Moray Council confirms Early Learning and Childcare rate uplift for 2025/26
Moray Council has confirmed a higher than required increase to the hourly rates paid to private Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) providers for delivering funded places, starting from April 2025. This follows updated national guidance published by the Scottish Government on 20 February 2025.
The new rates reflect the Scottish Government’s commitment that all childcare staff working in private and third sector settings, including childminders, be paid the new Real Living Wage of £12.60 per hour. To support this, Moray Council has increased the hourly rate for each funded three- to five-year-old from £7.12 to £7.45 and for each eligible two-year-old from £8.55 to £8.94. This will be backdated for funded providers to April 2025.
The national guidance, which was agreed by COSLA leaders, asks all local authorities to apply at least a 3.75% increase to the 2024/25 sustainable rates. Moray Council has gone further than this minimum by applying a 4.6% increase overall.
The Scottish Government has allocated an additional £9.7 million nationally for 2025/26 to support local authorities in applying the uplift. For Moray, the uplift is expected to cost £395,000 annually, which will be funded through a combination of Scottish Government support and the council’s own budget.
As part of the uplift, the council has also applied an annual percentage increase to the core funding for Moray’s three developmental nurseries – Noah’s Ark, Teddy Bear, and Ladybird – which support children with additional needs.
Chair of Moray Council’s Education, Children, and Leisure Services Committee, Cllr Kathleen Robertson, said: “This uplift is really important to help our childcare providers continue to offer the high-quality care our local families depend on. By increasing the rates above the national minimum, we’re making sure staff are paid fairly and that providers can cover their costs. It’s a key part of our commitment to giving children in Moray the best possible start in life.”