New release of Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) Data

Date: 22nd March 2017
Category: General measures of implementation, Incorporation
Author: Growing Up in Scotland study

The data from Birth Cohort 1 Sweeps 1-7 is now available from the UK Data Service under Special Licence arrangements. Data from Birth Cohort 2 Sweep 1 is also available, with Sweep 2 to follow soon.

GUS is the longitudinal research study tracking the lives of thousands of children and their families from birth through to the teenage years and beyond. GUS provides new information to help the Scottish Government and others develop policies and services for children and their families so that all children in Scotland have 'the best start in life'.

GUS depends on the continued support of our participating families, who have been visited regularly by our trained interviewers to capture information on a range of topics including family circumstances and experiences, child health and development, parenting and support, diet and physical activity, use of services, the local neighbourhood and experiences of school and pre-school.

• Materials to support the use of the data are available here.

Mothers and children in Birth Cohort 1 and our Child Cohort have had their details linked to administrative health data held by NHS Information Services Division. This includes information about pregnancy and birth (for mothers), pre-school child health surveillance, hospital admissions and dental health covering the period from birth to age 10. The dataset will be available to access soon via the NSS National Safe Haven. Any researcher wishing to use the data will require Safe Researcher accreditation.

• For more information on Safe Researcher training contact ADLS.

Impact of GUS research

Some recent reports draw on the research findings including:

• Family friendly working and low income families - Policy Briefing.
• Scottish Government - National Improvement Framework for Scottish Education - 2016 Evidence Report.
• Scottish Government - A Blueprint for 2020: The expansion of early learning and childcare in Scotland Consultation document.