Private early years facilities in West Dunbartonshire set to get pay rise

Privately run early education and childcare (ELC) providers are set to get an hourly pay rise for supporting West Dunbartonshire Council in offering up to 1140 hours of childcare.

This morning, members of the council’s educational services committee agreed to increase the hourly rate for caring for eligible two year olds by 10% from £5.84 to £6.43 and for three year olds and above from £5.84 to £6.28, an increase of by 7.6% from April 1, 2024.

The increase in rate for the care of eligible two year olds is in recognition of the rate not being increased last session and the ratios of adult to children staffing costs which are higher for two year olds than for children aged three years and over.

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As it stands, families in West Dunbartonshire are able to access ELC at private providers as parents and carers rely on funded providers of their choice to look after their children.

But if these providers are no longer sustainable, a lot of work and resources would be required to increase the number of local authority places to ensure that the council meets its statutory duty.

Since August 2021, all three and four-year-old children and eligible two-year-old children have been entitled to 1140 hours of funded early learning and childcare each year.

Laura Mason, Chief Education Officer, said: “Throughout this time we have built strong relationships with our partner providers and work together to ensure there is sufficient capacity to meet the demand of our families.

“I am pleased to see this increase to the hourly rate passed by the Committee as we recognise and value their commitment to supporting local children in their early learning.”

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