Scottish Study of Early Learning and Childcare: Phase 5 Report
This report outlines findings from the 5th phase of the Scottish Study of Early Learning and Childcare (SSELC), focusing on 4- and 5-year-olds who are accessing up to 1140 hours of funded ELC. The SSELC forms a major part of the strategy for the evaluation of the expansion of funded ELC in Scotland.
Use of ELC
Information about ELC received was collected in both the keyworker and parent questionnaires. This included the number of hours the child attended the setting, and how many hours were paid for or funded. Data from both sources are presented here. Parents were also asked about their use of additional childcare, whether that be other formal ELC (such as private nurseries) or informal childcare from family, friends or babysitters. Findings from these questions are also presented here, along with data on the types of childcare used before the participating child was aged three, activities parents had done at the funded ELC setting, how accessible the setting was for them and what they thought the main advantages/disadvantages were to having a child in ELC. All data in this chapter have been weighted.
Formal ELC provision
Using data from the keyworker questionnaire, the mean number of hours children usually attended the sampled setting was 26.7 per week. Table 3.1 shows the full distribution of weekly hours attended at the setting.
| Weekly hours attended | % |
|---|---|
| <16 hours | 6 |
| 16 to <22 hours | 12 |
| 22 to <25 hours | 17 |
| 25 to <28 hours | 10 |
| 28 to <32 hours | 46 |
| 32+ hours | 9 |
| Unweighted base | 1967 |
Base: All respondents (keyworker questionnaire, Phase 5, weighted)
Nearly one in five children (18%) attended for fewer than 22 hours per week, equating to less than the funded entitlement of 1140 hours if spread over 52 weeks. The proportion not using their full entitlement may actually be higher than this, as some settings are open only during term times, so a higher number of funded hours per week are available in these settings.
The mean number of weekly registered hours per week was 28.1 – 1.4 hours higher than the mean number of hours usually attended at the setting. The mean number of weekly funded hours was 26.3, while the mean number of weekly unfunded hours for which the child was registered was 1.8.
The rest of this chapter presents findings from the parent questionnaire.
Four out of five parents (80%) at Phase 5 said that the full cost of the time their child spent at their current setting was met by the government, while the remaining 20% paid for additional hours on top of their funded entitlement. Parents were also asked how many hours in a typical week their child received childcare from different types of formal ELC, including childminders, as well as private, local authority or community crèches, nurseries, playgroups or pre-schools. For the majority of children (93%), the sampled setting was either their main or only provider of funded ELC. The mean weekly hours attended at all formal ELC was 28.8, of which 26.0 were funded.
The mean number of weekly hours of unfunded ELC for all children combines these different measures of the use of unfunded ELC into a single measure. Figure 3.1 highlights that unfunded ELC is much less common than funded ELC. It also shows that wealthier, working parents use unfunded ELC to a greater extent than those out of work or on lower incomes.
Figure 3.1: Mean number of weekly hours of all and unfunded ELC by equivalised household income and economic activity
Base: All respondents, (parent questionnaire, Phase 5, weighted)
Parents were also asked about the meals provided by their setting. A majority of parents said their child was not at the setting for breakfast (75%) or for their early evening meal (86%). However, most said their child takes a morning snack (86%), lunch (82%) or an afternoon snack (72%) free of charge from the setting.
Use of additional childcare
All parents were asked if they regularly get help with childcare from another service or person. Whilst the majority (63%) said they did not, a large minority (37%) did. Those living in the most deprived areas (24%) and those in the lowest income quintile (15%) were less likely than those living in less deprived areas (39%) and in higher income groups (39%) to be using additional childcare. Parents in couple households (39%) were more likely than single parents (26%) to be using additional childcare. Also, families where two adults were both in work or training were more likely (45%) than two adult households with one parent in work or training (11%) or single adult households who were not in work or training (15%) to be using additional childcare.
Most parents (85%) at Phase 5 used no formal ELC other than their current setting. The most common forms of additional formal ELC used were a childminder (8%) followed by a private or workplace creche, nursery, playgroup or pre-school (5%).
Seven in ten (70%) parents said they used no additional informal childcare (Table 3.2). The most common type of additional informal childcare used was grandparents (used by 27% of all households and 91% of those that used some form of informal childcare).
| Type of informal childcare | % |
|---|---|
| Grandparents | 27 |
| Ex-spouse or partner | 2 |
| Another relative | 3 |
| Friend or neighbour | 1 |
| Nanny or babysitter | 1 |
| Someone else | 1 |
| No informal ELC | 70 |
| Unweighted base | 1617 |
Base: All respondents (parent questionnaire, Phase 5, weighted)
Note: Some parents used more than one type of informal childcare. As such, percentages do not total 100%.
The mean number of weekly hours of childcare from grandparents was 3.0. Among those who had used childcare from grandparents, the mean number of weekly hours was 11.1. The mean number of hours of any type of additional informal childcare was 3.7 (and 12.6 among those who had used such childcare). As may be expected, mean hours varied by household income and parental employment. Parents in the lowest income group used fewer hours than those in higher income groups (2.4 compared with 3.7) and parents not in work or training used fewer hours than those who were in work or training (1.3 compared with 4.3). Single parents in work or training used more hours than households with two parents who were both in work or training or households with two parents where only one was in work or training (5.6 compared with 4.2 and 0.4 respectively).
