(Table 1.13 revised May 8, 2006)
July 28, 2005
A Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication
ISSN 1479-7569 (online)
ISBN 0 7559 2670 6 (Web only publication)
This document is also available in pdf format (464k)
This publication provides statistics on pre-school education and childcare in Scotland for 2005. The main points are:
- In January 2005 there were 4,717 childcare and pre-school education centres, the majority of which offered multiple services. Across all centres, there were 11,905 full-time staff and 16,208 part-time staff.
- In January 2005 there were 6,100 childminders in Scotland, a decrease from 6,165 in 2004. Childminders are most common in least deprived areas.
- In the third most deprived areas, 49 per cent of childcare and pre-school education centres are Local Authority managed, compared to 35 per cent in the third least deprived areas.
- Approximately 25 per cent of childminders have childcare qualifications, the same percentage as in 2004.
- There are 2,836 pre-school education providers in Scotland, exactly the same number as in 2004. The percentage of 3 and 4 year old children attending pre-school education has fallen by 4.4 and 2.2 percentage points since 2004 respectively.
- The number of children is gradually decreasing in Scotland. The proportion of parents who do not live in a couple is increasing.
POLICY BACKGROUND
1.1 The document " A partnership for a better Scotland" laid out the Scottish Executive's plans for the 2003-2007 parliamentary session ( http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/government/pfbs-00.asp). The commitments relevant to pre-school education and childcare are:
- We will provide opportunities for our children and young people at all ages to grow and develop through the provision of more flexible and more available childcare.
- Alongside nursery school provision for three and four year olds we will aim to create flexible childcare provision accessible to all, expanding facilities, in the public, private and voluntary sectors and through co-operative arrangements.
- We will continue to invest in Gaelic medium education, including the provision of more teacher training places.
- We will maintain free nursery places for every three and four year old in Scotland, helping to give every child the best possible start in their primary school.
- We will continue support for breakfast clubs.
- We will provide childcare support in areas of high unemployment in order to help those in work, training or education.
1.2 These commitments provide context for this report, which analyses statistics on the pre-school and childcare sector.
CHILDCARE
1.3 In January 2005 there were 4,717 childcare and pre-school education centres, an increase from 4,628 in 2004. There were 11,905 full-time staff and 16,208 part-time staff.
1.4 In January 2005 there were 6,100 childminders in Scotland, a decrease from 6,165 in 2004.
1.5 Of all Scotland's childcare centres, 2,517 offered a Nursery service, 1,079 offered an Out of School Club service, 368 offered a Breakfast Club service and 62 offered Gaelic Provision.
1.6 The majority of centres offered multiple services, with less than 22 per cent offering only a single service.
1.7 The majority of services are equally distributed across the most deprived, intermediate and least deprived areas. Exceptions include Childminding, which is more common in the least deprived areas, Adult Education/Activities, Mobile Resource/Playbus, Crèches and Family Support services which are more likely to be offered in the most deprived areas.
1.8 All services, with the exception of Gaelic Provision, are more likely to be found in Urban Areas than Small Towns or Rural Areas. Gaelic Provision is more likely to be found in Rural Areas.
1.9 In the third most deprived areas, 49 per cent of childcare providers are Local Authority managed, compared to 35 per cent in the least deprived areas.
1.10 Most childcare and pre-school education is provided between 9am-12 noon on weekdays. Wednesday is the busiest day for childcare and pre-school education providers.
1.11 Across Scotland there are 1,984 Local Authority run childcare and pre-school education centres, 1,037 privately run centres, 1,345 voluntarily run centres and a further 351 centres of unknown management type.
1.12 Nurseries. There were 2,517 centres providing a nursery. Just over half of nurseries were Local Authority managed (1,558) and just over a quarter were private (711). Approximately 50 per cent of Nurseries were run in School Premises. Of nurseries that reported a charge, the median cost to parents is £3 per hour, £28 per day or £4 per week. Weekly charges are less than daily charges because local authority run centres are more likely to charge per week while private run centres are more likely to charge per day.
1.13 Playgroups. There were 861 centres providing a playgroup; 596 of which were voluntary. Approximately 36 per cent of playgroups are held in Church/Village halls.
1.14 Crèches. There were 392 centres providing a crèche. Half of the crèches who provided cost information per hour charge £3. Approximately 44 per cent of crèches are run in their own premises, and 27 per cent in community/leisure centres.
