This presentation by Alan Barrett was delivered on 27 September 2017 at the launch of "An Indicator Set for Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures" by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

1. An Indicator Set for Better
Outcomes, Brighter Futures
Some Remarks by Alan Barrett
ESRI

2. Three broad themes
1. Congrats
2. Disaggregation
3. Processes and determinants

3. (1) Congrats
• A huge achievement
– A well presented report can hide the complex and
time-consuming nature of the task
– All contributors deserve great credit
• An important contribution
– The report draws attention to the data that are
available
– The indicators themselves tell us much and so
provide a basis for tracking and monitoring

4. Some indicators that struck me as
particularly interesting
• High life satisfaction
• 11–17 years 74.5% (2015)
• Very happy with life at present
• 11–17 years 46.9% (2014)
• Like being in school
• 10 years 79% (2015)
• Being bullied in school in past couple of
months
• 11–17 years 25.1% (2014)

5. (2) Disaggregation
• “(The) disaggregation of the data will provide
more information about variations in
outcomes for different groups of children and
young people. It is intended to publish these
data in an electronic format and to update
them over time.” Executive Summary p. viii
• This is critical
• Very often misleading to discuss children and
young people as a group

6. Evidence within the indicators of the
importance of disaggregation
• 45. Deprivation:
• 0-14 years – 35.3% in 2014; 31.3% in 2015
• 48. Homelessness
• 0-14 years – 880 in 2014; 2,505 in 2016
• 55. NEETS
• 15-24 years – 15.2% in 2014; 13% in 2016

7. 32. Inequality in academic attainment
Progressing directly
to higher education
from
2013 2016
DEIS schools 24.2% 25.8%
non-DEIS schools 49.1% 50.9%

8. Indicators that provide information but
hide some also
2014 2015
Low birthweight Infants 5.6% 5.7%
2012 2015
Overweight and
obesity
Children 16.8% 16.9%
Indicator 2: Healthy weight

9. Further insights on health indicators
from GUI

10. Low birth weight
• 7.9 per cent of children from lowest
income families were found to be low birth
weight, compared to 4.6 per cent of those
from the highest income families
• Low birth weight (less than 2,500 gms)
may have a lasting impact on a child’s
growth and development

11. Overweight and
Obesity
• Overweight and obesity were also found to be
strongly linked to social disadvantage
• Approximately 25 per cent of 3-year-olds were
overweight or obese
• The children of unskilled manual parents were
65 per cent more likely to be obese at 3 years
of age than the children of professional
parents

12. (3) Processes and determinants
• In order to design interventions, we need to
understand what causes what
• Two examples from GUI research:
– Inequalities at school entry
– Language development

13. Inequalities at School Entry
• Social inequalities were
apparent in the skills children
bring with them to the
primary school setting
• Attitudes, dispositions and
language skills of 5-year-olds
differ according to social class
background, mother’s
education and household
income

14. Language Development
• Development of language skills in
early childhood is strongly associated
with the economic and educational
resources available to a child in the
home
• The higher the family’s income or
the higher the level of the mother’s
education the more advanced is the
child’s language development, even
at 3 years of age

15. Conclusion
• The Indicators report is a significant addition to
the evidence base underpinning policy
• It is important that the process continues and
that the data are updated and augmented
• For me, the real success in the indicators will be
in prompting more questions
• Whether an indicator rises, falls or stays the
same, the questions will always be:
• (a) why and
• (b) what is the correct policy response?