Early Adopter Communities: process evaluation

Chapter 3. Targeting and Reach

This chapter covers the reach of EAC provision for families. It considers the overarching question of whether EACs have reached the intended priority groups and the sub-questions detailed in Chapter 1.

This chapter draws on the perspectives of EAC project staff, stakeholders and families. It draws on interviews with these audiences as well as monitoring reports provided by EACs to the Scottish Government.

Key findings

• Broadly speaking, processes used by EACs had been effective in reaching and engaging the intended priority groups. Families in each priority group had attended EAC provision, although there was variation in the proportion of each group across EACs. There is scope to enhance processes to further reach certain groups in some areas, such as minority ethnic families.
• Attendance rates had generally been in line with EACs' expectations. However, there was concern that some families do not always use all their allocated days when their place is fully funded. Where EACs monitored attendance and engaged with families, they were able to redistribute funded places across their communities.
• Projects had not experienced much drop off in the number of families between sign up and attendance, indicating that EACs processes had been effective in maintaining engagement.
• EACs had employed a range of promotion and communications approaches to reach eligible families, including a mix of targeted and universal activities. Direct communication from trusted individuals or organisations, such as schools, was considered particularly effective.
• Both professionals and families who participated in the evaluation considered the application and registration processes to be accessible, with EACs making efforts to simplify forms and provide support to families to attend. Parents also valued the opportunity to visit childcare services with their children before or during registration to ensure a good fit. However, as noted above, the evaluation has the limitation of being unable to include the perspectives of eligible families who are not using the provision. It is not, therefore, possible to be certain that current processes were accessible for these families.

How effective are EAC processes in reaching and engaging the intended priority groups?

Broadly speaking, processes used by EACs had been effective in reaching and engaging families in the intended priority groups. Families in each priority group had attended EAC provision, although there was variation in the proportion of each group in the area that had attended EACs. This suggests that processes could be enhanced to better target certain under-represented groups, as acknowledged by EACs. For example, the Dundee EAC felt that there was scope to further engage minority ethnic families. Inverclyde also felt that, while not an official target group, parents who were not working had been challenging to engage.

How well attended have projects been?

Projects collected data on family characteristics during registration, and attendance data on an ongoing basis. As shown in Table 3.1, as of March 2024, 386 families, including 514 children were being supported by the EACs. Note that families can fall into more than one category. Please also note that the Clackmannanshire figures for priority groups (marked by an asterisk) were provided as number of children and not families.

Table 3.1 shows that lone parentfamilies were the largest priority group represented within the EACs, followed by families with three or more children, and then families with a disabled adult or child. Projects also collected data on the intersectionality of families accessing EACs.

EACs had a degree of flexibility to include other families outwith the priority groups who they felt would benefit from support. This was done on a case-by-case basis. For example, Dundee noted they had supported additional families on a low income, those with children who struggle with school attendance and/or anxiety or mental health issues, and families who would benefit from respite. On the other hand, there was a view that the current eligibility criteria were "not strong enough" to ensure that places go to those who most need support. It was highlighted that, for example, families with two parents on high incomes with three children, or a baby, are eligible for EAC support but may not need it. While this was not a strong theme, it is currently not possible, due to a lack of comprehensive family income data, to assess the extent to which families on higher incomes are accessing EAC provision.

Take up had generally been in line with EACs' expectations, and most childcare providers were operating at capacity. However, certain groups were represented in lower numbers. In some cases, this is likely to be a reflection of the population. For example, EACs speculated that low numbers of young mothers may be due to them being more likely to have younger children and not yet be in need of afterschool childcare. Minority ethnic families were also highlighted as a less prevalent group in areas other than Glasgow, based on local population data used by the EACs. Nonetheless, there was also a suggestion that there was scope to further target minority ethnic families, and more work could be done to investigate how best to do this, perhaps with support from schools.

In addition to the six priority family groups, there has also been an interest in reaching kinship care families. Both Dundee and Glasgow noted that they would like to do more to reach these families, with Dundee specifying they hoped to work with schools to identify them. Inverclyde has supported more kinship care families than initially anticipated. They felt that this was due to collaboration and relationships between the EAC and social work services. However, capacity is a barrier to doing more for these families. Social work had requested short term childcare placements for children, but flexibility was not always possible when the EAC was at capacity. Staff had started conversations with the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) about whether childminders can support with this.

Glasgow and Inverclyde wanted to reach more families generally, particularly those who were not in work and/or who were not already using after school childcare. This is discussed further below, in relation to promotion of EAC services.

To what extent is there a drop off between sign up and attendance, and what factors influence this?

Projects had not experienced much drop off in the number of families between sign up and attendance, indicating that EACs processes had been effective in maintaining engagement.

