The results of the Scottish Parents' Survey 2021

Date: 9th June 2022
Category: Awareness-raising

a survey document

Discover the outcome of a survey of parents across Scotland in 2021 which explored their awareness, knowledge and views of children’s rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Ipsos MORI Scotland ran this survey of parents of children (0-17) in Scotland. The survey took place between 1 November and 2 December 2021 and 1,004 parents responded. It asked parents six closed questions and two open questions on the topic of children’s rights.

The findings are as follows:

  • The majority of parents (61%) said they were not aware that the Scottish Government is incorporating UNCRC into Scots Law.
  • Almost three-quarters of parents (72%) agreed that they had a good understanding of the rights of their child or children.
  • 88% of parents agreed that they would feel confident in helping their children challenge breaches of their rights, if their rights were not met.
  • Women were more likely than men to be aware of the UNCRC and were also more likely to strongly agree that: they had a good understanding of children’s rights; that they felt confident in helping their children protect their rights; and that parental awareness of children’s rights is important.
  • Parents educated to degree level or above were more likely to be aware of the UNCRC and to say that they had a good understanding of children’s rights than those with other qualifications.
  • When asked an open question about where and from whom they would like to learn more about children’s rights, the most commonly given answers were that they would like to learn throughschools, nurseries or childcare providers (54%); online (22%); in the media (10%); and from health professionals (14%); the government (11%); teachers (11%).

Read more of the findings from the survey here.