Expanding school age childcare First Minister of scottland announces additional £15 million to support families.

 The Education First Minister announces an additional £15 million to support families as part of the Children and Families initiative.

As part of a £15 million investment to combat child poverty, thousands more low-income families will receive free preschool care. Existing services for eligible families in Dundee, Clackmannanshire, Glasgow, and Inverclyde will be expanded, and new services will be established in additional communities across Scotland.

In a partnership with the Scottish Football Association, local football clubs will be able to apply for $2 million in funding to support the provision of clubs for activities after school and during the holidays.

In order to continue providing childcare services in 2023 and 2024, nine additional projects will also receive a portion of the £15 million in funding.

First Clergyman Humza Yousaf made the subsidizing declaration as he visited Ayr Joined Football Foundation's vacation club.

According to the First Minister,

"Key priorities include combating child poverty and assisting families with pressures brought on by rising living costs.

"Funded childcare for children in school benefits families in numerous ways. It helps caregivers and parents transition into the workforce, allowing them to support their families and contribute to the wellbeing economy. Additionally, it provides children with opportunities to socialize and participate in a wide range of activities as well as safe, nurturing environments.

"This investment of £15 million is part of our work to create a system of year-round, fully funded childcare for children in school"

Scotland already has the most extensive childcare program in the United Kingdom. 1,140 hours of funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) per year are available to all three- and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds. With plans to offer ELC to more one-year-olds and more two-year-olds, we are collaborating with partners to advance our childcare offerings even further.

Allan Gunning, chair of the Ayr United Football Academy, stated:

Through holiday and after-school clubs, this project offers a wide range of activities to children and their families.

"It is bringing about positive outcomes for children, such as: enhanced fitness, improved nutrition, expanded participation in education, and expanded access to sports and activities Families are also benefiting from the project, as evidenced by the following: assisting with employment, education, and training, expanding family and community involvement in grassroots clubs and organizations, and so on.

"We are happy that task financing is proceeding and value the Scottish Government's continuous obligation to further developing results."

Background The six priority family types identified in the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan—lone parent families, minority ethnic families, families with a disabled adult or child, families with a younger mother (under 25), families with a child under one, and larger families—are the primary beneficiaries of funded school-age childcare.

In due course, information regarding the new services, including the SFA projects, will be provided.

Up until 2023 and 2024, nine projects will continue to receive funding, including:

The Indigo Childcare Group in Glasgow St. Mirin's Out of School Club in Glasgow SHIP in Perth Stepping Stones for Families in Glasgow SupERkids in East Renfrewshire The Wee Childcare Company in Angus Ayr United Football Academy in South Ayrshire The Best Start: Scotland's strategic early learning and school-age childcare plan focuses on creating a new early learning and childcare (ECC) program for one- and two-year-olds as well as a national system of school-age childcare.