Hopes have been raised that a new nursery due to open in a Moray town will boost capacity to meet demand in the area.
The new centre, which will be run by charity Flexible Childcare Services Scotland, is already under construction in the grounds of Keith Grammar School and is due to welcome children through the doors in August.
Once complete, the nursery will create 65 additional places for youngsters between two and five years old in the area.
Concerns had been raised about the capacity among existing providers with demand expected to surge once the Scottish Government’s funding for 1,140 hours of early learning is expanded to all three and four-year-olds and some two-year-olds from August.
Sonya Warren, chairwoman of Moray Council’s children and young people’s committee, said: “We are very excited about the new facility, as well as offering state of the art facilities and equipment the new nursery will fill a much-needed gap for parents in the Keith area looking for accessible and affordable childcare.”
Families who enrol at the nursery will be able to book day care by the hour while only paying for the time they book without any deposits or holiday retainers.
The custom-built facility has been designed to provide children with dedicated areas to improve skills in literacy, numeracy, health and well-being skills while also being open to youngsters with additional support needs.
