New funding of £1 million will mean more children in Scotland
can reap the benefits of outdoor play and learning, whatever
the weather.
Nurseries and other Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings
can apply to the fund for help to buy winter clothing for young
children who need it.
Children’s Minister said:
“Our guidance advises ELC settings to reduce the risks of
coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission by maximising the time that
children spend outdoors. We also know that playing, learning and
having fun outdoors helps to improve children’s wellbeing and
resilience, as well as their physical and mental health.
“However, not every family can afford to provide suitable outdoor
clothing for their children and not every ELC setting can fill
the gap, which can present barriers to outdoor play in colder
weather. This funding will mean more young children will be able
to enjoy the many benefits of playing and learning outdoors in
winter.”
The fund will be open to any setting delivering funded ELC and
will ensure that three and four year olds and eligible two year
olds have access to suitable outdoor clothing during their time
in ELC, reducing inequalities in accessing the outdoors.
The Scottish Government already supports outdoor play and
learning through funding to Living Classrooms for their Virtual
Nature School (VNS) programme, providing training and support to
ELC practitioners.
More than 1000 practitioners have benefitted from this training,
which supported the delivery of outdoor play sessions to 40,000
families over the period of restrictions when many were unable to
access childcare. A further 500 teams from across the ELC sector
have been offered a place on the programme's winter cohort, to
support the continued delivery of high quality, all-weather,
outdoor experiences.
To date, the Scottish Government has provided funding of £208,860
for the VNS programme.
Background
The £1 million winter clothing fund, which is part of the
Scottish Government’s £100 million winter social package, will be
open to ELC settings delivering the universal funded ELC offer.
The fund will be open for applications in January 2021. Inspiring
Scotland has been appointed as administrators of the fund.
Inspiring Scotland has worked extensively with the ELC sector to
support outdoor play over the past few years and has administered
numerous funds on behalf of the Scottish Government.
