To help local areas in Scotland better understand and meet the needs of their under-fives population, Nesta has published personalised data profiles for every local authority.

Scotland has a clear commitment to tackling issues that negatively affect children, with a focus on child poverty, early child development, and the transformation of the care system. The earliest years of a child’s life offer a unique window to address each of these. 

Nesta’s new bespoke, free-to-use early years data profiles will help decision-makers and practitioners explore the unique landscape of pregnancy and early childhood. The profiles bring together key information from across publicly available data sources.

The profiles are intended to help local areas to:

• explore population-level, demographic and child development needs and outcomes, as well as trends in local authority areas over time, and in relation to national averages
• inform strategic and delivery plans
• identify priority outcomes and population areas for further exploration
• consider how to adapt or design local supports to maximise their impact on outcomes relating to early childhood development
• make the case for prioritising pregnancy and early childhood within your strategic and delivery plans

By providing a clearer picture of whether local outcomes are improving, stabilising, or requiring urgent intervention, the profiles can help local areas make robust, evidence-based decisions, inform strategic priorities and enable highly targeted support for expectant parents and young children when it matters most.

Local authorities in Scotland can access their data profiles online.