West Lothian Council headquarters
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
Private nurseries have vowed to defend the principle of ‘funding following the child.’
West Lothian Council voted to end early years funding for private nurseries for children living out with the county.
Private nurseries intend to challenge this with a petition and have asked to address the council’s Education Executive
The £700,000 budget savings, officers argued, would protect council run nurseries and there are adequate spaces for the 104 children who currently come into West Lothian to use private nurseries.
Addressing the council ahead of the budget vote Andrew Carr of First Adventures Nursery in Linlithgow is the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) chair for the West Lothian network of nurseries. He gave evidence at the start of the meeting along with a parent and other early years providers. His nursery will be directly affected as many of the families live in neighbouring council areas.
He told the meeting: “Funding Follows the Child and “provider neutrality” support an ecosystem of ELC provision that meets both the scale and diversity of childcare needs across Scotland.
“For their part PVI settings and childminders answer a granularity of different circumstances that the state cannot match – certainly not without attracting egregious costs.
“It would see the council drawing its own boundary across a national policy, a nationally funded policy, and declaring its own interests as more important than those of children and families across Scotland.”
His closing argument asked councillors to consider the ambitious, absolutist language used in ELC policy and question if they could really say they have done everything they could have done to ‘get it right for every child’.
Councillors heard emotional pleas from a parent from South Queensferry whose sons use Little Bugs nursery in Abercorn. A mother pleaded with councillors: “Do not make council budgets a problem for our children.”
There was a plea to West Lothian Council to not follow in Edinburgh council’s footsteps. Mr Carr said this deviation from the principles of “funding follows the child” risks putting families in the position to lose their jobs, and to upset family life to the point of traumatising young children who rely on consistency in their day to day lives.
He said: “Families invest in their early years provision where ELC policy does not support them and the choice to keep their funding where it suits them most is their main task.”
Deputations also discussed implications of this decision not only impacting the families that use funded services from outside of West Lothian.
Providers in the West Lothian area have already been told that new children who live outside the council boundary will not be funded from next term, even if they have already got an accepted offer. In addition, cross-boundary children already at nursery will be forced to move places before August or lose their funded entitlement.
The NADA said: “The parents have chosen PVI nurseries because they meet their needs. Removing children from settings where they have already formed attachments with adults and children could be distressing for them.”
The Scottish Government is currently reviewing the Funding for the 1140 hours of early years care The programme gives money to local authorities for each child receiving childcare. It is a complicated logistical process. Some who work in the sector, including Sharon Fairley, who owns two nurseries in West Lothian urged a rethink.
She told the budget meeting that the whole system would be fairer if families were funded directly by Holyrood rather than the ELC programme being managed by councils.
Ahead of the budget decision a council spokesman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “West Lothian is not alone in considering this measure. For example, City of Edinburgh Council has already made a similar change with regards to their nursery provision.”
“We appreciate the potential impact this proposal may have on families who live out with West Lothian and rely on established childcare arrangements, and we recognise the importance of continuity and stability for children’s well-being. Should the proposal be approved, council officers would ensure clear and timely communication to allow families sufficient time to review and plan their arrangements. Council officers would also support any transition arrangements should families consider a move to one of our council establishments.”
Pupils at Young Driver 2025. Photo by the City of Edinburgh Council
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Over 3,000 pupils from 30 schools across the Capital are attending Young Driver 2025 this week.
The annual event is aimed at senior year secondary school pupils and explores the risks and responsibilities of becoming a new driver, through presentations and workshops delivered by the Council and partner organisations.
The issues discussed include vehicle, pedestrian and passenger safety, laws on the road, travelling by and interacting with public transport, first aid and much more.
Young drivers are much more likely to be involved in collisions than older drivers. 17 to 25 year-olds make up 10% of licence holders, but over 20% of collisions.
Young Driver 2025 began on September 29 and finishes today (October 2).
Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson said:
“Young Driver 2025 is an incredibly important event to make sure the next generation of Edinburgh’s drivers have all the resources they need to form good habits as they get on the road.
“I was delighted to attend yesterday, meeting with colleagues from the Council and partner organisations along with our young people. I was also struck by the strong breadth of useful and practical material being delivered across the four-day event.
“We remain committed to enhancing road safety across the Capital for all road users, with over £6m being invested in our Road Safety Delivery Plan this year alone.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has supported the event this year and made it such a great success.”
Inspector Kosmas Papakyriakou, Road Policing said:
‘‘Edinburgh Division is fully supportive of Young Driver 2025. It is excellent educational tool to assist young people to become careful, considerate, and safe drivers and road users.
“Keeping people safe on and around our roads is a priority for Police Scotland, our communities and our partners. By working together to make young people aware of the risks and impacts of dangerous road user behaviour, we can help reduce casualties in the future.”
