Publication - Research and analysis

Early learning and childcare - parents' views and use: survey findings 2022

Published: 20 December 2022
From: Director-General Education and Justice
Directorate: Learning Directorate
Part of: Children and families
ISBN: 9781805251712

Findings from a survey undertaken to explore use of, and views on, early learning and childcare (ELC) services among parents and other primary carers of children in Scotland who have not yet started school.

Early learning and childcare expansion evaluation

Supporting documents

Appendix B: Data Tables

Tables referenced in the report are provided in this Annex. A full set of indexed tables setting out all the breakdowns presented within this report is provided in the Excel Supporting data tables file.

Sample - Profile of respondents (unweighted)

Table A1: Profile of survey respondents (unweighted)
	Survey respondents
Gender of parent*	Result 1
Man	6%
Woman	93%
Other	0%
Prefer not to say	1%
Age of parent respondent*
Under 25	3%
25-29	13%
30-34	30%
35-39	33%
40-44	17%
45+	4%

Notes: * base all respondents: 8181 for gender, 7938 for age

Table A2: Profile of survey respondents (unweighted)
	Survey respondents
Number of earners in household*
No earners in household	9%
Single earner household	23%
Double earner household	68%
Household type*
Single parent	16%
Two parents	82%
Other	1%
PNTS	1%
Children's age*
Under 1	11%
1	14%
2	19%
3	33%
4	41%
5	13%
Parents with children who have additional support needs**
No	86%
Yes	14%
Types of additional special needs
Autistic spectrum disorder	4%
English as an additional language	1%
Family circumstances (including bereavement and young carers)	1%
Hearing or visual impairment, or deafblind	1%
Language, speech and communication difficulties	7%
Learning difficulties or dyslexia	1%
Looked after by the local authority	1%
Physical or motor impairment, physical or mental health difficulty	1%
Social, emotional or behavioural difficulty	4%
Other	2%

* Base all respondents: 8181 ** Base all eligible for funded ELC: 7043

Table A3: Profile of survey respondents (unweighted)
Employment Status*
Full-time employment	33%
Part-time employment	40%
Self-employed	6%
Unemployed and looking for work	4%
Student	3%
Retired	<1%
Other	4%
Prefer not to say	2%
Household Income*
Less than £16,000	15%
£16,000 to £29,000	17%
£30,000 to £44,999	18%
£45,000 to £59,999	15%
£60,000 and over	23%
Prefer not to say	11%

Table A4: Profile of survey respondents (unweighted)
	Survey respondents
Urban/Rural*
Large urban areas	28%
Other urban areas	33%
Accessible small towns	11%
Remote small towns	4%
Accessible rural	14%
Remote rural	7%
No postcode / unrecognised	4%
Ethnicity*
White	94%
Mixed or multiple ethnic groups	1%
Asian, Scottish Asian or British Asian	2%
African, Scottish African or British African	1%
Caribbean or Black	<1%
Other ethnic group	<1%
Prefer not to say	2%
English as an additional language*
Yes	18%
No	80%
Prefer not to say	1%
Physical or mental health condition*
Yes	15%
No	80%
Don't know	1%
Prefer not to say	4%

Notes: * base all respondents: 8181

Profile of the sample

Profile of survey the respondents

The profile of the survey respondents was reviewed to establish the extent to which the core analysis sub-groups (age, working status, income, household type, etc.) were inter-related. This suggests the sample contained two broad groupings each with a number of common characteristics:

first, younger, lower income parents, who tend to be a single parent households, disproportionately not working, and disproportionately living in the most deprived areas
second, older parents, earning towards the higher income brackets, with two parent households, more likely to have two working parents, and less likely to live in deprived areas

Table A5: Profile of survey respondents: all and those aged under 25 and aged 30-34
	All	Aged under 25	Aged 30-34
Household type
Single parent	17%	58%	16%
Two parent	83%	42%	84%
Base	8007	237	2305
Employment status
0 parents in work	9%	37%	9%
1 parent in work	24%	46%	23%
2 parents in work	67%	16%	68%
Base	8007	237	2305
Income
Less than £16,000	16%	53%	16%
£16,000-£29,999	17%	28%	18%
£30,000-£45,999	18%	8%	21%
£45,000-£59,000	15%	2%	17%
£60,000+	23%	0%	19%
Base	8181	245	2344
Deprivation
Most deprived	18%	42%	20%
Other	82%	58%	80%
Base	7552	224	2176

Age:

58% of under 25s are a single parent households, compared to only 10% of those aged 35-39 years old
53% of under 25s earn less than £16,000, in contrast this is 10% for the older parents and 16% for the sample as a whole
the under 25s then make up the largest proportion of the most deprived compared to the older parents taking up the least (42% vs 13%)

Table A6: Age
Age
	All	Under 25s	25-29	30-34	35-39
Household type Single parent	17%	58%	33%	16%	10%
Two parents	83%	42%	67%	84%	90%
Base	8007	237	1043	2305	2593
Employment status 0 parents in work	9%	37%	19%	9%	5%
1 parent in work	24%	46%	32%	23%	20%
2 parents in work	67%	16%	49%	68%	75%
Base	8007	237	1043	2305	2593
Income Less than £16,000	16%	53%	30%	16%	10%
£16,000-£29,999	17%	28%	25%	18%	14%
£30,000-£44,999	18%	8%	18%	21%	18%
£45,000-£59,999	15%	2%	10%	17%	16%
£60,000+	23%	0%	6%	19%	32%
Base	8181	245	1068	2344	2616
Deprivation (SIMD) Most deprived	18%	42%	32%	20%	13%
Other	82%	58%	68%	80%	87%
Base	7552	224	984	2176	2447

Working status:

only 1% of under 25s households have two parents in work compared to 37% of those aged 35-39 years old
32% of the top earners have two parents in work, compared to 4% of the lowest earners
49% of the most deprived have no parents working while only 11% have two parents in work

Table A7: Working Status
Working status
	All	0 parents in work	1 parent in work	2 parents in work
Age Under 25s	3%	13%	6%	1%
25-29	14%	27%	18%	10%
30-34	29%	29%	28%	30%
35-39	33%	17%	28%	37%
40-44	17%	10%	16%	19%
45+	4%	4%	4%	3%
Base	7938	706	1823	5282
Household type Single parent	17%	76%	42%	0%
Two parents	83%	24%	58%	100%
Base	8007	723	1864	5420
Income Less than £16,000	16%	69%	27%	4%
£16,000-£29,999	17%	14%	28%	13%
£30,000-£44,999	18%	2%	17%	20%
£45,000-£59,999	15%	0%	8%	20%
£60,000+	23%	-	9%	32%
Base	8181	723	1864	5420
Deprivation (SIMD) Most deprived	18%	49%	27%	11%
Other	82%	51%	73%	89%
Base	7552	669	1728	5019

Households type:

of those in a two parent household, there are only 2% of under 25s compared to 36% of those aged 35-39 year old
only 3% of two parent households have no parents in work, unlike 42% of single parent households
only 1% of highest earners are single parent households compared to 28% for two parent households, with the overall sample sitting at 23%
42% of single parent households are in the most deprived category compared with 13% of two parent households

Table A8: Household type
Household type
	All	Single parent	Two parents
Age Under 25s	3%	11%	2%
25-29	14%	26%	11%
30-34	29%	28%	30%
35-39	33%	20%	36%
40-44	17%	12%	19%
45+	4%	3%	4%
Base	7938	1293	6518
Employment status 0 parents in work	9%	42%	3%
1 parent in work	24%	58%	16%
2 parents in work	67%		81%
Base	8007	1319	6688
Income Less than £16,000	16%	59%	7%
£16,000-£29,999	17%	22%	15%
£30,000-£44,999	18%	7%	20%
£45,000-£59,999	15%	2%	18%
£60,000+	23%	1%	28%
Base	8181	1319	6688
Deprivation (SIMD) Most deprived	18%	42%	13%
Other	82%	58%	87%
Base	7552	1220	6196

Additional support needs:

parent aged under 25 years were much less likely to have a child with ASN than parents aged 35-39 years (4% vs 29%)
parents with a child with ASN are less likely to both be in work compared with other parents (50% compared with 68%)
possibly linked to this, parents of a child with ASN are more likely to be on a low income (for example 23% earn less than %16K compared to 15% of other parents, whereas 14% earn more than £60,000 compared to 24% of other parents)

Table A9: Additional Support Needs
ASN
	All	No	Yes
Age Under 25s	3%	3%	4%
25-29	14%	13%	15%
30-34	29%	28%	30%
35-39	33%	34%	29%
40-44	17%	18%	17%
45+	4%	4%	5%
Base	7938	5871	974
Household type Single parent	17%	17%	24%
Two parents	83%	83%	76%
Base	8007	5921	973
Employment status 0 parents in work	9%	9%	19%
1 parent in work	24%	23%	31%
2 parents in work	67%	68%	50%
Base	8007	5921	973
Income Less than £16,000	16%	15%	23%
£16,000-£29,999	17%	16%	22%
£30,000-£44,999	18%	18%	15%
£45,000-£59,999	15%	15%	11%
£60,000+	23%	24%	14%
Base	8181	6035	1008
Deprivation (SIMD) Most deprived	18%	17%	26%
Other	82%	83%	74%
Base	7552	5612	922

Income:

there is a large disparity of parents earning between £30,000-£44,999, they are more likely to be aged 35-39 years old than under 25 (33% vs 1%)
single parents comprise most (64%) of those earning less than £16,000, but just 7% of those earning between £30,000-£44,999, whereas 93% of those earning between £30,000-£44,999 are two parents
of those who are most deprived areas, 42% of those earning less than £16,000 live in deprived areas

