Scotland's People Annual Report: Results from 2011 Scottish Household Survey

A National Statistics publication for Scotland, providing reliable and up-to-date information on the composition, characteristics, behaviour and attitudes of Scottish households and adults across a number of topic areas including local government, neighbourhoods and transport.


7 Education and Young People

Introduction and Context

Ensuring that everyone in Scotland has equal access to learning opportunities to achieve their full potential and increase skill levels across the population is a key part of achieving the Scottish Government's purpose:[57] To focus government and public services on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth. This is captured through one of the five strategic objectives:[58] Expand opportunities for people in Scotland to succeed from nurture through to life long learning ensuring higher and more widely shared achievements.

Although the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) is not the definitive source of information about education and qualifications in Scotland[59], it can contribute to the measurement of key education indicators. Education level is also an important factor that can be used in the wider analysis of the Survey's data, for example to explore differences in people's characteristics and attitudes by educational attainment.

This chapter starts with an overview of educational qualifications achieved across the population as a whole and across key sub groups. It then looks at levels of satisfaction with schooling, and how these vary with the type of area and age of the child. Analysis is then presented on the types of play areas available for children to play in, along with measures on perceptions of adults on how safe it is for children to play there. Finally, this chapter looks at the types of activities young people engage in within their local area.

Main Findings

  • One-fifth (20%) of adults have no qualifications, with relatively little difference between males and females, though those with no qualifications are more likely to have lower incomes.
  • Levels of satisfaction of schooling amongst parents are high, with over nine in ten (92%) of all parents with school aged children satisfied with the education provided by their child's school.
  • Satisfaction parents have with schooling decreases slightly as the age of the school child increases, decreasing from 95% for those aged 4 to 6 down to 89% for those aged 13 and above.
  • Typically around two-fifths of households have access to some form of play areas within their neighbourhood. A half have access to a park, and 46% have access to either a playground or field or other open space.
  • Generally, those households within rural areas are more likely to say children would be very safe or fairly safe when walking or cycling to play areas on their own, ranging from around three-fifths for most play areas in urban areas to around four-fifths in rural areas.
  • Most householders would feel comfortable with children being aged around 9 or 10 years old to play without supervision at such play areas. This increases to closer to 11 years old when playing within a natural environment or wooded area.
  • Just over three-quarters (76%) of young people aged 8 to 21 take part in some of activities regularly, with the majority of young people (54%) taking part in sports or sporting activity whether played competitively or not.

Highest Qualification level

Table 7.1 and Table 7.2 present the proportions of people who attained qualifications by gender, age and, for those of working age, by household income. Respondents to the SHS are asked about a wide variety of qualifications and these have been condensed into the categories presented in the tables.

Table 7.1: Highest level of qualification held by gender and age

Column percentages, 2011 data

Adults Male Female 16 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 59 60 to 74 75 plus All
Degree, Professional qualification 26 27 11 39 35 29 22 17 27
HNC/HND or equivalent 12 10 11 17 13 11 6 3 11
Higher, A level or equivalent 19 15 34 16 18 16 10 7 17
O Grade, Standard Grade or equivalent 20 20 35 19 22 20 14 6 20
Other qualification 4 6 2 1 1 3 11 15 5
No qualifications 19 22 6 7 10 21 36 51 20
Qualification unknown 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Base 5,559 7,334 1,022 1,741 2,055 3,217 3,127 1,731 12,893

One-fifth (20%) of all adults had none of the qualifications presented. Of these, by far the highest proportion was in the 75 and over age group, with over half (51%) having no qualifications There was little difference between men and women on the highest level of qualifications they held, though slightly more females reported having no qualifications than males (22% compared to 19%).

Established links between degree level qualifications and higher incomes can be seen among working adults interviewed as part of the SHS. Just under one-in-five (18%) of those in the lowest income bracket have a degree or professional qualification compared with half of the working age respondents with the highest incomes (50%). Additionally, those of working age in the highest income brackets were considerably less likely to have no qualifications (3%). Around a quarter of adults with a household income of less than £15,000 had no qualifications.

Table 7.2: Highest level of qualifications held by adults of working age by net annual household income

Column percentages, 2011 data

Working age adults (16-64) £0 - £6,000 £6,001 - £10,000 £10,001 - £15,000 £15,001 - £20,000 £20,001 - £25,000 £25,001 - £30,000 £30,001 - £40,000 £40,001+ All
Degree, Professional qualification 18 14 14 20 27 30 34 50 29
HNC/HND or equivalent 10 10 11 11 14 16 13 13 13
Higher, A level or equivalent 22 18 16 21 16 20 21 19 19
O Grade, Standard Grade or equivalent 25 22 28 26 25 22 23 14 23
Other qualification 3 6 4 3 3 3 2 0 3
No qualifications 23 29 25 18 15 9 7 3 14
Qualification unknown 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Base 445 831 1,406 1,357 1,210 895 1,383 1,419 8,946

Household income in the SHS is that of the highest income householder and their partner only. Includes all adults for whom household income is known or has been imputed. Excludes refusals/don't know responses.

