North Ayrshire Council is to make changes to its delivery of early years education and will be holding a future consultation on proposed changes.
The local authority says that falling birth rates means there is likely to be less uptake of places in the coming years and that changes will be required to adapt to this.
Parents and carers are being encouraged to take part in future engagement which will shortly get under way on the proposed redesign of the service, which will take into account current rates of uptake and preferred models of provision.
There are no details of what the change in provision would mean for Arran at this stage.
Councillor Shaun Macaulay, cabinet member for education and young people, said: “All three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds can access 1140 hours of free early learning and childcare children each year.
“Since the introduction of 1140 hours in 2020, it has made an enormous difference to the lives of many families.
“While the uptake of 1140 hours has been positive, data for the whole of Scotland shows that there are fewer children eligible for funded early learning and childcare.
“Declining birth rates will continue to impact the level of uptake so we have to look at the best way forward to ensure children continue to get the very best in early years education.
“It’s hugely important that parent and carers take part and share their thoughts as this will help play a critical role in shaping the future of our early learning and childcare.”
The aim of the review will be to redesign early years service provision to meet current and anticipated levels of demand and is likely to include new delivery models in line with current and projected demand.
It is anticipated that the redesigned models will be implemented from the new academic session in August 2024.
Councillor Shaun Macaulay. NO_B50earlyyears01_23_Shaun_Macaulay