Inspiring Scotland announces winners of early support cash

The successful bidders have been announced by Inspiring Scotland, which is managing the Early Years Early Action Fund with the Scottish government.

Children and early years minister Angela Constance said: "Early support and preventative spending for vulnerable children and families in Scotland helps us tackle problems before they turn into crisis situations, all of which is hugely beneficial for children and young people, as well as society as a whole."

She added that the Scottish government estimates that taxpayers are saved £9 for every £1 spent on early years support.

The National Deaf Children’s Society Scotland funding will go towards parenting courses and family sign language training for families of around 100 deaf children.

The charity said free sign language training is crucial as the only option for many families is to pay for courses at colleges, which are aimed at adults rather than specifically parents of babies and toddlers.

Jan Savage, NDCS Scotland director, said: "This will make a huge difference to the lives of deaf children, enabling parents to access specialist parenting courses, learn to communicate through family sign language and support and help each other.

"We know that with the right support deaf children can achieve anything other children can, and this project will help to give deaf children the best possible start in life."

Another successful bidder is YWCA Scotland, which will use its funding to expand the Teen Parents project run by Fife Gingerbread. This offers group activities for teenage parents with a focus on child development, dealing with behavioural problems and health.