TORY councillors are calling for nursery funding to be granted to East Renfrewshire children who defer starting primary one next year.
Stewart Miller and Jim Swift will put forward a motion at tonight’s full council meeting, asking other elected members to agree that all applications to defer a child’s P1 start for 2020/21 be granted, provided their birthday falls between the start of the school year and February.
It also requests that the local authority writes to the Scottish Government to discuss extra funding for a further one year’s nursery provision.
The move comes after the Give Them Time campaign was set up by parents to fight for an extra year of funding for all children legally deferring P1 in Scotland.
Campaigners claim it is often a difficult process and the motion states only 19 per cent of parents know about their legal right to defer children born between mid-August to December, compared to 80 per cent knowing that children born in January and February can be deferred.
The motion ask councillors to note that “East Renfrewshire Council does not offer a guaranteed right to nursery funding for deferred children born between mid-August and December.”
It then requests that “starting with applications for 2020/21 school year, any applications to defer a child’s P1 start whose birthday falls between the start of the school year and February will be granted automatically, with a further one year’s nursery funding provided.”
The motion concludes: “This authority will write to the Scottish Government to request ministers engage with East Renfrewshire Council about the extra funding required within its 2020/21 budget to finance all additional nursery placements for children who have a legal right to defer the start of primary education under the terms of the Education Scotland Act (1980).”
Supporters of the Give Them Time initiative have encouraged residents who agree with the motion to contact their local councillors.
The campaign group says it wants “a more transparent, consistent and child-centred approach to be taken by all Scottish local authorities when considering funding requests for an extra year of nursery for a child who has a legal right to be deferred.”
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