1.15 Breakfast Clubs. There were 368 breakfast clubs in January 2005, of which 46 per cent were run in School premises and 29 per cent were run in centres' own premises.
1.16 Out of School Clubs. There were 1,079 centres providing Out of School Clubs, 760 of which were in urban areas. Approximately 45 per cent of Out of School Clubs are held on School premises, 23 per cent on centres' own premises and 17 per cent in community/leisure centres.
CHILDMINDERS
1.17 There were 6,100 childminders in Scotland in January 2005. This is a slight decrease from 6,165 last year. Childminders are most common in least deprived areas.
1.18 The majority of childminders are females aged between 35 and 44.
1.19 Almost 18 per cent of childminders had already left or intend to leave childminding in the next year. Of these, 31 per cent gave 'family reasons' as their explanation, whereas 12 per cent had, or were wanting, another childcare job after leaving childminding.
1.20 Almost half of all registered childminders have at least six years experience of childminding, and a further 28 per cent have between two and five years experience. Approximately 25 per cent have childcare qualifications and 47 per cent have other, non-childcare, qualifications.
1.21 The median charges of childminders are £3 per hour, £21 per day or £88 per week.
PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION
1.22 There are 2,836 pre-school education providers in Scotland, the same number as in 2004.
1.23 The number of staff providing pre-school education was 12,573, of which 17 per cent were registered with the General Teaching Council.
1.24 As many as 96,460 children attend pre-school education in Scotland, approximately 6,700 (6 per cent) less than in 2004. (Children are counted once for each centre they are registered with).
1.25 In January 2004, 85 per cent of 3 year olds were registered with pre-school education centres. In January 2005 this figure had fallen by 4.4 percentage points to 81.0 per cent. Similarly the percentage of 4 year olds registered with pre-school education centres fell by 2.2 percentage points from 100 to 97.8 per cent. The percentage of 5 year olds remained constant.
INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
1.26 Twenty two per cent of childminders have heard of the ICT strategy "Early learning, forward thinking" compared to almost 75 per cent of respondents from local authority run childcare centres and 59 per cent of privately run centres.
1.27 Two per cent of childminders have attended ICT staff development courses in the 12 months prior to the survey, compared to staff in 65 per cent of local authority childcare centres or 38 per cent of private centres.
1.28 Approximately 80 per cent of childcare centres and 31 per cent of childminders report that ICT is used by children.
DEMOGRAPHY
2.1 There are approximately 263,000 children aged 0-4 years old in Scotland. This number is expected to decrease to 248,000 by 2010.
2.2 Between 2003 and 2004 the number of women, with dependent children, who were living in a couple fell by 21,000 while the number living as single parents grew by 15,000. The net effect was a decrease of women with dependent children.
2.3 The percentage of women, with children aged 0-2 years, who were employed full-time increased by 6 percentage points between 2003 and 2004, while those employed part-time fell by 2 percentage points.
2.4 Between 2003 and 2004 the percentage of couples both working, who have children aged less than 2 years, grew by 12 percentage points.
The following tables are available:
Data from the Pre-school Education and Day Care Census and the Childminder Survey
Table 1.1: Total number of centres and childminders, by area deprivation, rurality and management arrangement.
Table 1.2: Total number of centres, by Local Authority and management arrangement (excluding childminders).
Table 1.3: Total number of centres, places, places filled, number of weeks open and staff, by rurality and deprivation.
Table 1.4: Total number of centres, places filled, number of weeks open and staff, by Local Authority (excluding childminders).
Table 1.5: Total number of centres providing individual services, by management arrangement.
Table 1.6: Number of centres that offer multiple services (excluding childminders).
Table 1.7: Total number of services offered, by area deprivation.
Table 1.8: Total number of services offered, by rurality.
Table 1.9: Total number of services offered, by Local Authority.
Table 1.10: Primary type of premise used by service offered (excluding childminders).
Table 1.11: Primary type of premise used by management arrangement (excluding childminders).
Table 1.12: Maximum costs of services (£).
Table 1.13: Total number of children attending services during census week, by session.
Table 1.14: Percentage of children with/without additional support needs attending any service, by management arrangement (excluding childminders).
Table 1.15: Age and gender of children on the register of pre-school or daycare service, or attending a childminder, during census week.
