North Ayrshire Council is set to deliver 1,140 hours of Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) in all Council and funded provider centres from August this year.

The initial rollout for the hours was paused last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Three models of delivery have been devised to meet the needs of families and provide the full hours to all eligible children. 

The models aim to ensure a range of choice, particularly for working parents, and provide the option for families to use more than one childcare provider.

Work is underway to refurbish and extend the council’s ELC estate, with plans to create additional capacity at 41 facilities.

It is estimated the expansion will also create 28 new job opportunities which will be recruited for in the coming months.

Audrey Sutton, executive director for communities at North Ayrshire Council, said: “We want to ensure we offer the best start in life to our young people in North Ayrshire.

"The refurbishment of our existing buildings and the planned new builds, including the new primary school and early years centre at Montgomerie Park in Irvine, will offer high quality learning environments that are accessible both indoors and out across the whole ELC estate.”