A consultation has been launched to find out families’ current and future needs for early learning and childcare in East Lothian.
We are working to increase capacity and choice for parents by expanding our own settings and bringing on board private providers who meet the high-quality standards that parents rightly expect for their children.
In summary:
- online consultation open until 9 March
- responses will help plan future provision of early learning and childcare
- parents asked views on a range of issues, including potential to pay for additional hours
East Lothian Council has developed the online survey for parents and carers of children aged birth to five years old as part of its legal duty to consult on provision. Statutory consultation must be carried out at least once every two years to ensure services continue to reflect the needs of families and local communities.
The questionnaire asks for parents’ understanding of their entitlement, their current use of childcare and potential future plans, their experiences accessing provision and their priorities when choosing early learning and childcare. Parents are also asked whether they would wish to pay for additional hours, such as before or after standard drop-off and pick-up times, at council or private provider settings.
Cabinet member for Education and Children’s and Family Services Councillor Fiona Dugdale said: “The consultation will give our teams an overview of current understanding and uptake of early years entitlement, as well as valuable information to help us plan future provision across all funded provider options.
“We are working to increase capacity and choice for parents by expanding our own settings and bringing on board private providers who meet the high-quality standards that parents rightly expect for their children and which are a condition of offering funded entitlement.
“I encourage all families with children aged from birth to five to complete this survey so we have an accurate picture of early years demand across East Lothian.”
The survey is available online at www.eastlothianconsultations.co.uk until 9 March 2026.