Scottish Study of Early Learning and Childcare: Phase 5 Report

Views of Setting Managers

An online questionnaire for heads or managers of participating ELC settings was used to capture their views on what impacts the expansion of funded ELC has had on their setting. The questionnaire included questions on the kinds of support offered to parents, what meals they provide to the children, and issues they have faced with food provision. Over three-quarters (78%) of setting managers who completed the online questionnaire were managers of local authority settings and 22% were managers of funded providers (including private and third sector settings, but not childminders).

Support provided to families

Setting managers were asked what kind of support they offered to families in their setting. Almost all settings offered the same support to families of four- and five-year-olds and to all families in the setting. A large majority of settings offered support for all parents on parenting concerns (e.g. helping to understand child's behaviour, developing routines etc) (90%), support within the setting for parents to help their child's speech, language and communication development (88%), support for parents to help with their child's learning at home (84%), and support for parents to help their child with an(other) additional support need (82%).

A minority of settings offered other types of support such as provision of clothing for children (37%), advice or information for parents to maximise benefits take up (32%), and provision of food for families to eat at home (28%).

The majority of both local authority and funded providers (also known as private and voluntary/third sector) settings offered support to all parents, not just parents of four- and five-year-olds, to help with their child's learning at home (87% of local authority settings and 81% of funded providers), support to help their child's speech, language and communication development (83% of local authority settings and 95% of funded providers), support to help their child with an(other) additional support need (79% of local authority settings and 86% of funded providers) and support on parenting concerns (89% of local authority settings and 93% funded providers).

A higher proportion of local authority settings than funded providers offered other types of support (Figure 6.1). For example, over half (54%) of local authority settings offered support for maintaining good family relationships at home compared with 17% of funded providers.

Figure 6.1: Types of support offered to families of four- and five-year-olds, by Local authority settings and Funded providers

Base: All setting managers (Phase 5, weighted)

To measure managers' perceptions of the ELC expansion's impact on the ability of settings to provide support to families, setting managers were asked the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with three statements. As shown in Figure 6.2, around two-fifths (42%) of setting managers agreed or strongly agreed that the expansion of ELC had "helped us to provide a broader range of support for families" whilst only 19% disagreed or strongly disagreed. Just under half (48%) agreed that the expansion of ELC had "led us to work more closely with families for whom we provide support", similar to the proportion agreeing that it "has led us to spend more time providing support to families" (44%). Whereas only 16% disagreed or strongly disagreed that the expansion of ELC had led them to work more closely with families for whom they provide support and 21% disagreed or strongly disagreed that it has led them to spend more time providing support to families.

Setting managers were also asked the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with these same statements but in relation to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on their ability to provide support to families. Similar to their views on the impact of the expansion, managers were more likely to agree than to disagree with each of the statements on family support (Figure 6.2).

Views on the impacts of the expansion and the cost-of-living crisis on settings did not vary significantly between local authority and funded providers.

Figure 6.2: Impact of expansion and cost-of-living crisis on settings

Base: All setting managers (Phase 5, weighted)

Food provision

Setting managers were asked what meals were provided at their setting as part of their funded provision. Almost all settings (97%) provided lunch, with a large majority providing a morning (83%) and/or afternoon snack (76%). Just over a third of settings (34%) said they provided breakfast and 15% said they provided an early evening meal.

Settings who said they provided lunch were asked which children were offered lunch as part of their funded provision. Over half (52%) said that they offered lunch to all children attending their setting, 38% offered lunch only to those attending the full days and 10% offered lunch only to those attending morning sessions. Setting managers were also asked if they offered any meals as optional extras that parents can request and pay for. Most (87%) said there were no such optional extras.

Sixty percent of settings reported consulting with parents on the meals and snacks that they provide. The most common method used to consult was verbal feedback, e.g. gathered at parents' evenings and meetings (88%). Around two thirds (65%) of settings also reported using online or email surveys/feedback questionnaires and just under two-fifths (38%) reported using paper surveys/feedback questionnaires.

Setting managers were asked how easy it was to cater to special diets and to provide meals that meet nutritional guidance. The majority (89%) said it was "very" or "fairly" easy to cater for special diets, with only 4% saying it was "very/fairly" difficult. Similarly, a large majority (87%) said it was "very" or "fairly" easy to provide meals that met the guidance, with only 3% saying it was "very" or "fairly" difficult.

Setting managers were shown a list of perceived potential challenges to providing meals and asked to pick up to three that they considered affected their setting (Figure 6.3). The three most common challenges were the high costs of food (38%), lack of choice over what they can provide (25%), and shortage of staff to support children during snack and mealtimes (21%). Over a third (35%) of settings said that they don't have any challenges in providing meals and snacks.

Figure 6.3: Challenges faced by ELC settings in providing meals

Base: All setting managers (Phase 5, unweighted)

Settings who offered lunch or breakfast before and after the expansion were asked if the expansion had an impact on the quality of food they are able to provide. The vast majority of settings (86%) said the expansion of ELC had not led to any changes in the quality of food they provide and 9% said it had led to them providing higher quality food for the children. Settings were also asked what proportion of families take up the free meals and snacks provided for their child. The vast majority (85%) said that all, or almost all, families take up the offer.

Activities done and challenges faced by settings in relation to the expansion

Setting managers were presented with a list and asked to choose which they had done to "meet the requirements of the ELC expansion" (Figure 6.4). Almost three-quarters (73%) said they had taken on extra staff and almost half (48%) said they provided additional training to staff. Over a third (35%) lengthened opening hours and 30% started providing food. Ten percent of settings said they had not done any of the activities listed in order to meet the requirements.

Figure 6.4: Things settings have done to meet requirements of ELC expansion

Base: All setting managers (Phase 5, weighted)

More than half of funded providers (53%) reported that they had increased fees for unfunded children (for example younger children) as a result of the expansion, compared with just 2% of local authority settings. Local authority settings were more likely to have lengthened opening hours (51%, compared with 11% of funded providers) and started providing food (41%, compared with 15% of funded providers. This is as expected, given that funded providers tended to have longer opening hours and were more likely to provide food prior to the expansion.

Setting managers were then shown a list of perceived potential challenges in meeting the requirements of the expansion and asked to pick up to three that they considered affected their setting (Figure 6.5). Over three-fifths (62%) said recruiting good quality staff was a challenge, almost half said staff training (48%) and a similar proportion (47%) said accommodating children with additional support needs. Only 7% of settings said that they didn't face any challenges in meeting the requirements. Many funded providers also mentioned finances as being an issue, with 53% saying the rates paid by local authorities were one of the main challenges, and 38% mentioning the challenge of meeting the additional costs.

Figure 6.5: Challenges settings have faced in meeting requirements of ELC expansion

Base: All setting managers (Phase 5, weighted)