The 'go to' organisation for Local Government improvement in Scotland

The ELC Insights Dashboard (ELCID) brings together national data to help local authorities plan, monitor and improve funded early learning and childcare. It draws on Care Inspectorate quality gradings, local authority data returns, the Scottish Government ELC census, and contextual data on deprivation and rurality, all in one place.

ELCID is an output of the wider Outcomes and Measurement Framework. It was developed with local authorities from the start, and councils continue to shape how it develops.

The dashboard is organised around the questions councils ask about their provision:

• Quality: Care Inspectorate inspection gradings across settings
• Uptake: take-up of funded hours by age group, provider type and hour band
• Provision mapping: funded settings, childminders and capacity across an area
• Spine charts: how a council compares across a range of indicators
• Contextual data: deprivation and rurality alongside provision

A workforce theme is in development, shaped by local authorities through our current co-design work.

A dashboard shows you where you are. It doesn’t tell you what to do next. The value of ELCID comes from the conversations it prompts: comparing your position with others, asking why the picture looks the way it does, and deciding what to change. That’s why we build learning and peer support around the tool.

Using ELCID: Learning and Improvement. Our Action Learning sessions bring colleagues together to apply the dashboard to real planning and improvement questions.

Find out more about Learning and Improvement

The Data Behind ELCID. See what feeds the dashboard, and how councils are shaping the data we collect.

Find out more about the Data Behind ELCID

Resources (to follow)

ELCID is available to local authority early years services. Access is limited to staff authorised by the early years lead in each council. To request access, contact the Improvement Service ELC team at elc@improvementservice.org.uk, or speak to the early years lead in your local authority.

Whether you’re new to ELCID or looking to get more from it, we’re happy to help. Contact Rob Beal, Service Design and Planning Manager, to discuss how the dashboard can support your council.