Coronavirus (COVID-19): re-opening childcare - impact assessment

Chapter 2 : How protected characteristics impacted on experiences of: Children; Workforce; Parents and families

Children

Age

The closure of registered childcare settings in March had a negative impact on aspects of children's progress, development and wellbeing. There was little time to prepare or scope to explain the changes to our youngest children. Their relationships and friendships were abruptly interrupted as well as their learning.

Evidence from both UK and international studies of early learning and childcare programmes^[32], including our own Growing Up in Scotland Study^[33], supports the fact that all children, and especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can benefit in terms of social, emotional and educational outcomes from attending high quality early learning and childcare.

The reopening of childcare settings will support our young children to develop and learn, to build social skills and networks, and in turn to help reduce the poverty related attainment gap.

We now know that young children are less likely to be affected by or transmit the virus. Advice from the advisory sub group for education and children's issues^[34] published 30 July, states that:

"Children in the age groups accessing early learning and childcare have a low susceptibility to COVID-19 infection, they also have a low likelihood of onward transmission."

Following this advice, guidance for safe reopening of services was updated and took effect from 10 August. Child and staff safety and wellbeing is at its heart.

In an update to the 30 July advice from the advisory sub group, from the Chief Medical officer on 7 August, it is highlighted that older children may transfer the virus to a greater degree than was first thought. However, there is still little evidence that transmission of the virus is occurring at greater levels between children in schools^[35].

With ongoing suppression of the virus in Scotland, we have been able to ease the restrictions requiring consistent small groups and avoiding attending more than one setting. This extends to older children accessing school age childcare.

Disability

Research on Parents' Views and Use of ELC^[36] in Scotland found that, of the families surveyed which had a child with an additional support need (ASN), almost half of parents of children with ASN mentioned difficulties accessing suitable provision. These barriers were due to parents' concerns around staff not having the time required to meet their child's needs or that staff didn't have the appropriate qualifications or skills to support their child. This is further supported by findings from the University of York^[37] which indicates a wide variation in the levels of support provided to families.

These concerns may be further exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular if the child has a disability or additional support need that means they are clinically vulnerable or extremely clinically vulnerable to COVID-19. Findings from Inclusion Scotland^[38] indicate that some parents were not able to let carers into their house due to lack of testing or PPE available.

These children should follow medical advice on whether or not to attend a setting. It is expected that most children who have been shielding will be able to return^[39].

The Family Fund 'Impact of COVID-19' survey included 232 families in Scotland, seeking to understand how the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting families raising disabled or seriously ill children. The findings showed that two in five families have lost income; the mental health and behaviour of children is being impacted; that the availability of both informal and formal support for children has been seriously reduced and that education is one of the most serious concerns^[40].

Sex

No information is currently available on the sex of children accessing ELC. Our latest ELC census data^[41] shows near universal uptake of funded ELC by 3 and 4 year olds and that uptake of the 2 year old offer has gradually increased over the last few years. Given that uptake for 3 and 4 years is near universal, we do not have any basis to conclude that uptake between children of different sexes is systematically or significantly different.

However, existing research indicates boys' development lags behind girls' development across a number of assessment domains,^[42] so boys in particular may benefit from the reopening of ELC settings.

Gender reassignment

We did not find information on this protected characteristic in relation to children and young people in childcare.

Young people who are transitioning may benefit from contact from trusted adults outside the home. The workforce in school age childcare may provide this support to young people to some extent.

Pregnancy and maternity

Pupils who are pregnant and attending out of school care should be individually risk assessed as they are required to be when attending school.

In 2019 there were 30 registered births of children to mothers under 16 in Scotland.^[43]

Race

According to 2019 data, 78% of children are from a White (Scottish) ethnicity, while 12% have a White (other) ethnicity and 8% are from a non-White minority ethnic group^[44].

2019 data shows that 9.6% of children have a language other than English as their main home language^[45].

The data currently collected through the ELC census does not allow us to measure uptake of ELC by ethnicity, however the new ELC census (currently being developed) will collect information about a child's ethnicity and enable us to assess impact on this protected characteristic.

Religion or belief

We did not find information on this protected characteristic in relation to children and young people in childcare.

While rooms normally used for religious practice/observance may be re-purposed to meet requirements of re-opening guidance, space must still be made for any children requiring this.

Sexual orientation

We did not find information on this protected characteristic in relation to children and young people in childcare.

Young people may benefit from contact with trusted adults outside the home. The workforce in school age childcare may provide this support to young people to some extent.

Marriage & civil partnership

The age range of children accessing childcare services makes the likelihood of them requiring consideration of this protected characteristic very unlikely.

