Guide

Nursery and childcare places for 3 and 4-year-olds

Children's entitlement of up to 1140 hours of free nursery or childcare is based on the school year, which starts in August.

Usually, children in the same school year are born between the beginning of March one year and the end of February the following year.

When your child can start nursery depends on when their 3rd birthday is during the year: 

Children who turn 3 years of age between March and August are entitled to an early learning and childcare place when the new school year begins in August.

Children aged 3 who were born between September and February can get a free early learning and childcare place from the month after their 3rd birthday.

The same schedule will apply each year.

We have a nursery, early learning and childcare admissions policy to make sure places are allocated fairly and transparently:

Children who meet priority 1 or 2 of the admissions policy will start earlier than the dates listed in the table above. We’ll agree the exact date with you. 

Find out how you can use your free nursery or childcare hours.

Find out how to apply for a free nursery or childcare place and when to apply.

Nursery and childcare places for 2-year-olds

Children aged 2 can get a free nursery or childcare place if they:

• are, or have been, looked after by a council,  
• are subject to a supervision order,  
• are in kinship or foster care,  
• are with an appointed guardian
• are the child of a care-experienced parent
• live in a  household that gets a qualifying benefit.

Find out who can get funded nursery or childcare places for two-year-olds (mygov.scot).

If your child is eligible for a free nursery place or childcare, they can start nursery or childcare at the beginning of one of the school terms.

When your 2-year-old will start nursery depends on when their birthday is during the year: 

Find out how you can use your free nursery or childcare hours.

Find out how to apply for a free nursery or childcare place and when to apply.

Nursery and childcare places for children aged 0 to 2 years

There are some nursery or childcare places available for children aged 0 to 2 years.  

However, children aged 0 to 2 years are not entitled to 1140 hours of free nursery and childcare.

These placements are limited and prioritised for children who meet certain criteria, as outlined in our early learning and childcare admissions policy:

Some private and voluntary nurseries and childminders may provide places for children aged 2 or under.  

You can contact the individual nurseries or childminders to see what they offer.

This guide explains who can get a free nursery or childcare place and what age they should start nursery.

The National Lottery Community Fund- Awards for All Scotland

Who can apply:  Constituted community groups or clubs, registered charities, social enterprises, not-for-profit company or community interest company, schools, statutory body (including town, parish and community councils)

Awards: £300 to £10,000

Apply to the National Lottery Community Fund

Foundation Scotland - Baillie Gifford Community Awards Programme

Who can apply:  Constituted community groups

Awards:  £500 - £2,000 

Apply to Foundation Scotland

Scotmid Co-op - Community Grants

Who can apply: Local community, self-help or voluntary groups and charities (including local branches of national charities) or individuals acting for the benefit of the local community,

Awards: Up to £500 

Apply to Scotmid Co-op

Glasgow Airport - FlightPath Fund

Who can apply: Community groups, charities

Awards: Awards of more than £5,000 will be the subject of a recommendation by the Flightpath Fund Committee to the Managing Director of Glasgow Airport for approval. 

Apply for the Glasgow Airport FlightPath Fund

Asda Foundation Grants

Who can apply: Community groups, charities.

Find out about Asda Foundation Grants

Morrisons Foundation

Who can apply: charities

Awards: maximum amount £20,000 

Find out about Morrisons Foundation grants

Aldi Scottish Sport Fund

Who can apply: Community groups focused on sports, schools or educational organisations, Scout or Guide groups, community interest companies, charities.

Awards: Maximum up to £500 

Apply for the Aldi Scottish Sport Fund

The Love Your Network grant fund for community groups in Scotland

The Love Your Network grant fund, funded by Transport Scotland and delivered by Sustrans Scotland, seeks to empower communities in implementing physical improvements which make journeys on the National Cycle Network more attractive and enjoyable.

Apply for a Love Your Network grant

The Henry Smith Charity

The Improving Lives grant programme provides grants to charitable organisations that help people when other sources of support have failed, are inappropriate, or are simply not available.

They support established organisations delivering services directly to beneficiaries. We are looking for services which can demonstrate a track record of success, and evidence the effectiveness of the work.

Apply a Henry Smith Charity grant

Invest in Renfrewshire

The Invest in Renfrewshire Communities Team also provide support to access other sources of external funding. 

For more information, email: Econdev.community@renfrewshire.gov.uk

This is a list of external funds that a community group, charity or social enterprise can apply for.

