were particularly important; where staff showed warmth and were responsive to the individual
needs of children, children made more progress.
Pre-school quality was significantly related to children’s scores on standardised tests of reading
and mathematics at age 6. At age 7 the relationship between quality and academic attainment
was somewhat weaker but still evident, and the effect of quality on social/behavioural
development was no longer significant. High quality pre-school provision combined with longer
duration had the strongest effect on development.
Quality and staff qualifications
Quality makes a difference to children’s development. There was a significant relationship
between the quality of a pre-school centre and improved child outcomes. There was also a
positive relationship between the qualifications of staff and ratings of quality. Children made more
progress in pre-school centres where staff had higher qualifications, particularly if the manager
was highly qualified. Having trained teachers working with children in pre-school settings (for a
substantial proportion of time, and most importantly as the curriculum leader) had the greatest
impact on quality, and was linked specifically with better outcomes in pre-reading and social
development at age 5.
Balance in the curriculum
One of the rating scales used to assess quality measured four of the developmental domains in
the Foundation Stage Curriculum. Centres that put particular emphasis on literacy, maths,
science/environment and children’s ‘diversity’ (catering to children of different genders, cultural
backgrounds and abilities or interests) promoted better outcomes for children in their subsequent
academic attainment, especially reading and mathematics at age 6. EPPE found that settings
strong on the intellectual aspects of the curriculum tended to be strong on the social-emotional
side as well.
Type of pre-school
Even after taking account of a child’s background and prior intellectual skills, the type of pre-
school a child attends has an important effect on their developmental progress. Integrated
centres that fully combine education with care and have a high proportion of trained teachers,
along with nursery schools, tend to promote better intellectual outcomes for children. Similarly,
fully integrated settings and nursery classes tend to promote better social development even
after taking account of children’s backgrounds and prior social behaviour.
Good quality pre-school education can be found in all kinds of settings, however the EPPE data
indicates that integrated centres and nursery school provision have the highest scores on pre-
school quality, while playgroups, private day nurseries and local authority day nurseries have
lower scores. The integrated centres in the EPPE sample were all registered as nursery schools
but had extended their provision to include flexible hours for childcare along with substantial
health and family support services.
Social mix
Disadvantaged children do better in settings with a mixture of children from different social
backgrounds rather than in settings catering mostly to children from disadvantaged families. This
has implications for the siting of centres in areas of social disadvantage.
The impact of the home learning environment on children’s development
In addition to the child assessments and pre-school centre information, interviews were
conducted with parents when their child entered the study (with follow-up questionnaires when
the children were in school). These were used to collect detailed information about childcare
histories, characteristics of children, their families and home environments. This wealth of
information has enabled the research study to investigate some of the influences affecting young
children that have a significant relationship with their later intellectual and social/behavioural
development. These factors clustered around demographic influences, the home learning
environment and patterns of childcare before entering the study.
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