COVID-19 Survey: Information Sheet for Cohort ’08 Primary Caregiver

Main points

  • We are contacting you because you and your 12/13-year-old have taken part in the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study for several years. [More]
  • Growing Up in Ireland is funded by the government and carried out by a group of researchers led by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Trinity College Dublin. The Central Statistics Office is hosting the online survey. [More]
  • Growing Up in Ireland aims to improve our understanding of all aspects of the lives of children and young people and their development to inform policy to provide better supports and services for them. [More]
  • We are now asking for your help to understand the experiences of young people and their families during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are asking you to complete a short (about ten minutes) online survey. We are also asking for your consent to your 12/13-year-old taking part. The link to the survey and the ID code you need to begin it are in the email we sent you. [More]
  • Information collected in the online survey is covered by the Statistics Act, 1993. It is used only to produce statistical analysis and is treated in the strictest confidence. However, if you tell us something outside the answers given to the direct survey questions which causes us to have serious concerns for the welfare of a child, or other vulnerable person, we may have to tell someone who could help. [More]
  • You can decide to take part in the survey. You can also decide to change your mind and withdraw from the survey at any time – even after you have completed the survey. If there is any question you do not wish to answer, you do not have to do so. You may request access to the information about you on the questionnaires which you complete.  You will not have access to any information provided by your 12/13-year-old. [More]
  • The questions on your survey will cover your experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic. Your 12/13-year-old will be asked about their own experiences. [More]
  • To ask a question or find more information, please click here

  

Detailed Information

  1. Why are we contacting you?

You and your 12/13-year-old was one of more than 11,000 children and their families who first took part in the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) survey when the children were nine months of age in 2008/09. Growing Up in Ireland follows the progress of these children over time. This information will improve our understanding of all aspects of the lives and needs of children, young people and their families so as to design better supports and services for them.

We would like you and your 12/13-year-old to complete a short online survey on your experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic.

  1. Who is running the study?

Growing Up in Ireland is funded by Government through the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY). It is overseen and managed by the DCEDIY in association with the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The study is being carried out by a group of independent researchers led by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Trinity College Dublin.

  1. What is the purpose of the study?

Growing Up in Ireland aims to improve our understanding of all aspects of the lives of children and young people and their development. It will build a bank of information about the lives of children in Ireland today and into the future which will help Government to make good decisions about issues relating to children and young people.

  1. What does taking part involve?

This phase of Growing Up in Ireland will involve a short online survey for you and your 12/13-year old. The online survey is being hosted by the Central Statistics Office. It will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. You have received an invitation to take part by email.  The email contains a link to your own survey and your child’s survey.  You will need the ID code (also provided in the email) in order to begin the survey.  A separate ID code is provided for your 12/13-year-old.

If you don’t complete your survey an interviewer might phone you to see if you received the link and if you have any questions. Interviewers are Garda Vetted and appointed as Officers of Statistics.

Because the Growing Up in Ireland study looks at children’s development over time, you and your child may be asked to participate in a follow-up study in the future.  You will have an opportunity at that stage to decide whether or not to participate. Taking part in the Covid-19 Survey does not oblige you to take part in the future.

  1. How we deal with issues of confidentiality

Information in the GUI survey is collected under section 24 of the Statistics Act (1993).  This Act provides a legislative basis for the compilation and dissemination of official statistics by the Central Statistics Office.  It ensures that the information you provide can only be used for statistical purposes.  Your personal details – such as name, address, telephone and email address – will remain strictly confidential and will not be disclosed to anyone outside of the GUI Study.  Reports based on the information collected by GUI will not include any information that would identify you or your family.

However, if you tell us something outside the answers given to the direct survey questions which causes us to have serious concerns for the welfare of a child, or other vulnerable person, we may have to tell someone who could help.

In order to make the best use of the information you provide, the Central Statistics Office, operating under the strictest controlled procedures in line with the Statistics Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), may match your data to other types of information. This would only be done for statistical research purposes and the results of the analysis will not in any way allow you or your family to be identified.

For more information see www.cso.ie/en/aboutus/lgdp/csodatapolicies/informationfordataproviders

  1. What are my rights if I take part?

You are not obliged to take part in this survey and you can chose to skip over a question or withdraw your participation from the study at any time, though it would greatly help us if you do participate and answer all the questions.  If you decide not to take part, it will in no way affect any health, educational or social care which you or your family will receive from the State.

You may request access to the information about you on the questionnaires which you complete.

The answers to the survey questions can be used only for statistical research purposes.

The information given by your 12/13-year-old in answer to the questions on the survey will not be seen by anyone else in your family – not even you will have access to it.  You will not be given any feedback on your 12/13-year-old’s responses to their survey questions, no matter what they are.

The study’s Respondent Privacy Statement is available here.

  1. What kind of questions will my family be asked?

The questions will cover your experiences since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic: your household situation with regard to work, how easy or difficult it is for you make ends meet, changes in childcare responsibilities when the schools were closed, changes in your social and leisure activities, your 12/13-year-old’s experience with school and learning and how you have been feeling lately.

Your 12/13-year-old will be asked about their own experience of learning while the schools were closed, how they are settling back into school since September, how they spend their time, changes in their activities since the pandemic started and relationships with family and friends, how they have been feeling lately and how they feel about next year.

You and your 12/13-year-old can choose to skip over a question or withdraw your participation from the study at any time.

  • Your participation will play a major role in the success of Growing Up in Ireland.
  • We hope that you can support us with this important work, and we would like to thank you, in advance, for your help.

 

  1. Where can I find out more information?

If you have any questions or would like more information: