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

7. Fairer Scotland Duty assessment

We know from our work on the drivers of child poverty that there are clear risk factors associated with poverty in Scotland. As part of Scotland's Child Poverty Delivery Plan we have identified 'priority families' as: those headed by a lone parent, families with a disabled adult or child, young mothers, minority ethnic families, families with a child under one year old, and larger families (with three or more children).

Evidence from both UK and international studies of early learning and childcare programmes, such as Public Health Scotland's evidence review of childcare quality and children's outcomes, as well as our own Growing Up in Scotland Study, 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. Increased access to high quality early learning and childcare in the early years offers opportunities to support young children to develop and learn, to build social skills and networks, and in turn to help reduce the poverty related attainment gap.

We know that for families affected by poverty and disadvantage, access to food during a childcare session (free meals at ELC, breakfast clubs and snacks included with afterschool clubs) is a vital support.

The operation of schools and ELC settings continues to impact positively on low income families.