Scottish Study of Early Learning and Childcare: final report

5. The impact of the expansion of funded ELC on parents and families

This chapter examines evidence from the SSELC surveys on two high-level outcomes, concerning whether parents’ opportunities to take up or sustain work, training or study have increased as a result of the expansion of funded ELC and whether parental health and wellbeing has improved. Evidence on the intermediate outcome around increased parental confidence and capacity is also examined.

In the previous chapter we looked at the impact of the expansion of funded ELC on children’s health and development. It must be recognised though, that children spend much more time with their families than they do in ELC. The experiences a child has at home have just as much, if not more, of an impact on their development as the ones they have while attending ELC. Multiple studies in Scotland and the UK have shown the importance of early experiences at home, including looking at books or other learning activities with family members and the quality of the parent-child relationships. These experiences have more influence on future achievement than the child’s innate ability, their material circumstances, the quality of ELC provision, or the quality of school provision.^[46] It is these experiences within the home that we will be looking at when discussing parental confidence and capacity and family wellbeing.

The SSELC was intended to consider four Evaluation Strategy questions in relation to these high-level outcomes:

• What impact has the expansion of funded ELC from 600 to 1140 hours per year had on parents' ability to work, train, or study and why?
• What impact has the expansion of funded ELC from 600 to 1140 hours per year had on parental health and wellbeing?
• What impact has the expansion of funded ELC from 600 to 1140 hours per year had on parental confidence and capacity in engaging with their child's learning, enhancing the home learning environment, and promoting their own wellbeing and confidence?
• What impact has the expansion of funded ELC from 600 to 1140 hours per year had on family wellbeing, in the context of ELC provision?

This chapter primarily analyses outcomes for parents and families of ELC Leavers to assess the impact of two years of funded ELC, using data collected before and after the expansion (Phases 2 and 5). Analysis of pre- and post-expansion data for parents of children eligible for funded ELC at age two, both at the start and one year into their funded ELC (Phases 1, 3, 4, and 6), is also included to assess the impact of a year of funded ELC on these families. Parent outcomes for Comparator 3s were also analysed to identify differences after a short period of ELC and to determine if changes observed in ELC Leavers occur after a few months or require the full two years of funded ELC. Comparing outcomes for parents of Eligible 2s after a year of funded ELC with those of Comparator 3s was also carried out to help assess whether the gap between these two groups had narrowed.

Parents’ ability to work, train or study

The employment-related outcomes considered here are: female respondents in work, training or full-time study; full-time working; part-time working and mean work hours. All these economic activity data were collected as part of the parent questionnaire administered at each study phase.

Analysis of employment-related measures was limited to female respondents to the parent questionnaire because most parents who responded were female and information about the partner was not collected at the first three phases of the study. While the ELC expansion wasn’t aimed at specifically supporting women into work, it is expected to have the greatest impact on women as they are, in general, the main caregiver and much more likely than men to work part-time. Female respondents could either be the study child’s mother or carer. From here on in, the term ‘mother’ is used as short-hand for mother or female carer.

Mothers of ELC Leavers

The percentage of mothers of ELC Leavers in work, training or full-time education post-expansion was higher than at the pre-expansion stage (84% compared with 76%) (Figure 5.1). Full-time employment was also higher at the post-expansion phase (37% (or 48% of those in employment), compared with 29% pre-expansion (42% of those in employment)). Neither part-time working, defined as working under 30 hours per week, nor mean hours per week worked, changed significantly post-expansion (27.4 hours compared with 26.9 hours pre-expansion).^[47]

Significant changes were also observed among particular groups of mothers of ELC Leavers. For example, pre-expansion, three in ten mothers living with a long-term illness or condition were in part-time work, increasing to four in ten post-expansion (30% and 40%, respectively), with the total in either full-time or part-time work also increasing from 56% to 67%.

For the mothers of ELC Leavers, full-time working increased from before to after the expansion of funded ELC among those with no educational qualifications; HNC/HND or other equivalent post-school qualifications and those with a university degree or other higher education or professional qualification (Figure 5.2). Apparent increases for those with upper school qualifications were not statistically significant. While both full-time working and mean hours worked had dropped among those whose highest qualification was Standard Grade and equivalent, this was coupled with an increase in part-time working for this group (from 26% pre-expansion to 41% post-expansion). Part-time working also increased among those with no educational qualifications, from 4% to 15% post-expansion.

