A PROGRAMME which is giving children greater access to early learning has been hailed by the council leader.

Two early learning and childcare centres in North Ayrshire – Loudoun Montgomery in Irvine and Glencairn in Stevenston – are among the first in Scotland to offer the youngsters almost double the number of free hours.

The pilot scheme – which will be rolled out across North Ayrshire by summer 2020 – sees the early years centres open from 8am-6pm over 49 weeks of the year.

Loudoun Montgomery and Glencairn launched the pilot back in January and 100 per cent of parents and carers have taken up their increased entitlement of 1140 hours.

Council Leader Joe Cullinane said: “The children are benefitting from an increased amount of time in their early years class which can only be a good thing for their development at a crucial stage in their life.

“It also opens up new opportunities for their parents and carers, by freeing up their time which would allow some to look for a new job, re-train or attend higher education.”