Satisfaction with Schooling

Parents of school aged children were asked about their satisfaction with the following three aspects of their child's schooling:[60]

  • the education provided;
  • the school's explanation of how parents can support children's learning outside school; and
  • the amount of information provided about their child's progress.

Type of area

Table 7.3 and Table 7.4 look at satisfaction with schooling according to the type of area in which parents live, based on the level of deprivation and urban rural classification. Overall levels of satisfaction with schooling are high. Over nine in ten (92%) of all parents with school-aged children are satisfied with the education provided by their child's school, slightly fewer (87%) are satisfied with the amount of information about their child's progress, and 80% are satisfied with the school's explanation of what support children need outside school (the tables present the items in order of the level of satisfaction, rather than the order presented in the questionnaire). These are broadly comparable to estimates from 2009/2010.

Table 7.3: Satisfaction with schooling by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

Percentages, 2011 data

Parents of school aged children, % strongly agreed/tend to agree 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
I am satisfied with the education provided by the school 89 92 92
The school keeps me well informed about {child}'s progress 86 87 87
The school explains how I can support {child}'s learning outside school 78 81 80
Base 392 2,320 2,712

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

Table 7.3 shows that for all three aspects noted above, satisfaction levels are similar for parents in the 15% most deprived areas and in the rest of Scotland, though those in the deprived areas are slightly lower. Table 7.4 demonstrates that levels of satisfaction with all aspects of schooling are similarly high across all urban and rural areas, though slightly less satisfaction within remote rural areas particularly when considering whether the school explains how it can support the child's learning outside of the school.

Table 7.4: Satisfaction with schooling by Urban Rural Classification

Percentages, 2011 data

Parents of school aged children, % strongly agreed/tend to agree Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
I am satisfied with the education provided by my school 90 93 91 94 92 92 92
The school keeps me well informed about {child}'s progress 86 88 83 88 89 87 87
The school explains how I can support {child}'s learning outside school 79 82 83 83 80 76 80
Base 861 862 267 143 335 246 2,714

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

Age of child

Parents' satisfaction with schooling can differ depending on the age of their child, which could reflect different levels of satisfaction with primary schools compared to secondary schools, or it could be the result of changing expectations for their children as they get older. As Table 7.5 demonstrates, satisfaction with the different elements of schooling does decrease as the age of the child increases. There is a more pronounced effect when considering the statement that their child's school explains how they can support their learning outside school: satisfaction is lower among parents of children aged 13 and over (74%) than it is for parents of the youngest school children (87%).

Table 7.5: Satisfaction with schooling by age of random school child

Percentages, 2011 data

Parents of school aged children, % strongly agreed/tend to agree 4 to 6 7 to 9 10 to 12 13 and above All
I am satisfied with the education provided by my school 95 93 91 89 92
The school keeps me well informed about {child}'s progress 91 89 86 84 87
The school explains how I can support {child}'s learning outside school 87 85 81 74 80
Base 447 642 645 981 2,715

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

Opportunities for children to play

At the start of 2009, a series of questions on the opportunities for children to play in their neighbourhood was added to the SHS to measure progress on the Early Years Framework.[61] A key element of this framework is in improving the physical and social environment for children, with an emphasis on play. The set of questions is asked in one of two ways. If there is a child aged between 6 and 12 years, the questions will be set in the context of one of the children in the household. Otherwise, when there are no children in the household the questions will be asked in more general terms.

Table 7.6 shows that around two-fifths of households have access to play areas within their neighbourhood. A half (50%) have access to a park, whilst 46% can access either a playground or field or other open space. There are some differences based on the level of deprivation. In particular, of those households within the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland only 26% say there is a natural environment or wooded area in their neighbourhood, as compared to 44% in the rest of Scotland.

There is evidence of greater variation in access to play areas for children when considering the level of rurality. As expected, much higher proportion of households in rural areas have access to either fields (around 65%) and natural environment or wooded areas (around 66%) than urban areas. Those from the large urban areas generally have the lowest proportion of households being able to access children play areas, other than parks (51%).