Table A10: Income
Income
	All	Less than £16,000	£16,000-£29,999	£30,000-£44,999
Age Under 25s	3%	11%	5%	1%
25-29	14%	25%	21%	14%
30-34	29%	30%	31%	35%
35-39	33%	21%	27%	33%
40-44	17%	10%	13%	15%
45+	4%	3%	3%	3%
Base	7938	1243	1327	1441
Household type Single parent	17%	64%	23%	7%
Two parents	83%	36%	77%	93%
Base	8007	1224	1324	1454
Employment status 0 parents in work	9%	42%	8%	1%
1 parent in work	24%	41%	40%	23%
2 parents in work	67%	17%	52%	76%
Base	8007	1224	1324	1454
Deprivation (SIMD) Most deprived	18%	42%	27%	15%
Other	82%	58%	73%	85%
Base	7552	1174	1266	1375

Profile of childcare: use by parents of children aged three to five

Q:SQ3 – Which of the following types of childcare and early learning to you use for your children? Bases 3-5s 6,875

Table A11: ELC use (3-5s), by no. of parents in work, income, age of parent, and English as an additional language
	FELC	Paid-for	Regular informal	Occasional informal
Number of parents in work
None	94%	3%	3%	4%
One	95%	14%	14%	8%
Two	94%	28%	32%	11%
Income
Less than £16,000	95%	7%	10%	6%
£16,000-£29,999	93%	17%	18%	8%
£30,000-£44,999	94%	19%	26%	11%
£45,000-£59,999	94%	26%	36%	12%
£60,000+	96%	39%	34%	8%
Age of parent
Under 25	94%	6%	8%	7%
25-29	94%	14%	16%	9%
30-34	95%	18%	26%	9%
35-39	95%	26%	28%	10%
English as a second language
Yes	91%	21%	13%	7%
No	95%	22%	28%	10%

Omnibus tables

An omnibus survey of parents with children in Scotland was also undertaken to inform the main survey design. It used a cut-down version of the draft questionnaire and was used to inform the study design and provide context for the analysis. Key tables from the omnibus are provided below.

Table A12: Omnibus data
Number of children aged under 6	Omnibus respondents
Under 1	32	19%
1 year old	29	17%
2 years old	43	26%
3 years old	46	28%
4 years old	53	32%
5 years old	20	12%
Base	162

Use of funded ELC (all children aged 3-5 years)
My child is currently attending funded early learning and childcare (or starts in the next few weeks)	82	79%
My child is not currently attending funded early learning and childcare, but has done so since August 2021	3	3%
My child does not currently attend funded early learning and childcare, and has not done so since August 2021	11	11%
Don't know	8	8%
Base	104

Types of funded ELC used (children who use FELC aged 3-5)
Local authority nursery class	45	53%
Private nursery	33	39%
Playgroup (i.e. where child attends without parent/ carer)	8	9%
Community/ voluntary nursery	4	5%
Family centre (i.e. where child attends without parent/ carer)	3	4%
Childminder	3	4%
Other	1	1%
Base	85

Main reasons for using funded ELC (children who use FELC aged 3-5)
It will be/ was good for my child's social, emotional and/ or behavioural development	61	72%
It will be/ was good for my child's learning	57	67%
It will help/ helped build my child's independence/confidence	55	65%
To work or look for work	46	54%
It will be/ was good for my ability to help my child's learning and development at home	31	36%
To reduce the burden on grandparents/ because informal care not available	31	36%
To have more time for household tasks such as cooking, DIY, etc	22	26%
To have more time to look after myself (ourselves): to rest, de-stress, exercise, socialise, etc.	21	25%
To increase the no. of hours that I/ my partner work	17	20%
To study or improve work-related skills	9	11%
To have more time to look after other children	9	11%
Other	1	1%
Don't know	3	4%
Base	85

How many hours of funded ELC used per week (children who use FELC aged 3-5)
	Term-time		School holidays
None	1	1%	35	41%
1-5	6	7%	3	4%
6-10	3	4%	2	2%
11-15	8	9%	4	5%
16-20	19	22%	10	12%
21-25	16	19%	11	13%
26-30	17	20%	6	7%
More than 30	13	15%	8	9%
Don't know	2	2%	6	7%
Base	85		85

Types of childcare used (all with preschool children)
Childcare or early learning that I pay for myself	59	35%
Informal childcare (e.g. grandparent, other relative, friend) on an occasional or irregular basis	58	35%
Informal childcare (e.g. grandparent, other relative, friend) on a regular or frequent basis	53	32%
Other	2	1%
None of these	40	24%
Don't know	9	5%
Base	162

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 an alternative route

☒ may be made available on request, subject to consideration of legal and ethical factors. Please contact socialresearch@gov.scot for further information.

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

Contact

Email: socialresearch@gov.scot

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Information

Appendix B: Data Tables

Sample - Profile of respondents (unweighted)

Profile of the sample

Profile of survey the respondents

Age:

Working status:

Households type:

Additional support needs:

Income:

Profile of childcare: use by parents of children aged three to five

How to access background or source data

Contact

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