CHILDCARE arrangements for children due to start nursery in the summer are set to be revealed soon.

Concern had been raised about the sparse detail currently on offer to parents as the amount of hours on offer is set to double however Fife Council have confirmed this will be available in December before the deadline at the end of January.

The Conservative Group on Fife Council has highlighted parental concerns around the arrangements for nursery schooling.

Its leader, Councillor Dave Dempsey, called for answers.

“Fife Council is to offer four variations – six hours a day for the school year; half a day for 49 weeks of the year; two full days plus half a day for 46 weeks; funding for a DIY arrangement with an approved private provider," he said.

"All of those will be offered somewhere in a locality but the definition of locality is broad. As of now, parents don’t know officially what will be on offer where they live, even if they already have a child at nursery there.”

Group Education Spokesperson, Cllr Kathleen Leslie added: “The concerns have been focused around the training of enough staff and accommodation but now it seems we are seeing a top-down approach where hours and days that a Fife Council nursery will offer have been decided upon with no consultation with affected parents.

"The likelihood now is that a sibling of a child in the primary school may have to be based in a different nursery and may not have the hours that parents have already factored into their weekly schedule.

"It is less than a year until the increase in hours and parents need to be part of any consultation long before a decision is made. This is simply not good enough. I would urge Fife Council to provide clarity and a guarantee that parents will be at the centre of any decisions being made.”

Cllr Fay Sinclair, Convener of Fife Council's Education and Children's Services, said there will be more options for families and, of course, double the free hours of childcare for every eligible child.

"This ambitious expansion will give parents flexibility and access to a high standard of care for their children in a way that best suits their family, and provides children with high-quality early learning that can make a significant difference to their development," she said.

"A range of session times across different Fife Council school and stand alone nurseries will be offered, as well as with partner nurseries and childminders.

"While it is not possible to offer every combination of hours at every nursery, families will be able to choose from all of the options across long-established locality areas. These options will be published next month and allocations will be made in line with the council’s admissions policy."