As shown in Figure 5.3, there was an increase in the percentage of mothers of ELC Leavers in the lowest income group in employment, from 41% pre-expansion to 53% post-expansion. For the moderate/high income groups (the top 80% of equivalised household incomes), the difference in the proportion in employment (79% pre-expansion and 83% post-expansion) was not statistically significant. When looking at all mothers of ELC Leavers in lowest income group there was an apparent increase observed in part-time working (from 30% pre-expansion to 39% post-expansion). For all mothers in the moderate/high income groups there was an increase in the percentage who were in full-time employment (from 34% to 43% post-expansion).

When looking specifically at mothers in employment, however, the proportion in the lowest income group who were employed full-time remained the same (27% both pre- and post-expansion). However, the proportion of those in employment in the moderate/high income group who were in full-time employment rose from 43% to 51%.

Three regression models were created to dig further into the drivers of being in work, training or full-time education. The first looked at all mothers of ELC Leavers. It showed that the association between the phase of the study (pre- or post-expansion) and being in work, training or full-time education discussed above remained significant when controlling for additional factors. The odds of being in work, training or full-time education were around twice as high post-expansion as they were pre-expansion.^[48]

Other significant factors are noted in Table 5.1. These include factors related to the health of the mother or their child, the education of the mother, the availability of support from family and friends, the use of informal childcare, and the accessibility of the setting (in that it is a short travel time from home). Private settings generally provide more flexibility – so hours can be arranged around a parent’s work, rather than sticking to a school timetable and school terms.

Table 5.1: Factors associated with whether in work, study or training, mothers of ELC Leavers

Higher likelihood of being in work, training or full-time education (protective factors)

• Post-expansion (Phase 5)
• Mother respondent having higher level of education
• No more than two children in the household
• Two parent household
• Mother respondent gets childcare support from family and friends (even if not enough)
• Use of informal childcare
• Shorter travel time to ELC setting
• Setting where receive funded ELC is a private one

Lower likelihood of being in work, training or full-time education (risk factors)

• Mother respondent in bad or very bad health
• Mother respondent has a long-term health condition that limits daily activities
• Mother respondent from a non-white ethnic group Child has a long-term health condition, whether limiting or not

A second model was run for mothers of ELC Leavers where the child was receiving only funded ELC from the setting (Table 5.2). The results were very similar to those from the first model (Table 5.1), with one notable difference. Travel time and use of a private ELC setting were no longer significant. Thus, when respondents were using only funded hours, particularly pre-expansion when this was less common, the accessibility and flexibility around hours was less important. In this model, the odds of being in work, training or full-time education were around 2.5 times as high post-expansion as they were pre-expansion.

Table 5.2: Factors associated with whether in work, study or training, mothers of ELC Leavers receiving only funded ELC

Higher likelihood of being in work, training or full-time education (protective factors)

• Post-expansion (Phase 5)
• Mother respondent having higher level of education
• Fewer children in the household
• Two parent household
• Mother respondent gets childcare support from family and friends (even if not enough)
• Use of additional informal childcare

Lower likelihood of being in work, training or full-time education (risk factors)

• Mother respondent in bad or very bad health
• Mother respondent has a long-term health condition that limits daily activities
• Mother respondent from a non-white ethnic group
• Mother respondent has concerns about child's speech or understanding

Results from a third model, looking only at mothers of ELC Leavers from households in the lowest income quintile are included in the supplementary tables.

Mothers of Comparator 3s

Typically, ELC Leavers had been in funded ELC for nearly two years when their parents completed the SSELC questionnaires. In contrast, the Comparator 3s had typically received funded ELC for less than six months. This allows us to assess how quickly any changes in employment patterns occur after the start of funded ELC.

From before to after the expansion, there was no statistically significant change in the percentage of mothers of Comparator 3s in work, training or full-time education (82% post-expansion, compared with 77% pre-expansion). Similarly, the proportion of mothers of Comparator 3s in full-time work or in part-time work, and the mean weekly hours worked did not change for this group of mothers, after the expansion of funded ELC. The only post-expansion change observed for mothers of Comparator 3s was among those whose highest educational qualification was ‘Highers level or equivalent’ or ‘degree level or equivalent’. For these women, mean weekly hours worked was significantly higher post-expansion (29.2 and 29.6 hours, respectively compared with pre-expansion figures of 23.2 and 26.9 hours).

