Routine protective measures in schools, early learning and childcare (ELC) settings and daycare of children's services: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

7. What evidence have you used to inform your assessment?

We have drawn on a range of work to help understand the views of children and young people affected by the pandemic. This includes research carried out by The Scottish Youth Parliament, YouthLink Scotland, and Young Scot. A recent survey, Lockdown lowdown 3, highlighted that around half of young people thought it was harder to learn at home during the second school closure, compared to the first school closure. Respondents in areas of higher deprivation were more likely to say that they found it harder to learn than those in areas of lower deprivation. Older respondents (age 16-18) were more likely to select this option than younger respondents.

This provides for the right of children and young people to be heard (article 12) and contributes to the understanding of the experiences of children and young people as officials consider the support required to sustain a stable learning environment.

Officials have also reflected the information gathered through statistical evidence and data, and information provided by other colleagues across the Scottish Government including Scottish Government publications such as:

• Coronavirus (COVID-19): Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children's Issues - evidence on children, schools, early learning and childcare settings and transmission- summary report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
  Summary Statistics For Schools In Scotland 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) and Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Levels 2020-21 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• COVID-19: Children, young people and families – June 2021 Evidence Summary,
• COVID-19 Mitigation Measures Among Children and Young People in Scotland – Summary of the Evidence Base
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) - experiences of vulnerable children, young people, and parents: research

Evidence was also published by Public Health Scotland in 2021 on The Impact of COVID-19 on 10-17 year olds in Scotland and set out in a discussion paper in March 2022 on The impact of COVID-19 on children and young people.

It is expected that children and young people will benefit further from the improved continuation of their 'usual' routines brought about by the measures described above. Primary data sources reviewed in assessing the impacts to date on children and young people, of the COVID-19 restrictions and mitigations include:

• The COVID-19 Early Years Resilience and Impact Surveys (CEYRIS)
• Information on child development from child health reviews undertaken by health visiting teams when children are 13-15 months and 27-30 months old
• Public Health Scotland's paper on the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people - 2-4 year olds
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) - early learning and childcare provision: equalities impact assessment of February 2021
• Impact Assessment of the closure of and reopening of schools as part of the COVID-19 recovery process in Scotland
• Children's Parliament's 'Listen and Act' research project
• New UKRI rapid response project: 'Childcare and Wellbeing in Times of COVID-19: Developing Crisis-resilient Care Solutions'