Communities ASD Seminar 2 nd June 2009 Sinéad Power - GUS Project Manager Scottish Government

1. Communities ASD Seminar 2nd June 2009 Sinéad Power - GUS Project Manager Scottish Government

2. Aim of the Presentation • To provide an overview of the Growing up in Scotland study including: - Research objectives - Research design - Content • Present some key findings from the GUS reports particularly the 2009 Report ‘Parenting and the Neighbourhood Context’ • Looking to the future – what are the options in GUS for area level analysis?

3. About GUS: Research Objectives • Explore the impact of early years experiences on later life outcomes • How do the experiences and outcomes of Scottish children differ? • What can we do to improve things?

4. Study Design (1) • Two cohorts – initially (Sw1) • Birth cohort: 5217 children aged 10 months • Child cohort: 2859 children aged 34 months • National sample capable of analysis by urban/rural, deprived/non-deprived and other sub-groups of interest • Sample drawn from Child Benefit records • Face-to-face (CAPI) survey of parents annually until child reaches five (almost six) years of age then at selected stages of interest

5. Study design (2): Ages and Stages

6. Study Design (3): Sources of information

7. Study content: Core topics of the main interview

8. GUS and area level analysis • SIMD and Rural/Urban - across sweeps • Sweep 2 (2008) report on Growing up in Rural Scotland • Sweep 3 (2009) report on Parenting and the Neighbourhood Context

9. Growing up in Rural Scotland (2008) • Breastfeeding rates are higher in rural areas and mothers are less likely to smoke. • Children in rural areas are more likely to have ‘child-rich’ social lives. • Families with young children make less use of formal childcare in rural areas.

10. Parenting and the neighbourhood context report (2009)

11. Background context • Local area and local services feature prominently in the national performance framework • Creating communities that provide a supportive environment for children and families also a key aim of the Early Years Framework.

12. Aim of report • Report aims to: • Explore families’ experiences of living in Scotland’s neighbourhoods • Examine parents’ views on different aspects of their local area • Identify differences in the views and experiences of parents, in particular relation to area deprivation and urban-rural classification • Consider the relationship between area characteristics and parenting behaviours

13. The data • Neighbourhood data: • Satisfaction with local area • Availability, use and assessment of local services/facilities • Perceptions of safety • Perceived ‘child-friendliness’ of the local area • Social network and social support data: • Visits to or visits from family members • Contact with grandparents • Attendance at/ involvement in local parent/child groups • Ease of arranging short-notice childcare • Perceptions of informal social network – closeness to, and perceived level of support from, family and friends

14. Parents perceptions of their area • 81% of parents are very or fairly satisfied with the area where they live • Satisfaction level varies according to area characteristics Availability and use of local facilities/ services • People living in rural areas were less likely to have access to services such as childcare, health and leisure facilities than were those in urban areas • Areas of higher deprivation also suffered from a lack of childcare, health and leisure facilities

16. Parents views of services… • Local health and education services were rated highest by parents, whereas facilities for children and young people were rated lowest • Facilities for young children were seen as most in need of improvement – selected by one-fifth of respondents

17. Percentage rating services as good or very good, by deprivation - birth cohort

18. Percentage with low satisfaction with facilities score - birth cohort

19. Services and issues most in need of improvement in local area by area urban rural and deprivation classification

20. Social networks • Three-quarters of parents had a satisfactory friendship network and a similar proportion had a satisfactory family network. • A little over half (57%) had both satisfactory networks and only 10% in the birth cohort and 8% in the child cohort had neither. • Respondents living in areas of low deprivation were slightly more likely to have satisfactory friendship networks than were those living in areas of high deprivation (79% V 70%).

21. Child-friendliness • Most parents said their local area was moderately or very child-friendly. • Factors independently associated with lower perceived notion of area child-friendliness: • Living in an urban or deprived area • Lower levels of neighbourhood satisfaction • A negative rating of local facilities • Having fewer satisfactory social networks • Level of education

22. Variation in perceived child-friendliness by area deprivation - birth cohort

23. Are area characteristics related to parenting behaviour?

24. Relationship between area characteristics and parentingbehaviours

25. Future developments in GUS and the relationship to area level characteristics • Re-running the neighbourhood module? • Data linkage? • Local Authority level analysis?

26. LA Level Analysis • Not currently possible • Paper on web • Modelling options being considered??

27. WANT TO KNOW MORE? www.growingupinscotland.org.uk Sinead.Power@scotland.gsi.gov.uk