Workforce

Age

While childminders have an older average (median) age than the general 'day care of children' workforce (46 years compared with 36 years)^[46], we do not believe it is to the scale that would have a differential impact on their experience at work.

640 out of school care staff were aged 55 to 64. There were 70 who were 65 and over^[47].

It is more likely that older members of the workforce will have been shielding throughout June and possibly into August, when compared to younger members of staff. This could be due to reasons linked to their own health or that of a family member. It will therefore be important for service managers to consider practical options for these members of the workforce.

Disability

1% of the childminding workforce and only 2% of the day care of children workforce are recorded as disabled.^[48]

For disabled employees, there may be a particular negative impact where their disability may make working within infection measures more complex.

It is also likely that a higher number of staff with disabilities will be shielding than school staff without a disability.

Sex

Staff working in childcare are mainly women, and without appropriate mitigation, may be exposed to a greater health risk in the workplace than men. Around 100% of registered childminders are women, 96% of staff in day care of children services^[49] and 94% of teachers delivering funded ELC are women.^[50]

Women generally carry out the majority of childcare and other caring responsibilities (census data shows 9 out of 10 single parent families are headed by women).^[51] ELC staff with their own children may therefore have an increased childcare need as they return to work in settings.

Concerns have been raised about the impact of the closures on the private sector. Any loss of capacity in childcare provision through permanent closure of private providers could impact disproportionately on women, given that they are more likely to be responsible for childcare.

Gender reassignment

There are not considered to be any areas of this policy area that could disproportionately impact members of the workforce with this protected characteristic.

Pregnancy and maternity

With a disproportionate number of women in the workforce, the needs of pregnant women and mothers will be a key consideration for service managers.

The health impact of COVID-19 on expectant mothers and unborn children is inconclusive at this stage. However a recent TUC report of 3,400 women who are pregnant or on maternity leave found that 1 in 4 had experienced unfair treatment or discrimination and that low-paid pregnant women were more likely to have lost pay during COVID-19^[52].

Pregnant members of the workforce should continue to follow the latest guidance, and employers should conduct risk assessments.

Returning to work

Some members of staff will be returning to the workforce after maternity leave and will not have experienced home learning in the same way as their colleagues. Experts have warned Covid-19 has had a negative impact on maternal mental health beyond that seen in the general population, where reported rates of anxiety have more than doubled. Consideration should be given to their re-induction to the workforce.

Race

98% of childminding staff and 88% of day care of children staff are from a White ethnicity. There is a high percentage of 'unknown' ethnicity for day care of children staff.^[53]

There is emerging evidence in England^[54] and the US that COVID-19 impacts disproportionately on minority ethnic groups.

Therefore, without appropriate mitigation, minority ethnic groups could be exposed to increased risk.

The data on deaths during this period (occurring on or after 12 March 2020 and registered by 14 June 2020) shows that deaths amongst people in the South Asian ethnic group were almost twice as likely to involve COVID-19 as deaths in the White ethnic group, after accounting for age group, sex, area-level deprivation and urban rural classification.^[55]

Religion or belief

With the impact of COVID-19 on everyone's wellbeing, staff who practice a belief may find their faith plays a significant role in their confidence or comfort with returning to work.

Providing space and time for religious observance and practice will need to be considered in planning for a return to settings where appropriate.

Where rooms are potentially being repurposed, it should be ensured that provision remains available for staff to access religious spaces at expected times of day.

Sexual orientation

Data on sexual orientation of the workforce is not available.

We do not consider there to be aspects of these decisions that could

disproportionately impact members of the workforce with this protected characteristic.

Marriage & civil partnership

We do not consider there to be aspects of these decisions that could disproportionately impact members of the workforce with this protected characteristic.

Parents, carers and families

Age

Older carers (e.g. grandparent kinship carers) may be more likely to be shielding and unable to (or choose not to) send their children to childcare.

Around 1 in 5 keyworker families would generally use informal childcare by grandparents. During the COVID-19 lockdown, many keyworkers continued to use grandparents to provide childcare indicating that they felt this was safer than using formal childcare provision^[56].

Disability

There will be a positive impact on parents with a disability if they are now able to access childcare to provide respite and broader support.

However parents who shielded may be less likely to send their child back to childcare or feel more anxious about doing so.

Sex

Women generally carry out the majority of childcare and other caring responsibilities (census data shows nine out of 10 single parents are headed by women), so are likely to be positively impacted by a re-opening of childcare options.^[57]

Research collected across Great Britain by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)^[58] found the gap in unpaid work (activities such as childcare, adult care, housework and volunteering) between men and women reduced slightly during lockdown but was still large, with women doing 1 hour and 7 minutes more unpaid work per day than males. While men increased their amount of childcare by 58% between 2014 to 2015 and March to April 2020, they still undertook 15 minutes a day less unpaid childcare than women. Furthermore, individuals living with children spent 35% longer on average providing childcare during lockdown than five years ago, which included helping out with homework. For a child under the age of 8 in the household, women spent 4 hours and 5 minutes caring for a child, compared to 2 hours 50 minutes for men.

