Scotland's People Annual report: Results from 2009/2010 Scottish Household Survey

A National Statistics publication for Scotland, providing reliable and up-to-date information on the composition, characteristics, behaviour and attitudes of Scottish households and adults


7 Education and Young People

Introduction and Context

Ensuring that everyone in Scotland has equal access to learning opportunities to achieve their full potential and increase skill levels across the population is a key part of achieving the Scottish Government's purpose: [48]To focus government and public services on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth. This is captured through one of the five strategic objectives: [49]Expand opportunities for people in Scotland to succeed from nurture through to life long learning ensuring higher and more widely shared achievements.

Although the Scottish Household Survey ( SHS) is not the definitive source of information about education and qualifications in Scotland [50], it can contribute to the measurement of key education indicators. Education level is also an important factor that can be used in the wider analysis of the Survey's data, for example to explore differences in people's characteristics and attitudes by educational attainment.

New information was captured through the SHS in 2009/2010 relating to opportunities for children and young people to play in their neighbourhood and participate in a range of activities. The questions measure attitudes to a number of issues that are known to be either enablers or barriers to delivering such opportunities for young people. The SHS provides the only known information on this type of data.

This chapter starts with an overview of educational qualifications achieved across the population as a whole and across key sub groups. It then looks at levels of satisfaction with schooling, and how these vary with the type of area and age of the child. Analysis is then presented on the types of play areas available for children to play in, along with measures on perceptions of adults on how safe it is for children to play there. Finally, this chapter looks at the types of activities young people engage in within their local area.

Highest Qualification level

Table 7.1 and Table 7.2 present the proportions of people who attained qualifications by gender, age and, for those of working age, by household income. Respondents to the SHS are asked about a wide variety of qualifications and these have been condensed into the categories presented in the tables.

Table 7.1: Highest level of qualification held by gender and age
Column percentages, 2009/2010 data

Adults Male Female 16 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 59 60 to 74 75 plus All
Degree, Professional qualification 26 27 14 38 33 29 22 16 26
HNC/ HND or equivalent 10 9 9 15 13 10 5 3 10
Higher, A level or equivalent 18 14 33 15 15 15 9 6 16
O Grade, Standard Grade or equivalent 20 19 35 21 23 20 11 4 20
Other qualification 5 7 1 1 1 4 14 17 6
No qualifications 21 23 8 9 13 22 38 51 22
Qualification unknown 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 2 1
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Base 10,926 14,056 2,060 3,358 4,183 6,098 6,003 3,280 24,982

Just under one-quarter (22%) of all adults had none of the qualifications presented. Of these, by far the highest proportion was in the 75 and over age group, with 6 times as many of those aged 75 and over reporting having no qualifications than those aged 16 to 24 (51% and 8% respectively). There was little difference between men and women on the highest level of qualifications they held, though slightly more females reported having no qualifications than males.

Established links between degree level qualifications and higher incomes can be seen among working adults interviewed as part of the SHS. Just under one-in-six (17%) of those in the lowest income bracket have a degree or professional qualification compared with half of the working age respondents with the highest incomes (50%). Additionally, those of working age in the highest income brackets were considerably less likely to have no qualifications. Around a third (31%) of adults with a household income of between £6,001 and £10,000 had no qualifications, compared with 4% of adults earning over £40,000.

Table 7.2: Highest level of qualifications held by adults of working age by net annual household income
Column percentages, 2009/2010 data

Adults of working age (Male 16-64 years, Female 16-59 years) £0 - £6,000 £6,001 - £10,000 £10,001 - £15,000 £15,001 - £20,000 £20,001 - £25,000 £25,001 - £30,000 £30,001 - £40,000 £40,001+ All
Degree, Professional qualification 17 14 15 21 24 27 31 50 28
HNC/ HND or equivalent 9 8 11 11 10 13 13 12 11
Higher, A level or equivalent 25 15 13 17 18 18 21 18 18
O Grade, Standard Grade or equivalent 19 26 27 26 25 27 23 15 23
Other qualification 4 5 5 4 4 3 2 1 3
No qualifications 26 31 28 20 18 13 9 4 16
Qualification unknown 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Base 757 1,640 2,710 2,520 2,183 1,835 2,821 2,958 17,424

Household income in the SHS is that of the highest income householder and their partner only. Includes all adults for whom household income is known or has been imputed. Excludes refusals/don't know responses.

Satisfaction with Schooling

Parents of school aged children were asked about their satisfaction with the following three aspects of their child's schooling: [51]

  • the education provided;
  • the school's explanation of how parents can support children's learning outside school; and
  • the amount of information provided about their child's progress.

