Parents’ and carers’ views and use of early learning and childcare (ELC)

We would like to invite you to take part in a study about parents’ and carers’ views and use of early learning and childcare in Scotland.

About the study

Early learning and childcare (ELC) is the care and education children receive before they go to school. It can be offered in a range of settings including nurseries, family centres and childminders.

We would like to invite you to answer a short survey. The survey will have questions about your experience of using early learning and childcare for children before they start school, including what works well, and what, if anything, could be improved. We are asking all ELC settings across Scotland to share this survey with their attending parents in order to gain views from parents and carers in Scotland as a whole.

The Scottish Government is funding this study. The research is being carried out by the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen), who are an independent research agency and registered charity.

Before you decide to take part, we would like you to understand what taking part in the research means.

Why take part?

The Scottish Government are funding this survey to help them understand parents’ and carers’ views of the provision of early learning and childcare. In August 2021, the funded early learning and childcare entitlement in Scotland doubled from 600 to 1140 hours a year (equating to 30 hours a week during term time). Funded hours are available for all 3- and 4-year-olds and some 2-year-olds are also eligible. This survey is contributing to a larger evaluation of how this expansion has benefited parents and their children.

Taking part in the survey is completely voluntary. If you decide not to take part, it will not affect the relationship you and your child have with your early learning and childcare setting. We very much hope that you will decide to be involved. The more people who do, the more useful the results will be, but the decision is entirely up to you.

What will taking part involve?

You can complete the survey online. It should take you around 15-20 minutes. As well as questions about your experience of using early learning and childcare, you will also be asked some questions about yourself such as your age, gender and employment to help us interpret the information.

At the end of the survey, you will be asked if you would be interested in taking part in a one-to-one interview about your experience of using early learning and childcare, and if you wish to be entered in a prize draw. If you choose to, you will be asked to provide your contact details directly to ScotCen. These contact details will be used only for two purposes: 1) to provide participants who express an interest in the interviews with more information on this part of the study and 2) to contact participants selected in the prize draw. Further details and terms and conditions can be found here. If you take part in an interview, you will be given a £30 high street voucher as a thank you for taking part. Please note that there are a limited number of interviews, so it may not be possible to interview everyone who expresses an interest in taking part.

What will happen to any information I give?

We will treat the things you tell us in confidence in accordance with data protection legislation. All information you give ScotCen will be stored safely and securely and used for research purposes only.

ScotCen will make sure that your answers to all questions are anonymous. No one will be able to identify you in any of the reported results. No one in the Scottish Government will know you took part in this research. ScotCen is a separate organisation to the Scottish Government.

To learn more about how we store and use your personal information and your rights to look at your data, click here to read our privacy notice.

Where can I find out more?

If you have any questions, you can contact the study team by email at ELCparents@scotcen.org.uk or by phone on 0131 240 0210.