Get into Summer 2021 evaluation: parents omnibus survey - report

4. Impacts of summer activities

Benefits for children and young people

Parents whose child/children had taken part in organised summer activities were firstly asked about the benefits they felt their children had experienced as a result.

The main benefits reported were: more opportunities to play with other children their children's age (87%), more time doing physical activity (81%), being outdoors (73%) and improvements in how their child was feeling generally (72%). Over half of parents (55%) said that summer activities enabled their child to be able to try out new activities and over two in five (43%) said that it had helped their child to feel more ready for school. More detail is in figure 4.1. below.

QSUMMER5.. Which of the following benefits, if any, did taking part in organised activities or holiday clubs this summer have for your child?

Base (all participants with at least one

child who took part in organised summer activities): 282

QSUMMER5b..And which of these would you say was the main benefit to your child of taking part in organised activities or holiday clubs this summer?

Base (all participants who answered SUMMER5): 282

Some differences in benefits experienced by children were present between various sub-groups.

Parents on lower incomes were more likely to report their children enjoying eating food as part of the activity as being one of the benefits of taking part. (34% of parents in households earning up to £25,999 a year compared to 24% of parents in households earning £26,000-£47,999 a year and 19% in households earning £48,000-£95,999 a year).

The benefits of participation varied by the child's age group. Key differences are:

• Younger children benefitted from spending more time with other children their age (reported for 95% of children aged 0-8 compared to 82% of 9-11 year olds, 83% of 12-14 year olds and 71% of 15-17 year olds).
• Children aged 12-14 were more likely to have taken part in activities where parents felt they benefited from spending more time outdoors (84% compared to 67% of parents of children aged up to 4).
• Children aged 12-14 were more likely to have benefited from enjoying eating food as part of the activity according to parents (36% of 12-14 year olds compared to 13% of 9-11s and 9% of 15-17s).

Benefits for parents

Parents were asked about the benefits they had experienced personally from their child/children taking part in organised activities or holiday clubs over the summer. The majority of parents identified a benefit for themselves (87%).

The most commonly reported benefits for the parents was that their child participating in activities improved their own mental wellbeing (49% of parents reported this) and that it improved the relationship with the child (41%).

QSUMMER5b..And which of the following benefits, if any, did your year-old child taking part in organised activities or holiday clubs this summer have for you?

Base (all participants with at least one child

who took part in organised summer activities): 282

While at lower levels, still a considerable proportion of parents reported other benefits, including:

• 27% felt they had made them aware of other services that might be useful to them or their child;
• 27% felt they had allowed them or their partner to work / study more;
• 24% felt they had helped them save money over the summer, and
• 22% felt they had given them or other people in the family the chance to do other things

There were some marked benefits for parents living in the most deprived areas who were more likely to say that:

• their child taking part in activities improved their mental wellbeing (64% compared to 8% of those in the least deprived)
• they feel their relationship with their child had improved (50% compared to 38% in the least deprived)

The benefit of allowing parents to work or study was most commonly mentioned by parents in middle and high income households (20% of parents from households earning up to £25,999 a year reported this as a benefit compared to 34% of those earning £26,000-£47,999 a year and 26% of those earning £48,000-£95,999 a year).

How to access background or source data

The data collected for this social research publication:

☐ are available in more detail through Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics

☒ are available via:

Data tables of survey results

Qualitative evaluation of Summer of Play programme

Combined report summarising evaluation findings

☐ may be made available on request, subject to consideration of legal and ethical factors. Please contact <email address> for further information.

☐ cannot be made available by Scottish Government for further analysis as Scottish Government is not the data controller.