Eligible 2s after a year of funded ELC

Eligible 2s and their families took part at age two, when the child was at the beginning of their funded ELC journey, and then again at age three, after the child had been in receipt of funded ELC for around a year. While the percentage of mothers of Eligible 2s in work, study or full-time education as a whole after their child had been in funded ELC for a year did not change significantly, post-expansion, a significant change in full-time working was observed. The proportion of mothers of Eligible 2s at age three in full-time employment was three times as high post-expansion as it was pre-expansion (16%, compared with 5% pre-expansion, or 37% of those in employment, compared with 15% pre-expansion) (Figure 5.4). No change in part-time employment or mean weekly hours worked was observed.

Difference between Eligible 2s at age three and Comparator 3s

Post-expansion, mothers of Comparator 3s remained significantly more likely than mothers of Eligible 2s at age three to be in any work, training or full-time education (77%, compared with 40%). While the gap between these two groups of mothers appeared to have widened, post-expansion, there was no statistically significant difference between them (pre-expansion gap of 28 percentage points and post-expansion gap of 37 points). Similar patterns were observed for full-time and part-time working and mean hours worked.

Summary and discussion

According to the Office for National Statistics Annual Population Survey data, estimated employment rates among women aged 16 to 64 in Scotland have remained relatively constant between 2024 (when the post-expansion ELC Leavers study was conducted) (71.8%) and 2019 (when the pre-expansion ELC Leavers study was conducted) (71.7%).^[49] This was also the case for women of similar ages to most of those using funded ELC: the estimated employment rate for women aged 25-34 was 78.3% in 2019 and 78.6% in 2024; and for women aged 35-49 the rate was 79.7% in both years.^[50] By comparison, the SSELC data show that, over the same time period, the proportion of mothers of ELC Leavers in work increased from 69% to 78%, while the proportion in work, training or full-time education increased from 76% to 84%. Because of the limited number of male respondents, it is not possible to provide a more general answer for all parents. However, given the already higher levels of male full-time employment, the expectation was that the impact of the expansion would be greater for mothers.

For the Comparator 3s group, the proportion of mothers in work, training or full-time education increased over the same period from 77% to 82%, albeit not significantly. This suggests that more than half of the increase for the ELC Leavers may have been achieved in the first few months of the child starting funded ELC.

The expansion of funded ELC is not the only factor that is likely to have contributed to increased employment opportunities for parents. The expansion of funded ELC took place during a period of high employment rates and substantial change in the labour market. Since the pandemic there has been a massive increase in hybrid working, and this may be particularly appealing to those with young children. ONS data show that in 2024, 43% of mothers were working from home at least part of the time.^[51] Hybrid working or working from home was even higher for fathers (56%), which could provide opportunities for their partners to go out to work.

The evaluation question also asks why the expansion has had an effect. This is not a question that the SSELC is able to answer. Increases in employment were seen for most subgroups, although that was not universally the case. The proportion in full-time employment fell for those with lower school qualifications (e.g. standard grades). While employment rose for people of all incomes, for those in the lowest income quintile this was driven by an increase in part-time working, while for those in other income groups there was a move towards full-time working.

The regression analysis suggested that some parents relied on support from friends or family, particularly in providing additional childcare, or on paying for more hours at the ELC setting to allow them to take up work or study. In Chapter 3 we saw that use of unfunded ELC and informal childcare was less common post-expansion, particularly among those on low incomes. Hence it can be argued that, with the expansion of funded ELC, not having such networks or the ability to pay for childcare are less of an issue for those wishing to take up employment.

Parental health and wellbeing

Three measures of parental health and wellbeing were collected by the study: general health; mental wellbeing – using the shortened Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS); and life satisfaction.^[52]

Mental wellbeing was identified as the key outcome for parents of the Eligible 2s, rather than the proportion of women in employment, study or training, which was taken as the key parental outcome for the ELC Leavers. This is because it was expected that many of the parents of Eligible 2s would not be ready to start work within a year of their child starting funded ELC. Instead, improved wellbeing was viewed as an interim measure along the road to work.

For general health, the proportion of parents reporting having good or very good health were compared pre- and post-expansion. Since mental wellbeing and life satisfaction were collected using scales, average scores on the scales were compared. For mental wellbeing, a higher score on the scale indicates more positive mental wellbeing and for life satisfaction a higher score indicates greater life satisfaction.

