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PRE-SCHOOL AND CHILDCARE STATISTICS 2004

July 21, 2004

A Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication

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This publication pulls together statistics on all aspects of childcare in Scotland for 2004. The main points are:

• Formal childcare continues to expand. There are now 243,000 children receiving formal care (28 per cent of all children aged 0-14). The number of children receiving formal childcare has increased by seven per cent since 2003. Growth in formal childcare is particularly strong in the private and voluntary sectors.
• This year, there is significantly more formal provision before and after school (increases of 25 per cent and 19 per cent respectively in children attending), in the evenings and at weekends. Services are also being provided for more weeks of the year.
• Public childcare provision is relatively even across all areas, whereas there is significantly more private provision in affluent areas and average childcare costs are higher in these areas. Overall, fewer children receive formal childcare in rural areas than in urban areas or small towns.
• The average cost of a full time private nursery place is 136 per week - similar to the average for England. The average cost of after school care is 26 for five sessions during the week. An average playgroup session costs 3.10 and an average session at a crèche costs 4.30.
• Sixty nine per cent of women with dependent children are in work. This is a slight increase in employment rate in the last five years. There is also an increase in the proportion of women with children working full time. Both of these factors suggest an increase in the demand for childcare.
• A survey of parents' access to and demand for childcare showed an overall preference for, and reliance on, informal childcare, with parents most commonly using their children's grandparents where they are unable to look after their children themselves. 79 per cent of parents said that they had no experience of unmet demand for childcare, and 98 per cent of parents rate their current childcare providers highly.
• The proportion of children receiving pre-school education is at an all time high and now represents virtually universal coverage, with 85 per cent of three year olds and 100 per cent of four year olds receiving pre-school education.

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.

EARLY YEARS CHILDCARE

1.3 Almost 160,000 children under five received pre-school education or formal childcare in January 2004, up five per cent since last year. Virtually all three and four year olds are receiving formal care (mainly pre-school education). Fifty two per cent of two year olds, 26 per cent of one year olds and 13 per cent of under ones are also receiving formal childcare.
1.4 The main service providers for the under fives are nurseries (including pre-school education centres). Two thirds of all under fives who receive formal care attend nurseries. The other providers are playgroups (12 per cent of children), childminders (10 per cent), crèches (seven per cent) and family centres (six per cent).
1.5 The types of pre-fives daycare which have expanded in the last year are crèches (26 per cent increase in centres), private sector nurseries (18 per cent increase) and voluntary sector nurseries (29 per cent increase).
1.6 Nurseries . There were 2,491 centres providing a nursery; for 2,332 of these, this was their main service. Just over half of nurseries were dedicated local authority pre-school education providers (1,226) and a quarter were private nurseries (674). The average cost of a full time private nursery place is 136 per week - similar to the average for England.
1.7 Playgroups . There were 1,043 centres providing a playgroup; for 901 of these, this was their main service. There were 100 new playgroups during 2003. The vast majority of playgroups operate out of church halls (37 per cent), school premises (15 per cent) or community centres (27 per cent) and are provided by the voluntary sector (77 per cent). Playgroups tended to be provided in more affluent areas.
1.8 Crèches . There were 358 centres providing a crèche; for 201 of these, this was their main service. There were 66 new crèches during 2003. The majority of crèches operate out of community centres (31 per cent) or premises that are exclusively for the purpose of childcare. Crèches tend to be provided in more urban areas (10 per cent of under fives attend crèches in urban areas, compared to just one per cent in rural areas).
1.9 Crèches are the biggest provider of care at the weekend - around 2,000 children attend at these times. The number of children attending at weekends has significantly increased since 2003.
1.10 For those who charge, an average playgroup session costs 3.10 and an average session at a crèche costs 4.30.
1.11 Childminders . There were 6,165 childminders in Scotland, and 27,000 children are cared for by childminders. Almost 60 per cent of these children are under the age of five.
1.12 Fifty per cent of childminders have at least six years' experience of childminding, and a further 35 per cent have between two and five years' experience. Twenty five per cent of childminders have formal childcare qualifications, and approximately 10 per cent of childminders are currently undertaking training for childcare qualifications. There are more childminders working in the more affluent parts of the country.
1.13 Family centres . There were 216 family centres, provided by a combination of the local authority (91 centres) and voluntary (84 centres) sectors. Centres are mainly located in urban and more deprived areas and cater for children typically aged under five. There has been a fall in the number of family centres since 2003: 66 have closed, 28 have opened and 31 have re-classified themselves as other types of service provider. Compared to other service types, family centres provide a much wider range of services.

