Early Years

A collection of resources on the topic of early years.

Growing up in Scotland (GUS): non-resident parent summary report

The Growing Up in Scotland study (GUS) is an important longitudinal research project aimed at tracking the lives of a cohort of Scottish children from the early years, through childhood and beyond.

The study is funded by the Scottish Government and carried out by the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen). Its principal aim is to provide information to support policy-making, but it is also intended to be a broader resource that can be drawn on by academics, voluntary sector organisations and other interested parties.

Building character

Report of a research project which studied the development of character capabilities contributing to life chances and the factors influencing their development. It concludes that the early years are the critical years in this regard and that parents are, consequently, the principal character builders in society.

Parents as partners in early learning : case studies - the international new arrivals project, Sandwell

Document describing an international new arrivals scheme, the main objectives of which were to forge inter-agency links, create bespoke staff training, create activities and sessions aimed at new arrivals and encourage newly-arrived parents to engage fully with early years services.

Growing up in Scotland (GUS): the impact of children's early activities on cognitive development summary report

The Growing Up in Scotland study (GUS) is an important longitudinal research project aimed at tracking the lives of a cohort of Scottish children from the early years, through childhood and beyond.

The study is funded by the Scottish Government and carried out by the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen). Its principal aim is to provide information to support policy-making, but it is also intended to be a broader resource that can be drawn on by academics, voluntary sector organisations and other interested parties.

Growing up in Scotland (GUS): parenting and the neighbourhood context summary report

The Growing Up in Scotland study (GUS) is an important longitudinal research project aimed at tracking the lives of a cohort of Scottish children from the early years, through childhood and beyond.

The study is funded by the Scottish Government and carried out by the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen). Its principal aim is to provide information to support policy-making, but it is also intended to be a broader resource that can be drawn on by academics, voluntary sector organisations and other interested parties.

Integrated strategy for the early years

This paper focuses on the services provided to young children (from pre-birth to 5) and their families.

It sets out a framework which draws together existing policies from across the Scottish Executive in this area – whether that is promoting childcare, health visitor support, preschool education or broader support for parenting skills.

It seeks to promote greater coherence between these executive policies to give better support to joined-up delivery on the ground.

Growing up in Scotland: year 2: results from the second year of a study following the lives of Scotland's children

Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) is a major longitudinal study launched in 2005 with the aim of tracking a group of children and their families from the early years, through childhood and beyond. Funded by the Scottish Government its main aim is to provide information to support policy-making, but it is also intended to be a broader resource that can be drawn on by academics, voluntary sector organisations and other interested parties.

Growing support : a review of services for vulnerable families with very young children

This report describes the findings and conclusions of an inter-disciplinary review of social work and health services in Scotland to support vulnerable families with young children aged 0-3 years. It also takes account of other important services such as early education and childcare, housing, health services for adults and Children’s Hearings.