How EQHRIA process works

Carrying out an EQHRIA involves assessing the likely (or actual) effects of policies and decisions on people in respect of:

• protected characteristics including: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex, and sexual orientation
• intersectionality (this is how multiple protected characteristics overlap to create a unique experience of disadvantage), such as considering the impacts on disabled women or black older people
• cumulative discrimination over time - not just immediate impacts but life-course impact, such as considering historic inequalities, intergenerational impacts and systemic barriers experienced repeatedly
• human rights
• socioeconomic disadvantage
• the care experienced community.

This includes looking for opportunities to promote equality and human rights that may have previously been missed or could be better used. 

Negative or adverse impacts should also be identified and removed or mitigated where possible. 

If any negative or adverse impacts amount to unlawful discrimination, they must be removed.

View our EQHRIAs 

You can see a list of individual Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessments.

More information

For more information about Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessments (EQHRIA) email EQHRIA@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

An Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessment (EQHRIA) is a tool that helps us to place equality, diversity, and human rights at the heart of everything we do. 

They help us ensure that what is implemented is fit for purpose for everyone.

We have EQHRIAs because:

• it’s good practice in policy and strategy development. The process helps us to ensure that disadvantaged groups are not further disadvantaged by the policies and strategies we adopt. It also ensures that policy and strategy that is implemented is accessible
• it guarantees that councillors are properly advised of the potential effects of proposals before they take decisions that will inevitably affect people’s lives. This allows councillors to make informed decisions
• it offers opportunity for stakeholder involvement and lived experience to shape council decisions, building trust and better relationships with the local community and staff. Where we do not already have views from customers, residents and staff on the area of work, we should arrange involvement, particularly with people from the ‘protected characteristics’ equality groups
• it helps us meet our public sector equality duty, as part of complying with the Equality Act 2010. The general duty says that we must pay ‘due regard’ to eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations. Our specific duty is to assess new or revised policies and practices for impact.

Who it's for

The activities and events are for low-income families and communities in Renfrewshire which may not have access to mainstream activities.

They may be for whole families or for children and young people of different age groups.

Summer of Fun is a programme of free activities and events for families, children, and young people in Renfrewshire during the school summer holidays.

The programme aims to deliver activities and events that are fun and easy to access.

Activities can be during the day, in the evenings, during the week or at weekends.

We have a Summer of Fun Programme Fund which voluntary and community organisations in Renfrewshire can apply to.

We have separate information available if you'd like to apply for the Summer of Fun Programme Fund.

What it is

All voters have the right to vote independently and in secret. 

The Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer have a duty to make reasonable adjustments and accessible options available for disabled people when voting.

Reasonable adjustments can include alternative options or changes to physical access and equipment, and support to remove any barriers to voting in elections.

Accessing the polling station and support

All polling stations in Renfrewshire are wheelchair accessible and have low-level polling booths for wheelchair users.

Temporary ramps can also be provided.

Some polling stations may also have a step-free access route. This alternative route will be clearly signposted at the polling station.

Assistance animals 

If you have an assistance animal, such as a guide dog, you can bring them inside all polling stations in Renfrewshire.

Taking someone with you

If you have a disability, you can take someone (a companion) with you to the polling station to help you vote.

This could be family member or friend who is eligible to vote in the election. They must be over 18 years old on polling day. 

They’ll also need to fill in a companion declaration form to state they have recorded your vote faithfully.

You must ask the person in charge of the polling station, known as the Presiding Officer, for a companion declaration form when you come to place your vote.  

Help from the Presiding Officer

If you have any questions about the voting process or how to complete your ballot paper, you can ask the Presiding Officer or the Poll Clerks at the polling station.

If you have a disability which prevents you from marking your ballot paper on your own, you can ask the Presiding Officer to help you.

Presiding Officers are legally required to keep your vote confidential.

Equipment and adjustments in polling stations

There will be number of reasonable adjustments and equipment available at polling stations to help you vote independently and in secret on polling day. These include:

Pencil grips

All polling stations in Renfrewshire can provide specially designed pencil grips if you struggle to hold or use pencils.

Coloured transparencies

Coloured transparencies are available at every polling station to assist people with dyslexia.

Large print versions of ballot papers

Large print versions of ballot papers are available for reference in all polling stations. 

You must cast your vote on a standard sized ballot paper, as required by law.

Magnifying glasses

Magnifying glasses are also available at all polling stations.

Card ballot paper overlay for blind or partially sighted people

Card ballot paper overlays, accompanied by audio, are available at all polling stations to help blind people or people with visual impairments mark their ballot paper. 

The card overlay is designed to fit the ballot paper exactly. 

The overlays have cut-out boxes that line up with each box on the ballot paper, with braille and raised numbers to guide you.

You’ll also be able to listen to an audio recording of the candidate list as many times as you need.  

