Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Childcare hub opening times extended to seven days a week across Perth and Kinross

St John's Academy is part of North Inch Community Campus
St John's Academy is part of North Inch Community Campus

Childcare hubs across Perth and Kinross are extending their opening times  to allow key workers to continue working during weekends.

The council’s five Children’s Activity Centres will now open seven days a week.

The will also remain open over the Easter holiday period.

Sheena Devlin, the council’s executive director of education and children’s services, paid tribute to the staff who run the venues.

Ms Devlin said: “Staff running the centres are doing a crucial job that in turn allows other key workers to perform their vital roles.

“Providing childcare seven days a week will help critical services meet the demands placed on them at weekends.”

The five centres are located at North Inch Campus, Kinross Primary School, Community School of Auchterarder, Newhill Campus, Blairgowrie and Invergowrie Primary School.

However, concerns had been raised that no provisions have been made in Highland Perthshire at either Breadalbane Academy or Pitlochry High School.

Breadalbane Academy

Independent councillor Xander McDade said: “Since the locations of the hubs were announced I have had a lot of constituents contact me to query why one is not being offered in Highland Perthshire.

“I’m currently trying to find out the reasons behind this decision and hope a resolution can be found for those key workers now struggling for childcare locally.”

Conservative councillor John Duff said: “Locally in Highland Perthshire, due to the numbers involved, these requirements are currently being met through alternative arrangements with childcare providers.

“Personally, I have been contacted by three families in the area who are awaiting a decision regarding their circumstances. However, I can confirm that the members of the applications team are working long hours to ensure that the needs are being met as far as is possible.”

The local authority has said more hubs may be required if the demand is identified.

A council spokesperson said: “Perth and Kinross Council carried out a survey of key workers and their childcare needs which was then used to determine the location of our five Children’s Activity Centres.

“We prioritised to ensure that we could accommodate all Category 1 Key Worker requests.

“In the Highland Perthshire area we have been able to provide appropriate provision for those who met the criteria without, at this stage, the need to establish an activity centre.”