Mairi Day, Partner at Digby Brown said:
“In the last month in Scotland we have seen three teenagers die in a car crash, and in a separate incident a young man had been jailed for more than two years for driving while under the influence of alcohol.
“His actions resulted in one of his friends losing both his legs and two others being left with serious spinal injuries
“Every day at Digby Brown we see similar road traffic accidents but also how devastating they are.
“We help the people who are left with life changing injuries and supporting the families trying to come to terms with a sudden loss.
“But what makes these incidents more painful is many are avoidable.
“Driving is a life skill, and we need to talk to our young people about how to stay safe and give them the confidence to make good decisions while out on the road.
“This is why events like Edinburgh Young Drivers are so important.”
Since 2010 Digby Brown has been a main supporter of the Edinburgh Young Driver event bringing their expertise in personal injury law and supporting people affected by serious road traffic accidents.
This year sees the return of the mock court featuring a real case from the firm’s archives aiming to show young people the consequences of taking risks on the road.
Yousef (S6) from Currie Community High School said:
“It was a fantastic experience with lots of fun activities and provided a valuable insight into the consequences of negligence on the road. With stations such as VR, simulators and mock court sessions, there was never a dull moment.”
Sam (S6) from Currie Community High School said:
“The Young Driver’s event was a successful learning experience which I found incredibly insightful. We listened to a variety of useful talks and had the opportunity to visit stands from numerous professionals which helped me understand how to stay safe on the road.”
SNP councillor Euan Hyslop
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
A vital social work service for Edinburgh’s most vulnerable children has been saved – though it’s not yet in the clear.
Councillors also voted for an investigation to be carried out into the original decision to withdraw 11 social workers from the new Sick Kids.
It was made without the sign off of the council’s education committee – despite them asking children’s care bosses to refer all cuts from a consultation held over the summer to them.
Now, councillors will vote on whether to dissolve the social care team – and any other cuts which may be made – at the November 4 education committee meeting.
SNP councillor Euan Hyslop, who originally put forward the motion asking for the decision to be undone and for the investigation to be carried out, said the vote showed councillors were ‘loud and clear’ that removing the team would constitute a loss of service.
He continued: “I’ve had written confirmation that no changes will be made until that November committee.
“We heard numerous testimonies from parents, unions and professional stakeholders making the case incredibly strongly that this change will have devastating consequences for vulnerable children and families, and that it’s a loss of service that will impact continuity of care and worsen outcomes for children.
“This can no longer just be for officers to decide.”
Addressing councillors earlier, he said: “This team is a vital and unique service. Any proposal to disband them constitutes a loss of service.
“Before any of this is implemented, there must be no changes to the hospital social work team.
“If a cut to this service goes ahead without scrutiny, there will be significant detrimental impact and will constitute a loss of a service that will have seriously negative impacts.”
The team was set up in response to poor health outcomes for mothers who were homeless or facing domestic violence in the Capital.
Along with supporting vulnerable children, they also provide support to the maternity hospital at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, as well as the CAMHS service there.
Cllr Hyslop said it was useful having a social care team inside the hospital, and that it provides nurses and doctors a nearby resource in critical – and short – moments where social care interventions are needed.
The summertime review aimed to determine what changes should be made to children’s services in the face of a shrinking budget.
Council staff working in the area had previously said that the consultation was poorly timed, and had asked for it to be extended – but their requests were denied.
Notably, the consultation period overlapped the summer school holidays.
Council officers, in cutting the service – which has been running for 30 years – proposed that the social workers currently at the hospital would be distributed to other teams in the city.
Addressing the concerns, Labour councillor Marget Arma Graham said: “I feel tokenistic consultation is not really acceptable, and that is what I feel very strongly has happened in this case.
“You can very suddenly become aware of the need of these services. Geographic location is vital, these services must be in hospitals.”
Not all councillors agreed with the bid to keep the social care team together, with the Conservative group voting against it.
Conservative councillor Phil Doggart said his group had collected data which showed that the team in Little France was not as efficient as teams elsewhere in the city.
He added: “The service is not being withdrawn. The service is currently M-F 9.30-5.00p. The team has an average of 10 cases. The average caseload of a social worker for children with disabilities is 27.
“By moving the location of this service from the hospital, for example, to the south office, it’s perfectly acceptable for that to happen.”
Social workers stationed at the hospital often help families in a range of areas in their work.
For example, they can help parents deal with paperwork and grant applications while they are dealing with the day-to-day difficulties of their child’s illness.
And they can help advocate for them in a healthcare system that is often difficult to navigate.
Speaking last week on the decision of the children’s care directorate, Cllr Hyslop said: “It is outlandish to me to say that that’s not going to have an impact on service.
“I don’t understand how they can possibly come to that conclusion. But even if they are coming to that conclusion, there has to be a way in which councillors are able to challenge it.”