OUT OF SCHOOL CARE

1.14 An average of 29,000 children received before school care (a 25 per cent increase since 2003), and an average of 50,000 attended after school care (19 per cent increase since 2003). The vast majority (85 per cent) of children receiving formal out of school care are aged between five and 10 years old, which means eight per cent of this age range receive formal out of school care. Children receiving formal care attend for an average of three sessions per week.
1.15 There are three main providers of formal out of school care: out of school care clubs, nurseries and childminders. After school care is split relatively evenly between the three groups, whereas the majority of before school care is provided by nurseries.
1.16 Out of school care clubs . There were 1,066 centres providing an out of school care club; for 746 of these, this was their main service. There were 174 new out of school care clubs during 2003. The vast majority of centres operate out of school premises (53 per cent) or community centres (23 per cent) and are provided by the voluntary sector (58 per cent). Centres are open for an average of 42 weeks per year, with nine per cent of centres open all year round.
1.17 There are 4,080 staff working in out of school care clubs. Almost all clubs use ICT and use it to play games (32 per cent of centres do this every day), make drawings (18 per cent) and play music (13 per cent). Thirty four per cent of centres provide transport services, and 59 per cent have an outdoor play area.
1.18 The average cost of an out of school care club is 26 per week, for those that charge parents for their services.

DEMAND FOR CHILDCARE

2.1 There are 582,000 women with dependent children in Scotland - over three quarters are living in a couple, with the rest living as single parents. Sixty nine per cent of women with dependent children are in work. This is a slight increase in employment rate in the last five years. There is also an increase in the proportion of women with children working full time. Both of these factors suggest an increase in the demand for childcare.
2.2 Growth in employment is strongest for families with children aged three or four. The employment rate of women with three or four year old children has increased from 54 per cent in 1998 to 64 per cent in 2003, with an increasing share of women choosing to work full time. For families with three or four year old children, the proportion where both parents are working has increased from 60 per cent in 1998 to 68 per cent in 2003.
2.3 There has also been a significant increase in female lone parents in work, up from 42 per cent in 1998 to 55 per cent in 2003. The increase in particularly strong among those with children under the age of five.
2.4 For women with children aged two or under, there has been a shift in the last year to more part time rather than full time working.
2.5 Counterbalancing the increased demand for childcare from increased employment rates is the decrease in the number of children in Scotland. There has been a seven per cent fall in the 0-14 year old population in Scotland over the last five years, with a further eight per cent fall expected over the next five years.
2.6 The projected population decline is not evenly spread: it should affect the 5-14 population more significantly than the 0-fours and in general the more remote parts of Scotland are expecting a sharper decline in the 0-14 population. Edinburgh and the Lothians are expecting the smallest population decline.
2.7 A survey of parents' access to and demand for childcare in Scotland was published recently. It sought to establish the issues that affect parents' use of childcare, the reasons for using a particular type of childcare and whether there is evidence of any unmet needs in terms of childcare provision in Scotland. In depth views are obtained from parents of particular target groups.
2.8 There is an overall preference for, and reliance on, informal childcare, with parents most commonly using their children's grandparents where they are unable to look after their children themselves.
2.9 The majority (79 per cent) of parents said that they had been able to meet all their childcare demands, a slight improvement since 2000. Of the 21 per cent of parents who had experienced unmet demand for childcare in the last year, the main reason was that their usual arrangements were not available, and only one in seven stated it was either because they could not afford it (14 per cent) or there were not enough childcare places (13 per cent).
2.10 The main reason for choosing a childcare provider was trust (56 per cent). Reliability and someone who would show a child affection were considered more important than accessibility and cost.
2.11 Parents choosing formal childcare did so because they wanted their children to mix with others of their own age, develop social skills and be educated.
2.12 Three quarters of parents thought that it was within the role of a childcare provider to provide educational opportunities, particularly for formal provision and for younger children
2.13 The majority of parents (98 per cent) rate their current childcare providers highly.

PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION

3.1 In January 2004, 85 per cent of three year olds and 100 per cent of four year olds in Scotland attended pre-school education. This compares to 83 per cent of three year olds and 99 per cent of four year olds in January 2003.
3.2 There are over 2,800 providers of pre-school education in Scotland. Nursery classes account for 40 per cent of all providers, with stand alone nursery schools making up the other 60 per cent
3.3 The number of centres, places and staff has increased in the last year, whereas the number of children receiving pre-school education has fallen in line with the total three and four year old population.
3.4 There were 1,236 children receiving Gaelic medium pre-school education. This represents 1.2 per cent of all pre-school children and was an increase of nine per cent since 2003. They received education across 62 providers of Gaelic medium pre-school education. There were 21 in Highland, 19 in Eilean Siar, with the remainder covering an additional 11 local authority areas. Virtually all providers were local authority (39 centres) or voluntary sector (19 centres) run. 32 centres were attached to primary schools, 22 centres operate mainly as playgroups and eight were stand alone nurseries.
3.5 The type of pre-school education provision varies considerably across Scotland. Rural authorities tend to have a large number of centres relative to their population, but most had a small number of children attending.
3.6 Three per cent of children in pre-school education have English as an additional language. Local authorities with high proportions of these children are Eilean Siar (15 per cent), Glasgow (10 per cent), Edinburgh (six per cent) and Aberdeen City, East Renfrewshire and Dundee (all five per cent).
3.7 Internationally, there was large variation in the percentage of pupils enrolled in education aged 4 and under. Iceland, Belgium, France and Spain had percentages over one hundred. This is due in some cases to a large number of children below the age of 3 being included. Greece, Poland, Ireland, Switzerland and Korea had less than 30 per cent of pupils enrolled.

RESOURCES

4.1 The aim of this section is to present an indication of spending by the state on pre-school education and childcare. Spending on pre-school education and childcare comes from a wide range of sources, including the state, parents and employers. The Scottish Executive provides funding under a range of budget headings to local authorities, in support of their early years services. Local authorities have been encouraged to combine these budgets where appropriate, to deliver the services required locally. Scottish Executive funding during 2002-03 included 137 million for pre-school education, 16.75 million for the childcare strategy, and 19 million for Sure Start programmes. Other relevant Executive funding streams include those for social work and the Changing Children's Services Fund.
4.2 Local Authorities spent 195 million on pre-primary education in 2002-03, covering services they provide directly as well as those they provide in partnership with the private and voluntary sectors. The majority of this spending (133 million) was on employee costs. Overall spending amounted to 1,890 for each 3, 4 and 5 year old in pre-school education in Scotland. The amount varied from 1,210 per child in the Scottish Borders to 3,320 per child in West Dunbartonshire.
4.3 As many pre-school providers also deliver other children's daycare, the 195 million figure may include expenditure on other childcare. However, additional expenditure by local authorities on children's daycare totalled 42 million in 2002-03.
4.4 Awards from the New Opportunities Fund Out of School Hours Childcare Programme totalled an average of 7.9 million per year for Scotland for the period 2001 to 2003. The New Opportunities Fund aimed to support the provision of new or additional good quality, affordable and accessible out of school hours childcare places in a range of settings involving the public, private and voluntary sectors. This programme is available for children aged 3-14 (16 for special needs).
4.5 At 5 January 2004, 28,500 families in Scotland were benefiting from the childcare element of the working tax credit, with an average award of 46.12 a week.