Type of area

Table 7.3 and Table 7.4 look at satisfaction with schooling according to the type of area in which parents live, based on the level of deprivation and urban rural classification. Overall levels of satisfaction with schooling are high. Over nine in ten (91%) of all parents with school-aged children are satisfied with the education provided by their child's school, slightly fewer (88%) are satisfied with the amount of information about their child's progress, and 79% are satisfied with the school's explanation of what support children need outside school (the tables present the items in order of the level of satisfaction, rather than the order presented in the questionnaire).

Table 7.3: Satisfaction with schooling by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
Percentages, 2009/2010 data

Parents of school aged children, % strongly agreed/tend to agree 15% Most Deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
I am satisfied with the education provided by the school 90 92 91
The school keeps me well informed about {child}'s progress 87 88 88
The school explains how I can support {child}'s learning outside school 79 80 79
Base 837 4,718 5,555

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

Table 7.3 shows that for all three aspects noted above, satisfaction levels are similar for parents in the 15% most deprived areas and in the rest of Scotland. Table 7.4 demonstrates that levels of satisfaction with all aspects of schooling are similarly high across all urban and rural areas, though slightly less satisfaction within remote rural areas particularly when considering whether the school explains how it can support the childs learning outside of the school.

Table 7.4: Satisfaction with schooling by Urban Rural Classification
Percentages, 2009/2010 data

Parents of school aged children, % strongly agreed/tend to agree Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
I am satisfied with the education provided by my school 92 91 92 89 92 88 91
The school keeps me well informed about {child}'s progress 89 86 88 86 89 87 88
The school explains how I can support {child}'s learning outside school 81 79 81 81 79 76 79
Base 1,846 1,698 534 287 694 497 5,556

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

Age of child

Parents' satisfaction with schooling can differ depending on the age of their child, this could reflect different levels of satisfaction with primary schools compared to secondary schools, or it could be the result of changing expectations for their children as they get older. As Table 7.5 demonstrates, satisfaction with the different elements of schooling does decrease as the age of the child increases. There is a more pronounced effect when considering the statement that their child's school explains how they can support their learning outside school: satisfaction is lower among parents of children aged 13 and over (74%) than it is for parents of the youngest school children (88%).

Table 7.5: Satisfaction with schooling by age of random school child
Percentages, 2009/2010 data

Parents of school aged children, % strongly agreed/tend to agree 4 to 6 7 to 9 10 to 12 13 and above All
I am satisfied with the education provided by my school 96 93 92 88 91
The school keeps me well informed about {child}'s progress 91 90 87 85 88
The school explains how I can support {child}'s learning outside school 88 83 80 74 80
Base 927 1,247 1,314 2,069 5,557

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

Opportunities for children to play

At the start of 2009, a series of questions on the opportunities for children to play in their neighbourhood was added to the SHS to measure progress on the Early Years Framework. [52] A key element of this framework is in improving the physical and social environment for children, with an emphasis on play. The set of questions is asked in one of two ways. If there is a child aged between 6 and 12 years, the questions will be set in the context of one of the children in the household. Otherwise, when there are no children in the household the questions will be asked in more general terms.

Table 7.6 shows that at least two-fifths of households have access to play areas within their neighbourhood. Over half (51%) have access to a park, whilst 38% can access a school playground. There are some differences based on the level of deprivation. In particular, of those households within the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland only 23% say there is a natural environment or wooded area in their neighbourhood, as compared to 45% in the rest of Scotland.

There is evidence of greater variation in access to play areas for children when considering the level of rurality. As expected, much higher proportion of households in rural areas have access to either fields (around 65%) and natural environment or wooded areas (70% or less) than urban areas. Those from the large urban areas generally have the lowest proportion of households being able to access children play areas, other than parks (51%).

Table 7.6: Types of children play areas available in the neighbourhood by Urban Rural Classification and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
Percentages, 2009/2010 data

Households Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Playground 40 48 54 54 52 41 46
Park 51 53 58 46 49 32 51
Football or other games pitch 34 43 51 40 45 39 40
Field or other open space 35 48 57 42 64 65 46
School playground 33 41 44 32 41 37 38
Natural environment/wooded area 28 41 55 42 65 70 41
Base 5,032 4,177 1,225 779 1,656 1,302 14,171
Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
Playground 42 46 46
Park 46 51 51
Football or other games pitch 38 40 40
Field or other open space 36 48 46
School playground 33 38 38
Natural environment/wooded area 23 45 41
Base 2,026 12,144 14,170

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

This question is only asked of half the sample.