Table 1.16: Centres' responses to questions about the ICT strategy (excluding childminders).
Table 1.17: Childminders' responses to questions about the ICT strategy.
Table 1.18: Percentage of centres making ICT available to children and staff.
Table 1.19: Percentage of childminders and centres who use ICT.
Table 1.20: Childcare information services, by management arrangement.
Table 1.21: Characteristics of childminders.
Table 1.22: Pre-school education centres and staff by Local Authority.
Table 1.23: Pre-school education registrations in January 2005 by Local Authority.
Data from other sources
Table 2.1: Estimated population of 3, 4 and 5 year olds by Local Authority, January 2005.
Table 2.2: Projected population of young people in Scotland (thousands).
Table 2.3: Percentage of adults who are economically active, by household type and rurality, 2001.
Table 2.4: Employment status of women by age of youngest child and whether living in a couple, 2002-2004.
Table 2.5: Employment status of families by age of youngest child and whether living in a couple, 2002-2004.
Table 2.6: New Opportunity Fund childcare awards by Local Authority 2004.
Table 2.7: International comparisons - pupils enrolled in education aged 4 and under as a percentage of the population aged 3 and 4, 2000-02.
Appendix
Appendix: 95% confidence interval look-up table for childminder estimates.
BACKGROUND NOTES
1. Historical statistics, notes on the background to this survey, the questionnaire, guidance notes, and related publications can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk/statistics/children.
2. The response rate to the pre-school and childcare census was 83.5 per cent. For the 778 centres that did not respond, values returned or imputed in 2004 were used.
3. 600 childminders were sampled, of which 371 (61.8 per cent) responded. Responses were grossed up to 6,100, the total number of childminders in Scotland in the first week of February 2005 according to the Care Commission. The sample data were not representative at Local Authority level, where Local Authority figures for childminders are given they were provided by the Care Commission.
4. Where respondents to the Preschool and Childcare census did not fully complete all questions, values from 2004 were used. The following variables were affected: number of full-time and part-time staff, provision of outdoor play area/playground and baby & toddler facilities, age of children attending services during census week, children receiving pre-school education (including the breakdown by age, additional support needs and English as a second language), staff providing pre-school education (including number registered with the GTC), and number of children eligible for free school meals. Otherwise, all statistics are as reported by respondents.
5. The majority of figures reported for childminders are based on a sample, consequently they are best understood as estimates with some level of statistical error surrounding them. For this reason all childminder figures have been reported to the nearest 10 and confidence intervals should be considered when using the figures. The appendix provides a rough guide to the confidence intervals for childminders. For example, where a figure of 300 is presented, the 95 per cent confidence interval is 133, so the true number probably lies in between 300 - 133 and 300 + 133, or 167 and 433.
6. The figures in Table 1.26 show the numbers of childminders whose highest childcare related qualification is at the level equivalent to the SVQs shown below.
- SVQ1 is equivalent to the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework ( SCQF) level 4, SGA Care Intermediate 1, National certificate units, City & Guilds foundation, BTEC.
- SVQ2 is equivalent to SCQF level 5, PDA (classroom/learning assistants), NVQ2, SGA Care Intermediate 2, City & Guilds craft.
- SVQ3 is equivalent to SCQF level 6, higher grade, NVQ3, GNVQ3/ GSVQ3, City & Guilds adv. craft, ' AS'/'A' levels, ONC/ OND, or NNEB.
- SVQ4+ is equivalent to SCQF level 7 and above, advanced higher, degree (including BEd. and PGCE), HNC or HND, PDA (childcare and education), RSA adv. Diploma.
7. Definitions of the services provided:
Nursery This includes the following types of nursery:
a. Private/voluntary day nurseries and nursery schools - these provide daycare services, play and educational opportunities for children under school age. They are usually open all year round and can care for children on a full or part day basis. Some may provide out of school care in addition to the normal nursery service. These establishments may be managed by individual owners, companies or voluntary bodies.
b. Nursery centres - these are usually managed by the local authority and provide daycare and education from birth until school entry. They are generally open for between 48 and 52 weeks of the year between the hours of 8.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m.
c. Community nurseries - these are similar to nursery centres but provide a greater variety of support services to meet local needs. This may include home visiting, out of school care, parents' 'drop in' and information/advice services. Sometimes this type of facility is jointly managed.
d. Local authority nursery schools/classes - nursery classes are attached to local authority primary schools while nursery schools are usually separate from primary schools and have their own head teacher. Both types of centre provide term time pre-school education.
