COMMENT FACT CHECK: 'THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO GROW UP'
The Scottish Government has repeatedly stated its ambition to make Scotland “the best place in the world to grow up”. As Nicola Sturgeon said, during a visit to Wester Hailes Education Centre in Edinburgh last year: “I want to be able to say, with confidence and with evidence, that there is no better place in the world to be educated than here in Scotland – and I want to know that this claim holds true for all young people, regardless of their background or circumstance.” ? But is it?
CHILD POVERTY ▏ More than one in five (210,000) of Scotland’s children is officially recognised as living in poverty.
▏ In 2013/14, 56 per cent of children in poverty were living in households with at least one adult in employment.
▏ In 2013, the Institute for Fiscal Studies forecast that up to 100,000 more children would be living in poverty in Scotland in 2020 than in 2012 [the last year for which the IFS had figures]. The forecast was made before the UK Government’s decision to freeze working-age benefits.
CHILDCARE ▏ A briefing from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) found that, with childcare costs in the UK at around £4 per hour, on average, they are equivalent to over a third of the average female part-time, hourly rate.
▏ Research from the Family and Childcare Trust’s annual Childcare Survey found that the average cost of a Scottish after-school club rose by 8.5 per cent in the last year, compared to 2.1 per cent in England, and an 8.7 per cent fall in Wales.
▏ The cost of a part-time nursery place for a child aged over two increased to £104.06 per week, a 4.1 per cent increase since 2015.
▏ Scottish families now pay an average of £53.21 for 15 hours in an after-school club, making it more expensive than any other region in the UK apart from London.
▏ At present, there are only 64,000 mothers of one to five year olds who are economically inactive.
SCHOOLING ▏ The OECD found levels of academic achievement are above international averages in science and reading and close to average in maths.
▏ Achievement levels are spread relatively equally. ▏ Scotland performs very well on social inclusion and mix. Immigrant children generally perform better than their non-immigrant peers.
▏ A large majority of students feel positive about their school and teachers. ▏ Nine in 10 school leavers enter a "positive follow-up destination" and two-thirds stay in education.
HOWEVER ▏ Scottish Government statistics show that between 2005-06 and 2012-13, the difference in tariff scores between S4 pupils living in the top and bottom 10 per cent SIMD areas narrowed by just 11 points.
▏ Figures for 2013-14 show two in five leavers from the 20 per cent most deprived areas achieved one or more Highers or Advanced Highers compared to four in five from the 20 per cent most affluent areas.
▏ Reading – The proportion of pupils performing well or very well at reading was slightly lower in 2014 than 2012, at all stages.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD
▏ We have a new addition to our family – the Holyrood Baby. Whilst we can and should let our imaginations run wild about what lies ahead, the evidence on health inequalities tells us that there are some things in the Holyrood Baby’s world that will, if left unchecked, determine her life course. For example, average life expectancy in Balgreen, Edinburgh, is 82.6 years old. Just two miles away in Bankhead it is 74.4. That’s almost ten years of life lost just because of where we are born. The circumstances we are born into – our housing, income, education etc. don’t just aff ect how long we will live. Babies born in deprived areas are up to 200 grams smaller than many of the babies born in affl uent areas. They are less likely to be breast fed. By the time they are toddlers they will lag up to nine months behind their more affl uent friends, at all stages of development. In primary school, they will have lower attainment in literacy and numeracy than some of their peers. And they will probably forgo events that many would take for granted; like school trips, having friends round for tea or going on holiday.
It doesn’t have to be that way. The early
years provide a vital window to reduce the impact of health inequalities, but that window gets smaller as our baby gets older. Early life experiences and social cir- cumstances strongly infl uence outcomes in later life. Our job is to make sure they work for our baby, not against her. We need to eliminate the fundamental causes of health inequalities as well as off er information and guidance like that in Ready Steady Baby. We will guide her, nurture her, support her, play with her, keep her safe and secure and of course, love her. Early attachment is crucial, even more so in the in the face of adversity, but we need changes to the law, regulations and the economic, fi scal and benefi ts systems for the whole of society to play its part.
If we are to be the prosperous nation we
want to be we must lay down a healthier and fairer path for the next generation. As the proverb goes, it takes a village to raise a child; healthier, wealthier children are everyone’s business. It takes all of us to raise the Holyrood Baby, one who will be held back by nothing but her imagination.
Gerry McLaughlin, Chief Executive, NHS Health Scotland
To fi nd out more about health inequalities, the work of NHS Health Scotland or to explore how we can work together for a fairer, healthier Scotland, contact:
Elspeth Molony, Organisational Lead for Communications and Engagement
elspeth.molony@
nhs.net 07717 513 623
www.healthscotland.com @NHS_HS #HolyroodBaby #HealthInequalities
23 May 2016
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