Table 7.6: Types of children play areas available in the neighbourhood by Urban Rural Classification and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

Percentages, 2011 data

Households Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Playground 40 51 61 51 43 39 46
Park 51 51 65 44 43 28 50
Football or other games pitch 31 43 49 36 36 36 37
Field or other open space 34 50 60 44 60 65 46
School playground 31 42 45 44 31 31 36
Natural environment / wooded area 28 45 58 40 59 66 42
Base 2,610 2,157 620 371 783 635 7,176
Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
Playground 43 46 46
Park 48 50 50
Football or other games pitch 39 37 37
Field or other open space 38 48 46
School playground 33 37 36
Natural environment / wooded area 26 44 42
Base 1,047 6,125 7,172

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

This question is only asked of half the sample.

Generally, those households within rural areas are more likely to say children would be very safe or fairly safe when walking or cycling to play areas on their own (Table 7.7), ranging from around three-fifths for most play areas in urban areas to around four-fifths in rural areas.

There are also marked differences in feeling of safety when looking at deprivation. Those in the least deprived areas of Scotland are more likely to say it is safer for children to travel on their own to such play areas than those in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland.

Table 7.7: How safe it would be for children to walk or cycle to play areas on their own by Urban Rural Classification and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

Percentages, 2011 data

Households Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Playground 63 67 73 80 71 80 68
Park 51 61 70 74 72 76 60
Football or other games pitch 59 66 64 79 70 75 65
Field or other open space 58 62 65 71 73 80 64
School playground 65 69 74 76 72 79 69
Natural environment / wooded area 41 43 50 65 64 74 50
Street/Road 46 52 59 46 48 54 50
Base (minimum) 1,054 1,084 378 198 336 235 3,285
Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
Playground 57 69 68
Park 45 62 60
Football or other games pitch 56 67 65
Field or other open space 50 66 64
School playground 60 71 69
Natural environment / wooded area 31 52 50
Street/Road 46 50 50
Base (minimum) 449 2,834 3,283

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

This question is only asked of half the sample.

Table 7.8 shows similar patterns of variation when considering how safe it would be for children to go to play areas with two or three friends to play. Again, those in rural areas are generally more likely to say they think children would be safer than those living in urban areas. Intuitively, the overall feeling of safety for each type of play area are higher when going with two or three friends than they are when children travel alone. There is little difference in feelings of safety when considering the streets around the respondent's home.

Table 7.8: How safe it would be for children to go to play areas with 2 or 3 friends by Urban Rural Classification and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

Percentages, 2011 data

Households Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Playground 69 74 79 85 76 84 74
Park 60 69 77 81 79 80 68
Football or other games pitch 67 71 73 79 76 79 71
Field or other open space 65 67 72 77 76 83 70
School playground 68 72 78 77 75 81 73
Natural environment / wooded area 48 50 56 72 67 78 56
Street/Road 48 53 60 49 49 57 51
Base (minimum) 1,054 1,084 378 198 336 235 3,285
Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
Playground 63 76 74
Park 53 70 68
Football or other games pitch 64 73 71
Field or other open space 57 72 70
School playground 65 74 73
Natural environment / wooded area 36 58 56
Street/Road 50 52 51
Base (minimum) 449 2,834 3,283

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

This question is only asked of half the sample.

Householders concerns of children being bullied or harmed by other children while playing in play areas show little variation across the different types of play areas (Table 7.9), though the lowest proportion of those with a concern over bullying by other children are for those playing within the streets around the respondent's home (25%). The next lowest is within school playgrounds, which may be associated with a greater likelihood of supervision by adults.

As before, there are marked differences when looking at impacts or rurality and deprivation. Those from rural areas are less concerned about bullying by other children (less than one third across all play areas) as compared to those from urban areas (up to a half of householders are concerned across all play areas).

Table 7.9: Concern of bullying by children in play areas by Urban Rural Classification and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

Percentages, 2011 data

Households Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Playground 41 43 36 38 27 20 38
Park 46 43 36 39 29 26 41
Football or other games pitch 41 40 38 36 28 23 38
Field or other open space 42 43 30 42 20 14 36
School playground 37 34 28 38 24 15 33
Natural environment / wooded area 45 49 38 44 23 11 39
Street/Road 29 26 18 30 17 11 25
Base (minimum) 1,054 1,084 378 198 336 235 3,285
Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
Playground 56 35 38
Park 56 39 41
Football or other games pitch 52 35 38
Field or other open space 52 33 36
School playground 46 30 33
Natural environment / wooded area 63 36 39
Street/Road 36 23 25
Base (minimum) 36 23 25

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

This question is only asked of half the sample.

There is less concern amongst householders of children being harmed by adults whilst playing in play areas (Table 7.10), though those saying they are very or fairly concerned are still high at around one third or higher within each play area. The greatest concern of safety is related to those playing within a natural environment or wooded area (42%). In particular, those from the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland are much more likely to be concerned about the safety of children in coming to harm by adults in wooded areas (60%) than in other areas of Scotland (41%).