Contents

Background Notes
TABLES
Section 1 Pre-school education or childcare providers
Table 1.1- Pre-school education or childcare providers, places, children and staff by management arrangements and main service type, Scotland, January 2003 and 2004
Table 2.1- Churn in centres providing pre-school education or childcare by management arrangements and main service type, Scotland, January 2003 and 2004
Table 1.3- Pre-school education or childcare providers: Type and availability of services, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.4- Pre-school education or childcare providers: Type of service by times available during week, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.5- Children receiving formal pre-school education or childcare: Type of service by times attended in census week, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.6- Pre-school education and childcare providers: Main type of service and management arrangements by type of premises used, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.7- Services supplied by pre-school education or childcare centres, by main type of facility and type of service available, and and level of rurality / affluence, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.8- Type and purpose of ICT used in pre-school and childcare, by service type and management arrangements, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.9- Number of children attending pre-school education or childcare centres, by age of child and main type of facility, Scotland, January 2004 and change since 2003
Table 1.10- Pre-school education or childcare providers: staff and children by management arrangements, main type of facility, levels of rurality and affluence, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.11- Characteristics of the childcare workforce, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.12- Costs to parents of services by service type, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.13- Proportion of children attending pre-school education or childcare providers, by service type / management arrangements and level of rurality / affluence, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.14- Pre-school education or childcare providers by service type / management arrangements and level of rurality / affluence, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.15- Centres providing pre-school education or childcare: type of service by local authority, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.16- Pre-school education or childcare providers per 1,000 children in population: type of service by local authority, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.17- Centres providing pre-school education or childcare: children and places by local authority area, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.18- Staff working in pre-school education or childcare centres by local authority area, Scotland, January 2004
Table 1.19- Availability of pre-school education / childcare services within council ward areas, by service type, Scotland, January 2004
Section 2 Demand for childcare
Table 2.1- Employment status of women by age of youngest child, and whether living in a couple, Scotland, 1998-2003
Table 2.2- Employment status of families by age of youngest child, and whether living in a couple, Scotland, 1998-2003
Table 2.3- Population estimates and projections by individual age group (0-14), Scotland, 1999-2009
Table 2.4- Population estimates and projections by age group and local authority, Scotland, 1999-2009
Section 3 Pre-school education
Table 3.1 - Centres providing pre-school education: places, children and staff - summary table, Scotland, January 2003 and 2004
Table 3.2 - Centres providing pre-school education: places, children and staff, by management arrangements of centre, Scotland, January 2003 and 2004
Table 3.3 - Children attending pre-school education by age, Scotland, 1979-2004
Table 3.4 - Children attending pre-school education: children's special needs by centre type, Scotland, January 2004
Table 3.5 - Pre-school education centres by type and local authority area, Scotland, January 2004
Table 3.6 - Staff working in pre-school education centres by local authority area, Scotland, January 2004
Table 3.7 - Children attending pre-school education centres by local authority area, Scotland, January 2004
Table 3.8 - International comparisons: pupils enrolled in education aged 4 and under as a percentage of the population aged 3 and 4, 1999-2001
Section 4 Resources
Table 4.1 - Local authority revenue expenditure on pre-primary education 2002-03
Table 4.2 - Local authority net revenue expenditure on children and families day care 2002-03
Table 4.3 - New Opportunities Fund childcare awards by local authority area 2001-2003: Out of school hours childcare programme
CHARTS
Chart 1 - Pre-school or childcare places, by service type
Chart 2 - Number of children attending pre-school education or childcare centres by age of child
Chart 3 - Percentage of children attending pre-school education or childcare providers, by level of rurality
Chart 4 - Percentage of children attending pre-school education or childcare providers, by level of affluence
Chart 5 - Employment status of women by age of youngest child
Chart 6 - Children attending pre-school education by age, 1994-2004
Chart 7 - International comparisons - pupils enrolled in education age 4 and under as a percentage of the population aged 3 and 4, 1999-2001

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