Providers and leads described high daily and continued attendance. However, there was concern that some families do not always use all their allocated days when their place is fully funded. One provider commented that they did not have the same issue of children not turning up in separate paid-for provision. However, the fact that EACs can review the distribution of funded places across a community has also enabled more active management of supply at the community level. For example, if a family at one provider has been allocated more funded hours than they need, the EAC may be able to redistribute this, increasing impact and value for money. As an example, Inverclyde mentioned that some families had reduced their requested days when providers had actively checked in with them about the hours they needed. This allowed other families from the waiting list to take up places.

How is provision promoted and communicated?

EACs had employed a range of promotion and communications approaches to reach eligible families. There was a mix of targeted and universal communications, including: direct conversations with eligible families (usually by childcare providers or family support workers who knew which families would be eligible); information leaflets shared electronically or physically by childcare providers and partners (including schools); social media posts; and information on council websites. As time went on, families also heard about EACs through word of mouth from other family or friends who had attended.

Parents interviewed felt that the best way for families to hear about services was through having open days at the childcare provider for parents to see the service and meet the staff; sharing information and images on social media; and having a member of staff from services talk to parents directly about it.

Some projects had chosen not to widely promote EAC services because they were operating in a small discrete area and/or had a waiting list. They wanted to avoid families enquiring and being disappointed if there wasn't a space available or they were not eligible for a funded place. One EAC lead mentioned being mindful of avoiding putting providers in a position where they had to explain why only some families are able to access funded provision, and others not.

"Because the EAC work is geographically limited, we have chosen not to promote it widely via social media as this would be difficult for families who are not eligible."

(Clackmannanshire project lead)

Staff time and resource was also a factor in carrying out wider promotion activities. As noted, Inverclyde had initially hoped to reach parents who were not working. However, the majority of initial applicants were in work but living on a low income. They anticipated that they would need to do more work to identify and engage families not in work using local data and through a range of community interventions, community groups and employability services. They felt increasing promotion, engagement and co-design activities was an area for improvement.

In some areas, there is more active identification of families by professionals than in others. For example, in Inverclyde, families usually self-refer, whereas in Dundee, EAC staff, the primary school headteacher and family support workers hold monthly meetings to identify eligible families. However, one parent interviewed in Inverclyde felt it was important for there to be open promotion of EAC services. They were concerned that schools would not always be aware of individual family circumstances, noting that they themself were "quite a private person".

Nevertheless, EAC staff and stakeholders highlighted the importance of direct communication with families and not assuming that they had seen, read or understood promotional materials. They also highlighted the importance of direct communication coming from trusted individuals or organisations who have existing relationships with families (e.g. schools). When it comes to direct communication, EAC projects with family support workers, who can speak to families directly about provision, thought this had been an effective approach.

Direct communication was seen as particularly important for reaching families who think they are not entitled to support because they are in work; or families who are wary of taking up support, because they are concerned about the impact on their benefits or because they have a general distrust of government.

"I'm kind of used to not being qualified for anything, so I don't even tend to ask for anything […] [the service manager] said, 'why don't you just apply, if you are not qualified they will get back to you to say you're not'."

(Glasgow parent)

"Some of the ethnic minority families struggled a wee bit, were a wee bit worried about the Government […] I think that is a wee bit of language barrier, and a wee bit of fear. So, I felt that a lot more support and work had to be done."

(Glasgow stakeholder)

Something that was seen as working well in Inverclyde was specifying on the application form that they would consider applications from families who do not qualify under the income criteria as they may still be eligible for support. Notably, this had encouraged one of the parents interviewed as part of this research to apply.

Stakeholders mentioned the need to tailor communication to suit different families, particularly in order to avoid stigma or embarrassment about using a funded service. For example, one service manager in Glasgow described how they try to ensure they pick the right moment to speak to parents and make clear that they are telling everyone about the eligibility criteria and not singling them out. This was seen as particularly important for families with children with ASN, to avoid parents thinking they are being offered support because they are doing anything wrong. In Clackmannanshire, family support workers described having different conversations about breakfast clubs depending on the needs of the family. For example, sometimes they highlight the opportunity for a free breakfast, whereas with other families they highlight the opportunity for children to have a fun start to the day.

"[For some families] it is around actually a better start for the day for the children. It is a free breakfast, so reducing the food burden, and it is fun, and for some children it is the motivation to go to school. Actually, having [something] in a relaxed and non-demanding place is a good thing to look forward to first thing in the morning."