Looking first at parents of ELC Leavers, there was no change in the overall proportion reporting good or very good health pre- and post-expansion (85% and 84% respectively). There were also no notable or statistically significant changes in the associations between parental characteristics and self-reported general health nor in the differences between different sub-groups. For example, both pre- and post-expansion, parents in single adult households were less likely than couple parents to report good or very good health and the difference between them did not change.

Mental wellbeing appeared to decrease slightly overall post-expansion with mean scores dropping slightly from 24.6 to 24.2. Trends in mental wellbeing among parental sub-groups remained similar with no notable or statistically significant changes in the differences between parents with different characteristics. For example, both pre- and post-expansion, parents with a long-term health condition reported lower mean wellbeing scores than parents without a long-term health condition and there was no statistically significant change in the gap between these groups.

Parental life satisfaction did not change post-expansion (a mean of 7.9 pre-expansion and 8.0 post-expansion) and there were no changes within parental sub-groups, with those groups who had lower life satisfaction pre-expansion doing similarly post-expansion and no change in the difference between groups.

For parents of Comparator 3s there was no statistically significant change post-expansion in the proportion reporting good or very good health (83% and 85% pre-expansion). Some change was observed among parents in different age groups, though the pattern was not consistent. As shown in Figure 5.5, for those aged 25 to 29, 35 to 39 and 40 or older, the proportion reporting good or very good health increased, but for those aged 30 to 34, the proportion decreased.

Mean wellbeing scores for parents of Comparator 3s did not change significantly post-expansion either overall or among particular sub-groups. Average life satisfaction scores of Comparator 3s parents also did not change at an overall level (7.8 pre-expansion and 7.9 post-expansion) but there was some change in the differences by area deprivation. For parents of Comparator 3s living in the most deprived areas, mean life satisfaction score dropped from 8.1 pre-expansion to 7.4 post-expansion. For those living elsewhere the difference observed was not statistically significant. Thus, whilst pre-expansion there was no notable difference in life satisfaction between parents of Comparator 3s living in the most deprived areas and those living elsewhere (a gap of 0.3), post-expansion a gap of 0.6 emerged with parents in the most deprived areas having lower average life satisfaction.

Post-expansion, no statistically significant changes in the mental wellbeing, life satisfaction or the proportion reporting good or very good health for parents of Eligible 2s at age three.

Table 5.3 summarises the results from the linear regression model of wellbeing for the parents of Eligible 2s after a year of funded ELC. This confirms the finding of no significant change following the expansion, when other factors are controlled.

Higher wellbeing (higher SWEMWBS score) (protective factors)

• Higher parent SWEMWBS score when child is age two
• Lower CHAOS score (more ordered household) (when child aged three)
• Parent respondent in good or very good health (when child aged three)

Lower wellbeing (lower SWEMWBS score) (risk factors)

• Parent respondent having upper school or degree level qualifications
• Parent respondent has a long-term health condition that limits daily activities a lot (when child aged three)
• Household with another child aged under one (when child aged three)
• Parent respondent feels they are often not coping well as a parent (when child aged three)

Parental health and wellbeing outcomes for Eligible 2s at age three were compared with Comparator 3s to determine if the difference between Eligible 2s at age three and the national average outcomes had changed post-expansion. The differences between these two groups for good/very good health, mental wellbeing or life satisfaction did not change significantly post-expansion. Both pre- and post-expansion, parents of Eligible 2s at age three were less likely than parents of Comparator 3s to report good or very good health (and had lower mean mental wellbeing). For life satisfaction, there was no statistically significant difference between these groups of parents at either stage.

Summary and discussion

The data used for this section provide no real evidence of a change in parental health and wellbeing since the expansion.

For the parents of the ELC Leavers, neither general health nor life satisfaction changed significantly after the expansion of funded ELC. For parents of Eligible 2s at age three and Comparator 3s, general health, mental wellbeing and life satisfaction were similar pre- and post-expansion.

Differences in the health and wellbeing between subgroups of parents did exist. For example, both pre-expansion and post-expansion, parents with a long-term health condition had lower reported mean wellbeing scores than those without a long-term health condition. However, the observed gaps between these groups were not significantly different pre- and post-expansion.

The only significant difference to emerge was that mental wellbeing fell slightly for parents of ELC leavers post-expansion. This is consistent with trends in mental wellbeing for all adults reported in the Scottish Health Survey.^[53]

Previous SSELC reports have identified some perceived positive effects of ELC on parental wellbeing. At all phases, figures have been reported for the proportion of parents agreeing that, because their child is in ELC, they have been feeling less stressed, and the proportion agreeing that, because their child is in ELC, they have been feeling happier. For the ELC Leavers, pre-expansion 38% reported feeling less stressed and 35% feeling happier. Post-expansion these figures had increased to 46% and 43% respectively.