UK level findings^[59] (including Scottish participants) suggest that many parents are struggling to balance the needs of work and childcare, and this is reflected in a marked increase in adult mental health problems during lockdown, especially for women and parents with young children. Although most families are enjoying spending more time together, Scottish evidence^[60] reports that women in households with children had substantially worse mental wellbeing outcomes across all measures than men and were twice as likely to feel lonely. Given the wider evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on low income and single parent households, single mothers may be a particularly vulnerable group during this pandemic. Those with very young children (aged 0-4) saw a significantly larger increase in overall mental health problems (but not severe problems), and this effect is twice as high for women compared to men – perhaps reflecting the uneven distribution of childcare under lockdown. Those with school-age children (aged 5-15) also saw a larger increase in mental health problems (but the effect is not as strong as the younger child group).

Research^[61] indicates that lone parents were less able to access the informal childcare they previously relied on to attend workplaces. Among lone mother households (the group for whom the most reliable data on working patterns exists), around two thirds regularly work outside of core hours on evenings, nights, and weekends (this share is closer to one half for non-key worker lone mums). This group will have benefitted from renewed access to both formal and informal childcare.

Research in England^[62] found that nearly half of mothers combine paid work with childcare activities (47% compared to 30% of fathers) and are more likely to spend more time on household responsibilities than fathers. The division of childcare and housework is not equally shared – mothers who are still working (where the father is not) share childcare and housework equally. Despite doing less childcare than mothers, fathers have nearly doubled the time they spend on childcare during lockdown. Women are also more likely to multitask during work time than men. Mothers are being interrupted during 57% more of their paid work hours than fathers. This was not the case before the crisis.

Gender reassignment

We do not consider there to be aspects of these decisions that could disproportionately impact parents or families with this protected characteristic.

Pregnancy and maternity

The impact of COVID-19 on expectant mothers and unborn children is inconclusive at this stage. Some expectant mothers or those with young babies may choose to shield. This may affect their decision to send older children back to childcare settings, particularly for those dependent on public transport.

Race

The data on deaths during this period (occurring on or after 12 March 2020 and registered by 14 June 2020) shows that deaths amongst people in the South Asian ethnic group were almost twice as likely to involve COVID-19 as deaths in the White ethnic group, after accounting for age group, sex, area-level deprivation and urban rural classification.^[63]

There is emerging evidence in England^[64] and the USA that COVID-19 impacts disproportionately on minority ethnic groups.

Reopening could therefore disproportionately impact on the parents and carers of children from some minority ethnic backgrounds.

For some minority ethnic families, particularly newer migrant families, language barriers may impact on the parent/carers ability to engage with services from home. Reopening could therefore have a particularly positive impact on families for whom English is not their first language as more face-to-face interaction with childcare settings could improve their ability to engage with services as opposed to during the closure period when there was more reliance on online/printed resources and guidance.

Religion or belief

The ELC census does not measure uptake based on a child's religion or belief. In order to reduce the burden of the ELC census on ELC settings and local authorities who collect and process the data, we seek to limit the amount of data we collect from families and keep it similar to the data which the settings will already hold. Although information on other protected characteristics such as religion/belief would be useful, asking questions around some protected characteristics can be deemed sensitive and parents might not be willing to provide this data. We have no plans for the ELC census to collect data on this protected characteristic.

Evidence from a 2008 report from The Young Foundation, 'Valuing Family, Valuing Work: British Muslim Women and the Labour Market'^[65], suggests that Pakistani and Bangladeshi mothers (who make up 75% of British Muslim women) are less likely than Indian, White, or Black mothers to be in employment before having a baby or during their child's early years. Among these mothers, there was a strong preference to take time out of work to care for their children rather than use formal ELC. This report recommends that increasing awareness among British Muslim women of the benefits of ELC for their children could improve their engagement with formal ELC.

Evidence published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 2014^{[66] [67]} states some families of Pakistani and Somali background in England reported the importance of religious values (in this case Islam) within ELC. Others reported fears of racism and Islamophobia as factors that reduced their likelihood of accessing mainstream ELC.

Sexual orientation

We do not consider there to be aspects of these decisions that could disproportionately impact parents or families with this protected characteristic.

Marriage & civil partnership

We do not consider there to be aspects of these decisions that could disproportionately impact parents or families with this protected characteristic.