The mean hours for all childcare used at Phase 5, both formal and informal and including the current setting, was 32.5 hours per week.
Previous use of childcare
Parents were asked what types of childcare their child had received before they were age three. The most common type was from the child's grandparent(s) (48%), followed by a private or workplace crèche, nursery, playgroup or pre-school (41%).
Figure 3.2: Type of childcare used before the age of three
Base: All respondents, (parent questionnaire, Phase 5, weighted)
Engagement with ELC setting
Parents were asked if they had done certain activities with the child's ELC setting. Most had visited their child's room at the setting (91%) or had attended a parents' evening or information meeting (77%), or another type of nursery event (80%). A quarter of parents (25%) had helped or offered to help out in the nursery including on a trip or event. Only 2% said they had done none of these activities.
A separate question asked about types of help and support offered to parents by settings. Table 3.3 presents the full results for this question. Almost all parents (96%) had discussed their child's progress with their keyworker or another member of staff. Just under seven in ten (69%) had stayed and played with their child and just over half (51%) had talked to someone about how to support their child's learning at home. Around four in ten parents (42%) had received advice or information to support their child's speech, language and communication development.
For some of the activities asked about, engagement varied by area deprivation. Those in the most deprived areas (50%) were more likely than those living elsewhere (40%) to say they had received advice or information to support their child's speech, language and communication development. Parents in the most deprived areas were also more likely than others to report receiving help with food and clothing from the ELC setting (11%, compared with 4% in other areas).
| Since August 2023 which, if any, of the following have you done in this nursery? | % |
|---|---|
| Discussed child's progress with her/his keyworker or another member of staff | 96 |
| Stayed and played with your child | 69 |
| Talked to someone about how to support your child's learning at home | 51 |
| Received advice or information to support your child's speech, language and communication development | 42 |
| Received help with food or clothing | 5 |
| Learned a new skill such as cooking or parenting skills | 4 |
| Received wider family support, e.g. with relationships, housing or employability | 3 |
| Received help with welfare rights or issues with benefits | 3 |
| Received help with transport to and from the nursery | 0 |
| None of these | 2 |
| Unweighted base | 1644 |
Base: All respondents (parent questionnaire, Phase 5, weighted)
Travel to ELC
Table 3.4 shows that around four-fifths (78%) of parents lived within 10 minutes of their child's setting with 41% living within five minutes. Travel times of over 30 minutes were rare applying to only 1% of parents.
| Average duration of journey | % |
|---|---|
| 0 to 5 minutes | 41 |
| 6 to 10 minutes | 38 |
| 11 to 15 minutes | 12 |
| 16 to 20 minutes | 6 |
| 21 to 30 minutes | 4 |
| More than 30 minutes | 1 |
| Unweighted base | 1644 |
Base: All respondents (parent questionnaire, Phase 5, weighted)
Advantages and disadvantages of child being in ELC
Parents were asked what they thought the main advantages, if any, were of their child attending their nursery. Table 3.5 presents results from this question.
| Main advantages, if any, of your child attending this pre-school or nursery | % |
|---|---|
| Good for children to interact and socialise with other children | 99 |
| Good for children's independence/confidence | 96 |
| Prepares children for school | 96 |
| My child enjoys it | 94 |
| Helps children's educational development (including concentration, memory, language) | 93 |
| Good for children to interact and socialise with other adults | 87 |
| Enables parent to work, study or train | 80 |
| Good for children's behaviour | 75 |
| Enables parent to do other things, e.g., shopping, exercise, free time | 42 |
| Enables parent to care for others, e.g., other children, elderly parents | 21 |
| No advantages | - |
| Unweighted base | 1646 |
Base: All respondents (parent questionnaire, Phase 5, weighted)
Note: respondents were able to choose more than one response. As such, percentages will not total 100%.
In general, advantages for the child were more commonly selected than advantages for the parent. The most commonly selected were that it was good for children to interact and socialise with other children (99%), that it is good for the child's independence/confidence (96%) and that it prepares the child for school (96%).
Parents were also asked what they thought the main disadvantage of a child attending nursery was (Table 3.6). Most parents (74%) said there were no disadvantages. The most common disadvantages were that their child picks up bad habits/behaviour (11%), that nursery hours were not flexible enough (8%) and that their child is not in nursery long enough to allow time for them to work (7%).
| Main disadvantages, if any, of your child attending this pre-school or nursery | % |
|---|---|
| No disadvantages | 74 |
| My child picks up bad habits/behaviour | 11 |
| Nursery hours are not flexible enough | 8 |
| My child is not in nursery long enough to allow time for me to work | 7 |
| Nursery too crowded | 4 |
| My child doesn't get enough individual attention | 4 |
| Nursery not conveniently located | 2 |
| Quality of care is not as good as at home | 2 |
| My child is less safe in nursery e.g. bullying/child protection/inadequate supervision | 1 |
| My child is often unhappy in nursery | 1 |
| My child is too young to leave her/his parents | 1 |
| Unweighted base | 1608 |
Base: All respondents (parent questionnaire, Phase 5, weighted)
Note: respondents were able to choose more than one response. As such, percentages will not total 100%.
Contact
Email: socialresearch@gov.scot