Playgroup These provide sessional care for children aged between 3 and 5 although some groups will also cater for younger children and some will provide full daycare. Most are run by groups of parents with parent led committees, although some may be owned by individuals or organised by other voluntary bodies or by the local authority. They rely heavily on parents/carers who volunteer their services although many employ a paid play leader or assistant. Some playgroups will provide pre-school education in partnership with the local authority. Only include Mother & Toddler groups where there is at least one member of staff providing care/support.
Holiday playscheme Holiday playschemes cater mainly for school age children and provide opportunities for children to participate in a broad range of supervised leisure and educational activities during school holidays.
Out of school care club Out of school care clubs offer care for school age children in the absence of parents or carers from the end of the school day until parents can collect their children, and also before school starts.
Crèche A crèche provides 'drop in' care for children in order to enable adults to engage in activities such as further education, shopping or attending a meeting.
Family centre Child and family centres provide services similar to those available in community nurseries and nursery centres. Daycare/education is provided along with a range of support services for families which can be adapted to meet local needs. They are usually managed by voluntary organisations or by the local authority's social work or education department. Family (support) centres also provide services to support families to suit local requirements but generally do not provide daycare/education.
Breakfast club This is a specifically designated breakfast club that is likely to provide a meal and will take place before school hours.
Family support services This should be taken to mean services which offer parents opportunities to assist their child's development and achieve greater satisfaction in their role as parents, provide support to parents which will assist in providing a healthy upbringing for their child, promote self-esteem and personal confidence in both children and parents and provide opportunities for parents to acquire skills which lay the basis for more extensive training or subsequent employment.
Outreach This can take many forms but should generally be taken to mean practical support to the family in their own home (or other agreed venue away from the centre).
Home visiting This is intended to mean visits to parents/children at home as part of the normal range of services rather than occasional visits at the request of parents.
8. Further information about the additional data sources used can be found through the following links:
Care Commission: http://www.carecommission.com/showpage.php?pageid=68
The New Opportunities Fund: http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
The Labour Force Survey: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/llfs/
General Register Office - Scotland: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk
Government Actuary Department: http://www.gad.gov.uk/
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development:
http://www.oecd.org/about/0,2337,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
Rurality: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/rural/seurc-00.asp
Area deprivation: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/society/simd04-00.asp.
9. The categories of urban-rural were derived from the Scottish Executive classifications published in June 2004. This provides a mapping from individual postcodes to six categories of rurality. Individual pre-school and childcare service providers were assigned to one of these categories based upon the category in which they are located. Urban areas are settlements over 10,000 population. Small towns are settlements of between 3,000 and 10,000 people. Rural areas are settlements of less than 3,000 people.
10. The categories of deprivation were derived from the Scottish Executive classifications published in June 2004. This provides an indicator of deprivation for each of the 6,500 data zone areas of Scotland. The category "least deprived" included the 33.33 per cent least deprived data zones, "most deprived" was the 33.33 per cent most deprived data zones and "intermediate" made up the remaining 33.33 per cent. Individual pre-school and childcare service providers were then assigned to one of these categories based upon the data zone in which they are located.
11. The 'standard deviation' of a population estimate (e.g. arithmetic mean) is an indication of how far the values vary around that 'mean'. Where the standard deviation is very large in relation to the mean the distribution of values are so wide as to render the 'mean' less reliable. In these cases, it can best be to use percentiles instead as the 50 th percentile (or median) is a more robust measure of the 'average' value. Percentiles are values that divide sorted (in ascending order) data into 100 equal groups. The 50 th percentile is the middle value of the sorted data, 5 per cent of values lie below the 5 th percentile etc.
12. For public enquiries ( non-media) about the information contained in this Statistics Publication Notice, or for more detailed information, please contact Sara Grainger, Scottish Executive Education Department, Area 1-B, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ. Telephone 0131 244 0314 or e-mail children.statistics@scotland.gsi.gov.uk. Media should contact Sarah Cuthbert-Kerr on 0131 244 2972 - and on the Scottish Executive web site ( www.scotland.gov.uk).
13. This is a National Statistics publication. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.