Tactile voting devices

We’ll also be providing tactile voting devices are each polling station.

These devices are fixed to the ballot paper. Each candidate is numbered on the device to match the numbers on the ballot paper. 

The numbers on the device are raised in braille. There is a flap next to each number which you can open when voting.

The list of candidates on the ballot paper can be read out to you. 

After being told the candidate numbers, you can find the number on the device and open the matching flap to vote for your chosen candidate. 

The device is then removed, and the ballot placed in the ballot box.

The Presiding Officer and poll clerks can provide the tactile voting device and explain how it works.

Disability aids you normally use

You can use any disability aids you normally use, such as a text-to-speech apps, to help you mark your ballot paper.

Listen to instructions on how to vote

Phone 0300 300 0246 if you’d like to hear instructions on how to vote.

This is an option for visually impaired or blind voters. You’ll be able to listen to the ballot read aloud with instructions on how to vote.

The phone number gives you the option to transfer to our election team.

They are available:

• Monday to Thursday: 8:45am to 4:45pm
• Friday: 8:45am to 3:55pm
• 7 May: 7:00am to 10:00pm.

If you need to contact the election team outside these hours, please call back during opening times. Otherwise, please hold while your call is transferred.

If you’d prefer to listen to the spoken ballots through our website, you can download the relevant files below, which contain audio recordings of the instructions:

How to request a reasonable adjustment

If you require a reasonable adjustment at your polling station, you must tell us in advance of an election. 

You can request a reasonable adjustment by phoning our election office on 0141 487 0139.

Please do this as soon as possible before the election date to give sufficient time for your request to be considered.

Guides for voters with a learning disability

You can see easy-read guides about elections and how to vote on the My Vote My Voice website.

British Sign Language (BSL) videos

You can view BSL videos about:

• who can vote
• how to vote.

A community council is a group of local people who volunteer to help improve the area they live in and the public services they use. 

They find out residents' views on issues and share those views with organisations that deliver services in the area - for example, Renfrewshire Council, the NHS, Police Scotland, and local businesses. They usually meet once a month.

Community councils also act as a focal point for community activity. They organise galas and events, deliver local community improvement projects, and mobilise community efforts to reduce the effects of severe winter weather.

You can find out more about community councils on the Scottish Community Councils website.

How a community council is established

Renfrewshire Council organises community council elections every four years. During elections, all current members must stand down, but they can go for re-election again.

If a community council receives more nominations than their maximum number of members, we'll hold a ballot election. If the number of nominated candidates is between the minimum and maximum number for that council, then those candidates will be elected automatically.

If there aren't enough nominations for a particular community council, that community council won't re-establish. We'll then call for more nominations.

Consultation

In 2025, we asked community councils in Renfrewshire, and anyone interested, to provide feedback on the draft Scheme for the Establishment of Community Councils.

What happens after an election

After an election, Renfrewshire Council will verify the eligibility of all candidates before publishing the results of the election.

Newly elected community council members are then invited to attend the first meeting of the new community council.

Community councils in Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire has 25 distinct community council areas, with 21 currently having an active community council that represents all residents within their area.

Each community council has a set number of minimum and maximum members. 

Charleston, Glenburn, Gallowhill, and Hunterhill currently do not have active community councils.

Contact us at community-council.cs@renfrewshire.gov.uk if you're interested in establishing a community council in these areas.

Key responsibilities of justice social work

Justice social work focuses on building trust and helping people stay out of trouble in the future, while making sure they take responsibility for what they did. 

Some its key responsibilities include: 

• early intervention and prevention
• assessment and case management
• supervision of court orders
• rehabilitation and support
• reparation and payback to community.

What justice social work services we provide

Our services include:

• providing assessments and reports on offenders to courts to assist decisions on sentencing
• providing information and supervision to people on bail as an alternative to being held in custodial remand
• a social work service to people who are are offered a diversion (an alternative) to prosecution
• supervision of people who are given a community payback order by the courts
• provision of unpaid community work placements for people as ordered by the courts
• supervision of people who have been given Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTO)
• supervision and support for people after their release from prison to help them adapt and prevent reoffending (called throughcare services)
• services for women
• help for young people in the justice system
• supporting victims of crime and their families
• public protection - working with partners in Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) on risk assessment, planning, management, and interventions on both an individual and group basis. 

Who the services are for

Justice social work services are for mostly for people in the criminal justice system, including those who have offended, are at risk of re-offending, and their victims.

People are normally referred to our justice social work service as a result of court orders, report requests, or for supervision following release from prison.

How to contact the service

You can contact the service to make a suggestion or complaint by:

More information

Justice Social Work services are delivered within a framework of statutory requirements, national and local policies, standards, and guidance.

