At a glance

Student: Marino Tomita
Host organisation: Parenting Across Scotland
Placement: Q-Step summer placement, 2024
Methods and tools: Quantitative evidence review, dataset mapping and policy briefing

The project

During a six-week summer placement with Parenting Across Scotland, Marino organised recent numerical evidence about parents in Scotland into accessible briefings. The work complemented the organisation’s existing qualitative evidence review and helped build a fuller picture of families’ experiences after the COVID-19 pandemic.

What Marino did

Marino first mapped major quantitative datasets covering the UK and Scotland, then searched their published reports for evidence specifically about parents in Scotland. She also used targeted searches on poverty, family support, children’s rights, play and leisure, and priority families, and discussed useful sources with colleagues at Parenting Across Scotland.

The placement resulted in four evidence briefings aligned with the organisation’s main themes:

• Poverty
• Family support
• Children’s rights
• Play and leisure

What the research revealed

The available evidence was uneven. Poverty and family support were covered extensively, while quantitative evidence about children’s rights and play and leisure was much harder to find. Marino also identified important gaps affecting young parents, ethnic minority families, LGBTQI+ parents, and families affected by imprisonment, drugs or alcohol.

The project also highlighted the challenge of comparing findings when reports define and measure poverty in different ways. These gaps matter because good policy depends on evidence that reflects the full range of families’ experiences.

Skills developed

• Mapping and evaluating large quantitative datasets
• Finding policy-relevant evidence across multiple sources
• Identifying gaps and limitations in available data
• Synthesising research into concise thematic briefings
• Understanding how third-sector organisations use evidence

Marino’s reflection

Alongside the research itself, Marino valued learning how third-sector organisations in Scotland are managed, how they collaborate and how evidence supports their work. She thanked Amy and Arran at Parenting Across Scotland for creating a welcoming environment throughout the placement.

Read Marino Tomita’s original placement blog on the Parenting Across Scotland website.

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