Table 7.10: Concern of children being harmed by adults in play areas by Urban Rural Classification and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

Percentages, 2011 data

Households Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Playground 35 35 27 32 23 13 32
Park 43 39 28 34 24 20 37
Football or other games pitch 37 36 26 28 28 18 33
Field or other open space 41 41 30 35 22 14 35
School playground 30 28 20 31 20 10 26
Natural environment / wooded area 49 52 45 42 27 13 42
Street/Road 28 26 17 25 17 11 24
Base (minimum) 1,054 1,084 378 198 336 235 3,285
Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
Playground 45 29 32
Park 49 35 37
Football or other games pitch 49 35 37
Field or other open space 48 33 35
School playground 35 25 26
Natural environment / wooded area 60 41 42
Street/Road 32 23 24
Base (minimum) 449 2,834 3,283

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

This question is only asked of half the sample.

Table 7.11 shows the median age at which households believe the youngest age should be when it would be safe for a child to play in each of the different play areas without supervision. As can be seen, most would feel comfortable with children being aged around 9 or 10 years old to play without supervision at such play areas. This increases to closer to 11 years old when playing within a natural environment or wooded area.

Table 7.11: Youngest age at which it would be safe for a child to play without supervision by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation and Urban Rural Classification

Percentages, 2011 data

Households Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Playground 9.5 9.4 9.1 8.6 8.6 8.1 9.2
Park 10.4 9.7 9.3 8.9 8.8 8.4 9.8
Football or other games pitch 10.0 9.8 9.8 8.8 9.0 8.5 9.7
Field or other open space 10.2 10.0 9.8 9.2 8.8 8.1 9.7
School playground 9.5 9.3 9.3 8.9 8.5 8.2 9.2
Natural environment / wooded area 11.0 11.0 10.8 9.9 9.8 9.0 10.6
Street/Road 9.3 8.9 8.8 9.2 9.1 9.0 9.1
Base 1,054 1,084 378 198 336 235 3,285
Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
Playground 9.6 9.2 9.2
Park 10.4 9.7 9.8
Football or other games pitch 10.2 9.6 9.7
Field or other open space 10.4 9.6 9.7
School playground 9.7 9.2 9.2
Natural environment / wooded area 11.6 10.4 10.6
Street/Road 9.3 9.0 9.1
Base 449 2,834 3,285

Median age presented

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

This question is only asked of half the sample.

Those living in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland believe children should be slightly older before being allowed to play unsupervised. Similarly, those living in rural areas believe children can be slightly younger before being allowed to play unsupervised (aged just over 8 in playgrounds for example).

Participation in activities

The Scottish Government is interested in the extent to which young adults and children are involved in a range of activities. Those households for which there is someone aged between 8 and 21 are asked a series of questions within the SHS on whether they take part in a series of activities regularly. A fuller description of the activities are provided in the Glossary in Annex 2.

Table 7.12 shows that the majority of young people (54%) take part in sports or sporting activity whether played competitively or not. One quarter (24%) take part in music or drama activities (such playing in a band or a theatre group). Three per cent of young people are involved representing young people's views or involvement in youth politics while four per cent are involved in mentoring or peer education.

Table 7.12: Activities young people aged 8 to 21 take part in by Urban Rural Classification and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

Percentages, 2011 data

Households Large urban areas Other urban areas Accessible small towns Remote small towns Accessible rural Remote rural Scotland
Music or drama activities 25 21 26 21 29 30 24
Other arts activities 8 7 6 4 8 8 7
Sports or sporting activity 56 53 52 46 57 56 54
Other outdoor activities 17 20 20 26 27 34 21
Other groups or clubs 21 23 27 30 28 32 24
Representing young people's views 3 2 4 2 4 4 3
Mentoring or peer education 4 3 4 1 3 4 4
None 24 27 24 28 21 13 24
Base 884 791 225 146 292 215 2,553
Households 15% most deprived Rest of Scotland Scotland
Music or drama activities 19 25 24
Other arts activities 8 7 7
Sports or sporting activity 46 56 54
Other outdoor activities 19 21 21
Other groups or clubs 19 25 24
Representing young people's views 3 3 3
Mentoring or peer education 2 4 4
None 33 23 24
Base 392 2,160 2,552

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

This question is only asked of half the sample.

There are clear patterns in those not taking part in any of the activities within deprivation (33% in the 15% most deprived compared to 23% in the least deprived areas) and through the Urban Rural Classification (from around a quarter in urban areas down to 13% in remote rural areas). Those in remote rural areas are most likely to take part in other outdoor activities (34%) which may reflect more informal and independent activities.

Participation in any of the activities is lower for those living in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland: most notably, 46% regularly take part in sporting activities compared to 56% in the least deprived areas, with similar differences in those undertaking music or drama activities (19% and 25% respectively).

Contact

Email: Nic Krzyzanowski

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