Generally, those households within rural areas are more likely to say children would be very safe or fairly safe when walking or cycling to play areas on their own (Table 7.7). For example, 58% of householders in large urban areas think it would be safe to travel to a playground, compared to 79% in remote rural areas.

It should be noted that when considering traveling to play on the streets around the respondent's home, those from accessible small towns have the highest proportion saying it would be safe (53%).

There are also marked differences in feeling of safety when looking at deprivation. Those in the least deprived areas of Scotland are more likely to say it is safer for children to travel on their own to such play areas than those in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland.

Table 7.7: How safe it would be for children to walk or cycle to play areas on their own by Urban Rural Classification and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
Percentages, 2009/2010 data

Households Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Playground 58 67 72 74 73 79 66
Park 51 63 70 71 71 78 60
Football or other games pitch 58 61 66 75 68 76 63
Field or other open space 55 61 65 76 71 77 63
School playground 64 67 70 75 71 76 68
Natural environment/wooded area 40 41 47 59 60 72 49
Street/Road 37 49 53 46 47 47 44
Base (minimum) 1,431 1,696 544 259 680 346 5,357
Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
Playground 52 69 66
Park 49 62 60
Football or other games pitch 55 64 63
Field or other open space 50 65 63
School playground 61 69 68
Natural environment/wooded area 33 50 49
Street/Road 37 45 44
Base (minimum) 473 4,665 5,357

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

This question is only asked of half the sample.

Table 7.8 shows similar patterns of variation when considering how safe it would be for children to go to play areas with two or three friends to play. Again, those in rural areas are generally more likely to say they think children would be safer than those living in urban areas. Intuitively, the overall feeling of safety for each type of play area are higher when going with two or three friends than they are when children travel alone. Seventy three percent of householders think it would be safe for children to travel to a some kind of playground, as compared to 66% for children traveling alone. There is little difference in feelings of safety when considering the streets around the respondent's home.

Table 7.8: How safe it would be for children to go to play areas with 2 or 3 friends by Urban Rural Classification and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
Percentages, 2009/2010 data

Households Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Playground 66 75 77 77 78 81 73
Park 60 72 77 76 76 85 69
Football or other games pitch 66 70 74 79 73 79 70
Field or other open space 62 69 71 81 74 80 69
School playground 70 71 75 80 74 78 72
Natural environment/wooded area 46 49 55 65 66 73 55
Street/Road 39 51 56 47 49 47 46
Base (minimum) 1,431 1,696 544 259 680 346 5,357
Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
Playground 60 75 73
Park 59 70 69
Football or other games pitch 63 72 70
Field or other open space 56 71 69
School playground 67 73 72
Natural environment/wooded area 40 56 55
Street/Road 39 47 46
Base (minimum) 473 4,665 5,357

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.
This question is only asked of half the sample.

Householders concerns of children being bullied or harmed by other children while playing in play areas show little variation across the different types of play areas (Table 7.9). The lowest proportion of those with a concern over bullying by other children are for those playing within the streets around the respondent's home (30%). The next lowest is within school playgrounds, which may be associated with a greater likelihood of supervision by adults.

As before, there are marked differences when looking at impacts or rurality and deprivation. Those from rural areas are less concerned about bullying by other children (less than one third across all play areas) as compared to those from urban areas (up to a half of householders are concerned across all play areas).

Table 7.9: Concern of bullying by children in play areas by Urban Rural Classification and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
Percentages, 2009/2010 data

Households Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Playground 46 44 40 36 31 21 41
Park 46 44 40 38 30 24 42
Football or other games pitch 43 45 38 37 31 22 40
Field or other open space 43 43 38 32 25 17 37
School playground 36 40 34 31 27 19 35
Natural environment/wooded area 45 51 41 35 26 15 39
Street/Road 35 32 24 25 22 15 30
Base (minimum) 1,431 1,696 544 259 680 346 5,357
Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
Playground 55 38 41
Park 54 40 42
Football or other games pitch 51 38 40
Field or other open space 53 35 37
School playground 46 33 35
Natural environment/wooded area 58 38 39
Street/Road 45 27 30
Base (minimum) 473 4,665 5,357

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.
This question is only asked of half the sample.

There is less concern amongst householders of children being harmed by adults whilst playing in play areas (Table 7.10), though those saying they are very or fairly concerned are still high at around one third or higher within each play area. The greatest concern of safety is related to those playing within a natural environment or wooded area (45 per cent). In particular, those from the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland are much more likely to be concerned about the safety of children in coming to harm by adults in wooded areas (59%) than in other areas of Scotland (43%).