Parental confidence and capacity in engaging with their child’s learning and enhancing the home environment

Two sets of questions measuring the home environment were collected in the SSELC surveys. The home learning environment was assessed by asking parents how many days per week their child carried out particular activities, such as looking at books or painting and drawing at home, with them or someone else in the household. Responses to the four questions were combined to create a home learning environment scale, with a higher mean score indicative of more frequent learning activities.

Calmness and order within the home was measured via the confusion, hubbub and order scale (CHAOS). Parents were asked the extent to which they agreed with four separate statements relating to order in the home. Responses were used to create a CHAOS score, with lower values indicating calmer households and higher values a greater degree of disorganisation / lack of routine. See Appendix A for more information.

For the ELC Leavers, there was no change in the average home learning environment score pre- and post-expansion (average scores of 20.5 and 20.9, respectively). Both pre- and post-expansion, average home learning environment scores were higher for ELC Leaver girls than for boys (Figure 5.6). The gap between girls’ and boys’ average scores was, however, wider post-expansion due to an increase in mean home learning environment score for girls (from 21.5 pre-expansion to 22.5 post-expansion).

Parental assessments of the level of calmness and order within the home did not change significantly for ELC Leavers, with an average CHAOS score of 7.9 both pre- and post-expansion. There were also no notable or statistically significant changes for any of the subgroups examined.

For families of Eligible 2s, both pre- and post-expansion, there was no significant change in average home learning environment score after one year of ELC. Pre-expansion, the average score was 19.7 at age two and 21.0 at age three. The equivalent figures post-expansion were 19.2 and 20.7 respectively. Parents of the Eligible 2s were not asked questions related to the CHAOS scale in the first phase of data collection.

There was also no change in the magnitude of the difference between families of Eligible 2s at age three and Comparator 3s in average home learning score pre- and post-expansion. Pre-expansion, the average score for families of Eligible 2s was 20.5 and was 21.1 for families of Comparator 3s. Post-expansion, the average score for Eligible 2s was 19.8 and for Comparator 3s was 21.3.

Similarly, there was no significant change in CHAOS scores for families of Eligible 2s, compared with Comparator 3s. Both pre- and post-expansion, Eligible 2s had a higher average score, indicating a greater degree of disorganisation, than Comparator 3s, and the size of the difference between these scores did not change post-expansion.

Summary and discussion

As part of the expansion of funded ELC, settings were encouraged to provide support for families, for example by encouraging parents to read with their children and to support home learning activities.

The findings in this section relate to the evaluation question concerning the impact the expansion of funded has had on parental confidence and capacity in engaging with their child's learning and enhancing the home learning environment, as well as the providing evidence towards the question on family wellbeing.

There is little evidence from the scales considered in this section that the expansion has been associated with an improvement in parental confidence and capacity or family wellbeing. However, among the ELC Leavers there has been a significant increase in home learning activities for girls, while there has been no change for boys, further widening the gap between them. There was also no change for the Eligible 2s and the gap between the Eligible 2s and Comparator 3s did not change.

The lack of evidence does not imply that the expansion has not helped any parents improve their confidence and capacity to encourage their children’s learning. As this type of support is targeted at those who need it most, it is possible that changes were too small to be picked up in the sample.

Parental confidence in own abilities as a parent and childcare support from family and friends

Two questions included in the surveys aimed to measure the extent to which parents felt confident in their parenting abilities as well as parental perceptions of the informal childcare support available to them from their social network.

Parental confidence was measured by asking parents to rate how well they felt they coped nowadays, with answer options ranging from ‘I always feel I am coping really well – things never get on top of me’ to ‘I feel like I am not coping at all these days’. The proportion of parents reporting coping pretty well or really well was compared pre- and post-expansion.

Data on available informal support was collected by asking parents whether they felt they got enough support / help with childcare from family and friends living outside their household. The proportion of parents reporting getting enough support was compared pre- and post-expansion.

Looking first at parents of ELC Leavers, there was a decrease post-expansion in the proportion of these parents reporting that they were coping at least pretty well most of the time (from 75% pre-expansion, to 70% post-expansion). This was coupled with an increase in the proportion reporting that they sometimes felt they were coping but sometimes things got on top of them (from 24% pre-expansion to 28% post-expansion) (Figure 5.7).

