including recruitment and retention, workforce sustainability, succession planning and ensuring they have the right workforce in place to meet future demand.
The network provides a space for peer learning, collaboration and the exchange of practical experience. Members will help shape future sessions, with a programme of discussions, case studies and spotlight presentations planned over the coming months.
The network forms part of the Improvement Service's wider work to support strategic workforce planning and help local authorities make informed decisions about future workforce needs.
If you or a colleague are involved in planning for your ELC workforce and would like to find out more about the network, please contact Vicki Keirnan at the Improvement Service vicki.keirnan@improvementservice.org.uk or sign up.
One year of ELCID
May 2026 marked a year since the ELC Insights Dashboard launched - and the picture that emerges from that first year is an encouraging one.
ELCID was built to give local authorities a clearer, shared picture of Early Learning and Childcare provision across Scotland - bringing together data on quality, uptake, mapping, and more in one place. In its first year, the dashboard has grown from a small group of co-design councils to 108 users across all 32 local authorities, with average engagement time more than doubling as colleagues have found more ways to put the data to work.
Four updates have kept the dashboard moving, and a programme of user workshops - 167 attendees across 31 councils - has helped build confidence and capability in using ELCID for real planning and improvement conversations.
We are proud of what has been built, and grateful to every council that has contributed to it - through co-design, through feedback, and through simply showing up and engaging with the data. The next year brings new themes, new data sources, and the co-design sprint to reshape the underlying data collection. There is plenty still to do, and we look forward to continuing that journey with partners across the sector
Early Learning and Childcare Eligible two-year olds Elected Member Briefing note
A new Elected Members briefing note on funded ELC for eligible two-year-olds has been published. It highlights the role of this entitlement in reducing inequalities and supporting families, explores the gap between entitlement and uptake, and outlines key barriers to access, alongside the importance of increasing take-up to improve outcomes for children, support parental employment and contribute to tackling child poverty. You can read the briefing note.
Fairer Futures Partnership
Thematic Learning from Fairer Futures Partnerships (2025/2026, Q3 and Q4 Report)
This report brings together thematic learning from Fairer Futures Partnerships (FFPs) across Scotland during Q3 and Q4 of 2025/26. It highlights key insights on delivering place-based approaches to tackling child poverty, including what is working well, the challenges being encountered, and the conditions needed to support long-term, sustainable change. The findings provide a snapshot of emerging learning to inform ongoing practice, policy and systems reform.
You can read the report.