Scottish Study of Early Learning and Childcare: Phase 1 Report - Updated 2021

Footnotes

1 More information on the eligibility criteria for two-year-olds is available at: https://www.mygov.scot/childcare-costs-help/funded-early-learning-and-childcare/

2 The age range was restricted to limit the number of different versions of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire required for data collection.

3 Two-year-olds are entitled to statutory funded ELC if they meet various criteria as set out in the Children and Young People Act 2014 and The Provision of Early Learning and Childcare (Specified Children) (Scotland) Order 2014 (SSI 2014/196). Some local authorities provide discretionary funding for some two-year-olds who do not qualify for the statutory entitlement. In this report, “funded ELC” refers to both forms of funding.

4 Equivalised household income adjusts household income according to the typical income requirements for the number of people in the household. The OECD adjustment has been used in this case, where household income is divided by a household size factor, which is the sum of 0.67 for the first adult in the household, 0.33 for each subsequent adult or child aged 14 or above, and 0.20 for each child aged 13 or below. Cut points for the equivalized income deciles have been taken from a national survey of people in households in Scotland, the Scottish Health Survey 2017.

5 As measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

6 As only a small number of respondents lived in rural areas this finding should be treated with some caution.

7 Scottish Government (2016) A Blueprint for 2020: The Expansion of Early Learning and Childcare in Scotland – Quality Action Plan, Edinburgh: Scottish Government.

8 More information on the eligibility criteria for two-year-olds is available at: https://www.mygov.scot/childcare-costs-help/funded-early-learning-and-childcare/

9 NHS Health Scotland (2017) Evaluability assessment of the expansion of early learning and childcare: http://www.healthscotland.scot/publications/evaluability-assessment-of-the-expansion-of-early-learning-and-childcare.

10 Broadly, family resilience in the context of ELC is considered to be a combination of children and parents’ health and well-being, and the ability of parents to undertake suitable parenting and activities that may contribute to the long-term prosperity of the family unit.

11 Further information on these instruments is provided in the relevant section of the report.

12 The age range was restricted to limit the number of different versions of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire required for data collection.

13 Further information on these instruments is provided in the relevant section of the report.

14 Equivalised household income adjusts household income according to the typical income requirements for the number of people in the household. The OECD adjustment has been used in this case, where household income is divided by a household size factor, which is the sum of 0.67 for the first adult in the household, 0.33 for each subsequent adult or child aged 14 or above, and 0.20 for each child aged 13 or below. Cut points for the equivalized income deciles have been taken from a national survey of people in households in Scotland, the Scottish Health Survey 2017.

15 As measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

16 Bradshaw, P., Knudsen, L. and Mabelis, J. (2015) Growing Up in Scotland: The circumstances and experiences of 3-year-old children living in Scotland in 2007/08 and 2013, Edinburgh: Scottish Government.

17 Source: https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ethnicity-identity-language-and-religion.

18 As only a small number of respondents lived in rural areas this finding should be treated with some caution.

19 Unfunded hours are those where the parent was paying themselves, someone else was paying (but not the government or the local authority) or there was no fee (such as where the carer was the child’s grandparent).

20 Note that whilst respondents were asked to choose only one response, many selected multiple responses. As such, the proportions do not equal 100%.

21 Scottish Government (2012) The Scottish Child Health Programme: Guidance on the 27-30 month child health review, Edinburgh: Scottish Government

22 Bedford, H., Walton, S., Ahn, J. (2013) Measures of Child Development: A review, London: Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCL Institute of Child Health.

23 For example, initial ASQ-3 data from NHS Digital’s and Ofsted’s Children and Young People’s Health Services Data on children aged 2-2½ indicates that fewer males (86%) than females (93%) had scores indicating their development was on schedule: https://files.digital.nhs.uk/pdf/o/n/cyphs-asq-oct16-mar17-exp-rep.pdf

24 Note that this finding does not control for the socio-economic patterning of breastfeeding which is more common amongst mothers with higher levels of education.

25 Bradshaw, P., Knudsen, L. and Mabelis, J. (2015) Growing Up in Scotland: The circumstances and experiences of 3-year-old children living in Scotland in 2007/08 and 2013.

26 235 mothers of children aged under 5 participated in the Scottish Health Survey 2017. Note that this question was asked by an interviewer in the Scottish Health Survey, rather than being a pen and paper self-completion as used in the ELC parent survey. This mode difference may account for some of the difference in responses.

27 The Scottish Health Survey included the complete set of 14 items. 206 mothers of children aged under 5 completed this section of the Health Survey. For comparative purposes, only the 7 items included in the Short form of the scale, used in the ELC parent survey, were counted. In both surveys, the questions were asked in a pen and paper self-completion booklet and the scores were Rasch-transformed, so the comparison can be considered fairly robust.

28 See Melhuish, E. & Gardiner, J. (2018) Study of Early Education and Development (SEED): Impact Study on Early Education Use and Child Outcomes up to age four years Research Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/738725/SEED_Impact_Age_4_Report_September_2018.pdf.

29 Stephen, C. and Wilkinson, J.E. (1995) ‘Assessing the Quality of Provision in Community Nurseries’, Early Child Development and Care. 108: 83-98.

30 Care Inspectorate staff attended training with academic colleagues on how to use the ITERS-3 and completed their first observation in pairs to ensure consistency of scoring.

31 Freeflow play allows children to move freely indoors and outdoors as they please.

32 https://www.mygov.scot/childcare-costs-help/funded-early-learning-and-childcare/

33 Equivalised household income adjusts household income according to the typical income requirements for the number of people in the household. The OECD adjustment has been used in this case, where household income is divided by a household size factor, which is the sum of 0.67 for the first adult in the household, 0.33 for each subsequent adult or child aged 14 or above, and 0.20 for each child aged 13 or below. Cut points for the equivalised income deciles have been taken from a national survey of people in households in Scotland, the Scottish Health Survey 2017.