(Clackmannanshire project lead)

In terms of future plans for promotion, Glasgow is planning to attend P1 induction events to promote their services and to encourage school and nursery staff to be more involved in referrals. In Clackmannanshire, in response to concerns raised above about not all families reading information they receive about the EAC, the EAC is looking at communicating the childcare offer alongside wider support available such as with benefits maximisation sessions and by asking families about the best approaches. In Dundee, if the EAC expanded to more communities they would like to create a flyer similar to that available in Glasgow, which lists all the childcare services available as part of the EAC.

How are families referred into provision?

Schools, childcare providers and family support workers (employed by EACs or other initiatives) had played a key role in referring families to EAC services. Social work had been involved, to a lesser extent, and other EAC partners. For example, in Clackmannanshire, there had been conversations with Community Learning and Development, the Energy Team, and Positive Moves (an employability partnership). In Glasgow, there had been conversations with Glasgow Helps (part of the Pathfinder), housing associations and health visitors.

However, in Glasgow and Inverclyde, EAC staff noted that few referrals had come through local authority-wide employability and welfare advice partners. This was put down to childcare provision operating at capacity and/or not having many clients needing childcare support, or clients living in areas without EAC services available.

Where parents had self-referred into services, EACs did not always know how they had found out about the EAC. Glasgow had made a change to their application form to ask parents how they heard about it to help them understand this better.

How accessible are EAC application and registration processes?

There were some differences in application and registration processes across and within the EACs. In Glasgow, families were generally already using a childcare provider taking part in the project. Therefore, they only had to complete an EAC funding application. In Clackmannanshire, depending on how well professionals knew their circumstances, families were not always required to complete a formal application form. In Dundee, families filled in an application form which was reviewed by the project lead. If they were eligible for EAC support, they were then automatically registered with the out of school club. In Inverclyde, families also completed an application form reviewed by the project leads. However, eligible families were passed onto the childcare provider to complete a further registration process with them. In Inverclyde and Dundee, EAC staff also have a conversation with families about their needs and wider EAC family support services.

Current application and registration processes were generally not considered to be a barrier to accessing the EACs. However, there were some examples of EACs having adapted these processes to make them more accessible. In Inverclyde, project leads had sought advice from a colleague in the early years sector in the design phase. One provider had shortened their application form due to concerns that the length may have previously been off-putting to parents. Providers and EAC staff also offered support to families to help them apply and register. This was especially needed in cases where parents cannot read or write. As noted previously, some providers had had experienced language barriers as a more general issue, particularly affecting minority ethnic families. For example, staff had printed online forms if parents had difficulty filling them in online, or filled in application forms with parents, either in person or over the phone. There were also instances where providers thought families were put off by having to share certain personal information, particularly relating to fears around impacting their benefits.

"There was a good few parents, […] who didn't want to take part, who could have. I think at the beginning, it was a wee bit of a fear factor, because obviously as well you are asking a few questions about benefits and things like that."

(Glasgow stakeholder)

Parents who took part in this research were generally satisfied with application and registration processes. However, one parent in Dundee mentioned that their initial application form had been lost, and some parents in Glasgow had found glitches with the online form. A childcare provider in Glasgow noted that this created admin time for them to liaise with the project lead and try to sort out the issue for parents. Parents interviewed were happy to provide the information required by EAC project staff and providers, the focus of which was typically on the child's needs. However, one parent mentioned that they used four different EAC services (to meet the needs of their children, and ensure they had enough childcare during the week) and had to complete different application forms for each. This was burdensome, and they felt it would be better to have one form, from the local authority, that covered them all.

Families of children with ASN had experienced previous difficulties finding school age childcare that met their needs. While EAC providers did not mention official restrictions on who could attend, there were some examples of children not being able to attend due to challenging behaviour. Linked to this, there was a concern raised in Dundee that parents, despite encouragement, were reluctant to give details on their child's additional support needs in case they could not be accommodated. This had caused some difficulties for providers initially. However, discussing children's needs with the school, with parental consent, has helped to overcome this somewhat. In Inverclyde, the childcare provider now meets families in person after they have been allocated a place, as they found that some parents found it easier to discuss their children's needs this way. Other providers invited families to visit the service during the registration process. See Chapter 4 for further discussion of how EACs are supporting children with ASN.

A key consideration for parents is whether their child will "fit in" and be happy at a service. Parents therefore appreciated being able to visit a service with their child before or during the registration process to see the space and meet the staff.

"I'm nervous quite a bit, so if I find going in somewhere, like even going to the doctors sometimes, the receptionists they don't look as welcoming and walking in is hard. So, if I found it like intimidating, I wouldn't bother like making the effort."

(Clackmannanshire parent)

Both professionals and families who participated in the evaluation considered the application and registration processes to be accessible. However, as noted above, the evaluation has the limitation of being unable to include the perspectives of eligible families who are not using the provision. It is not, therefore, possible to be certain that current processes were accessible for these families.