You can find out more with: 

• The Vision for Justice In Scotland (Scottish Government website)
• Justice Social Work Guidance (Scottish Government website)
• Whole system approach to young offending (Scottish Government website)
• Justice social work statistics (Scottish Government website).

Justice social work provides services to people in the criminal justice system.  

It plays a vital role in Scotland’s criminal justice system.  

It supports and works with people who have offended from the point of arrest, through prosecution and sentencing, and during their reintegration into the community.

Justice social work services aim to:

• address the causes of a person’s offending behaviour
• hold people who have offended accountable for their actions and support them to reduce the risk of re-offending
• work with and support people who have been involved in offending behaviour to rehabilitate and re-settle into the community
• consider victims of crime in the work we do
• work with partners to enhance public protection and community safety.

We do this by :

• making sure people who have offended are appropriately assessed, supported and managed within the community where it is safe to do so  
• providing a justice service that focuses on reducing future offending and supporting people to constructively pay back for their actions, and build better lives for themselves and the communities they live in
• working in partnership with various public and third sector organisations.

The Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 led to justice social work services becoming part of a wider Community Justice Partnership. Find out more about community justice.

List of tenants and residents associations

These are the areas in Renfrewshire that have tenants and residents associations:

• Bridge of Weir
• Caledonia Glen, representing part of Caledonia Street and Glen Street in Paisley
• Cochrane Castle
• Corseford
• Ferguslie Park North
• Glenburn
• Maxwellton Court
• Moorpark
• Provost Close
• Williamsburgh
• Woodside.

Email us at tenantparticipation@renfrewshire.gov.uk if you'd like more information about one of these associations or you're interested in joining one.

Start a new tenants and residents association

What they can do

Tenants and residents associations are an important way to:

• discuss local issues
• create a sense of community
• ensure your voice is heard by the council and other stakeholders.

We share advice and information with tenants and residents associations in Renfrewshire to:

• highlight what's happening across our housing services
• welcome feedback on priorities and issues from communities.

We can provide a small amount of funding to cover the running costs of associations in Renfrewshire.

Contact us

Email us at tenantparticipation@renfrewshire.gov.uk if you're interested in starting a new tenant and residents association.

Tenants and residents are groups of people, including council tenants and other residents, who live in an area and:

• provide a collective voice for tenants and residents
• act as a focus for consultation and drive change
• develop extra services, such as lunch clubs or advice resources, to other tenants and residents
• hold regular meetings open to everyone in the association area and conduct their business through a smaller committee.

Get involved

There are lots of ways our people who live in council housing (our tenants) can shape our housing services, including:

• joining an established tenants and residents association or forming a new one
• joining the Tenant Scrutiny Panel
• participating in our tenant-led inspections of our high-rise sheltered housing and housing estates.

Stay updated

We regularly send our tenants email updates sharing important news and information.

We also produce reviews and newsletters keeping tenants up to date.

Read more about our performance as your housing provider.

Contact our tenant participation team

Contact us by:

Other resources

Here are some non-council organisations that offer support to council tenants:

• Engage Renfrewshire - supporting community and voluntary groups, social enterprises, and charities in Renfrewshire
• Renfrewshire Youth Voice - representing young people ages 12 to 25 living in Renfrewshire
• ROAR for Life - helping older people across Renfrewshire
• Scottish Government housing information
• Tenants Information Service - providing independent information, advice, and training for tenants across Scotland
• Tenant Participation Advisory Service - the national tenant and landlord participation advisory service for Scotland
• Scottish Housing Regulator.

Insurance options

You can either:

• join the AVIVA contents insurance scheme arranged by Renfrewshire Council
• make your own arrangements with another insurance provider.

AVIVA contents insurance

This is information about the AVIVA contents insurance scheme arranged by Renfrewshire Council.

Download and read the documents below for details on what's covered and how you can join the scheme:

Other details about AVIVA contents insurance

Acceptance restrictions may apply for conviction and claims experience. Terms and conditions apply.

The policy is arranged by Aon UK Ltd and underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

• Aviva Insurance Limited, Registered in Scotland Number 2116
• Registered Office: Pitheavlis, Perth, PH2 0NH
• Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. FP.TCI.2025.450.SD

Home contents insurance offers protection for your belongings. You'll pay a regular fee for the insurance. Then, if the items in your home are damaged, you may be able to claim money back to cover the cost of replacing them.

We encourage everyone who lives in council housing to get home contents insurance. That's because we, the council, will not cover the costs if your items - such as furniture, decorations, and other belongings - are lost due to fire, theft, vandalism, or water damage, such as burst pipes.