Table 7.11 shows the median age at which households believe the youngest age should be when it would be safe for a child to play in each of the different play areas without supervision. As can be seen, most would feel comfortable with children being aged around 9 or 10 years old to play without supervision at such play areas. This increases to closer to 11 years old when playing within a natural environment or wooded area.

Table 7.10: Concern of children being harmed by adults in play areas by Urban Rural Classification and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
Percentages, 2009/2010 data

Households Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Playground 37 37 29 30 26 14 33
Park 43 40 31 32 29 18 38
Football or other games pitch 38 41 30 31 28 16 35
Field or other open space 40 45 37 26 27 16 36
School playground 30 34 28 23 23 13 29
Natural environment/wooded area 51 57 45 36 32 17 45
Street/Road 34 32 21 24 23 16 30
Base (minimum) 1,431 1,696 544 259 680 346 5,357
Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
Playground 42 32 33
Park 48 36 38
Football or other games pitch 43 34 35
Field or other open space 47 35 36
School playground 40 27 29
Natural environment/wooded area 59 43 45
Street/Road 41 27 30
Base (minimum) 473 4,665 5,357

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.
This question is only asked of half the sample.

Table 7.11: Youngest age at which it would be safe for a child to play without supervision by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation and Urban Rural Classification
Percentages, 2009/2010 data

Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Playground 9.6 9.1 9.6 9.2 9.3 8.7 8.8 8.0 9.2
Park 10.2 9.7 10.3 9.7 9.4 8.9 9.0 8.3 9.7
Football or other games pitch 10.2 9.7 10.2 9.9 9.5 9.1 9.3 8.5 9.7
Field or other open space 10.2 9.6 10.1 9.9 9.7 8.9 9.1 8.2 9.6
School playground 9.6 9.2 9.5 9.4 9.2 8.9 8.9 8.4 9.2
Natural environment/wooded area 11.2 10.4 10.9 11.0 10.6 9.9 9.9 8.8 10.4
Street/Road 9.7 9.4 9.8 9.1 8.9 9.4 9.1 8.9 9.4
Base 714 5,178 1,793 1,794 632 393 794 486 5,892

Median age presented
Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.
This question is only asked of half the sample.

Those living in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland believe children should be slightly older before being allowed to play unsupervised. Similarly, those living in rural areas believe children can be slightly younger before being allowed to play unsupervised (aged just over 8 in playgrounds for example).

Participation in activities

The Scottish Government is interested in the extent to which young adults and children are involved in a range of activities. Those households for which there is someone aged between 8 and 21 are asked a series of questions within the SHS on whether they take part in a series of activities regularly. A fuller description of the activities are provided in the Glossary in Annex 2.

Table 7.12 shows that the majority of young people (52%) take part in sports or sporting activity whether played competitively or not. One quarter (25%) take part in music or drama activities (such playing in a band or a theatre group). Three per cent of young people are involved representing young people's views or involvement in youth politics while four per cent are involved in mentoring or peer education.

Table 7.12: Activities young people aged 8 to 21 take part in by Urban Rural Classification and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
Percentages, 2009/2010 data

Households Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Music or drama activities 25 23 22 29 29 24 25
Other arts activities 6 5 5 6 6 8 6
Sports or sporting activity 50 51 56 56 58 59 52
Other outdoor activities 17 17 20 28 28 35 20
Other groups or clubs 21 22 22 25 27 32 23
Representing young people's views 3 2 3 0 3 4 3
Mentoring or peer education 4 3 5 2 5 3 4
None 28 27 25 21 19 17 26
Base 1,718 1,487 424 237 557 366 4,789
Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
Music or drama activities 17 26 25
Other arts activities 4 6 6
Sports or sporting activity 43 54 52
Other outdoor activities 15 21 20
Other groups or clubs 20 23 23
Representing young people's views 1 3 3
Mentoring or peer education 2 4 4
None 36 24 26
Base 776 4,013 4,789

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.
This question is only asked of half the sample.

There are clear patterns in those not taking part in any of the activities within deprivation (36% in the 15% most deprived compared to 24% in the least deprived areas) and through the Urban Rural Classification (decreasing from 28% in large urban areas down to 17% in remote rural areas).

Those living in rural areas are more likely to have participated in some form of sporting activity (around 60%) as compared to those from towns and urban areas (50% in large urban areas). Participation in any of the activities is lower for those living in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland: most notably, 43% regularly take part in sporting activities compared to 54% in the least deprived areas, with similar differences in those undertaking music or drama activities (17% and 26% respectively).

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