Nuffield Foundation:
Early childhood education has had little impact on outcomes since the inception of the free entitlement and politicians must now focus efforts on quality
11 January 2018
Authors of a comprehensive study on Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) funded by the Nuffield Foundation have called on the Secretary of State for Education to focus on improving the quality of the free entitlement to part time nursery care for 3-year-olds.
Researchers from the University of Surrey, Dr Jo Blanden and Professor Sandra McNally, and University College London, Dr Kirstine Hansen, have completed a comprehensive five-year study on ECEC, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Using administrative data on all children in preschools and the first years of schooling they found that the policy, introduced by the Labour government in 1998, has had little impact on the educational outcomes of children who have participated.