Patterns for coping ability, however, remained similar between sub-groups with no notable or statistically significant changes in the differences between parents with varying characteristics. For example, both pre- and post-expansion, parents living in Scotland’s most deprived areas, and those with the lowest household incomes, were less likely than others to report coping at least pretty well most of the time. The gap between these groups and others did not change significantly post-expansion.

There was no change in the overall proportion of parents of ELC Leavers reporting that they received enough support with childcare from family and friends. Pre-expansion, 69% said they got enough support from family or friends living outside of their household. The equivalent figure post-expansion was 67%.

There were no notable post-expansion changes in perceived support between different sub-groups of ELC Leavers’ parents. Both pre- and post-expansion, older parents were most likely to feel they were not getting enough support / help from family and friends.

There were no statistically significant changes in reported coping ability or support received from friends and family for parents of Eligible 2s after their child had attended ELC for a year.

Similarly, when comparing results from parents of Comparator 3s with parents of Eligible 2s at age three there was no change in the difference between those parents in terms of either the proportion reporting they were able to cope pretty well most of the time or always, or the percentage reporting getting enough support with childcare from family and friends. Both pre- and post-expansion, parents of Eligible 2s at age three were less likely than parents of Comparator 3s to report coping at least pretty well (57% of parents of Eligible 2s and 73% of parents of Comparator 3s pre-expansion, and 55% of parents of Eligible 2s and 64% of parents of Comparator 3s pre-expansion). For views on childcare support from family and friends, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups at either stage.

Summary and discussion

How well a parent feels they are coping, and how they feel about the support with childcare they get from family and friends, both feed into the concept of family wellbeing. Looking at the two measures discussed in this section, there is no evidence to date for an impact of the expansion of ELC on family wellbeing.

Among the parents of ELC Leavers, there was a decline, post-expansion, in the proportion assessing themselves as always coping really well or coping pretty well most of the time, from 75% to 70%. This needs to be considered in the context of COVID and the associated protective public health measures. We have already noted declines in wellbeing, not just in the SSELC data, but from other sources covering all adults in Scotland. For the Eligible 2s no decline was observed, but that may be due to small sample sizes. The proportion of parents of the Eligible 2s reporting coping at least pretty well remained lower than that for parents of the Comparator 3s both pre- and post-expansion.

For all three groups, there was no change, post-expansion, in parent views on the sufficiency of the support they received from families and friends.

Parent-child relationships

An additional component of family wellbeing captured within the SSELC questionnaires was the warmth of the bond between parent and child. The parent-child warmth scale used in the SSELC comprised seven items, including capturing how often the child smiles at their parent and how affectionate their child is towards them. Together these items form the warmth dimension of the short form of the Mothers’ Object Relations Scale (MORS-SF), a scale with a maximum possible score of 35.^[54] See Appendix A for more information.

Looking first at parents of ELC Leavers, there was no change in the average warmth scale score pre- and post-expansion (mean score of 32.6 both pre- and post-expansion) (Figure 5.8). The only notable change among subgroups related to the presence of a long-standing health condition for the child.

Pre-expansion, the average warmth scale score was 32.0 where the ELC leaver had long-term health condition and 32.7 for those with no such condition (a difference of 0.7). Post-expansion, the difference between these two groups had increased to 2.1 (mean score of 30.8 for ELC Leavers with a condition and 32.9 with none). This change is largely explained by a drop, post-expansion, in the mean warmth score for those parents of ELC Leavers with a long-standing health condition (from 32.0 to 30.8).

There was no statistically significant change in the average parent-child warmth score for Eligible 2s after the child had attended ELC for a year. Pre-expansion, the average scores were 32.5 at age 2 and 32.7 at age 3. The equivalent post-expansion scores were 32.1 and 31.9, respectively.

Summary and discussion

The final element of family wellbeing we have looked at as part of the SSELC is the parent-child relationship, as measured by the warmth dimension from the Mothers Object Relations Scale. As with the other elements discussed in the previous sections, the SSELC provides no evidence to date of an impact of the expansion of ELC on family wellbeing.

For both the ELC Leavers and the Eligible 2s, there was no significant change in score on the parent-child warmth scale following the expansion of funded ELC. The only difference of note was a fall in the average score on the scale for ELC leavers with a long-term condition. The reason for this is not evident from the data.