• Vulnerable children
-A small group of children continued to ‘at risk’ of special educational needs (2.3% of the EPPE
sample had full statements), with more of the ‘home’ children falling into this group even after
taking into account background factors.
-Multiple disadvantage continued to have a negative affect on intellectual and social development
up to the end of Key Stage1. However, the impact of English as an additional language (EAL) is
much reduced at age 7, compared to the strength of the effect at age 3 and 5.
• Home learning environment
-The effect of home learning activities during the pre-school period continues to be evident in
children’s developmental profiles at the end of Key Stage 1.
What pre-school experiences make a difference in children’s development?
Duration of pre-school and timing of entry
A number of factors associated with attendance at pre-school were also explored. EPPE shows
that a child’s duration at pre-school (measured in months) was related to their intellectual gains
at school entry and again at the end of Key Stage 1. An early start at pre-school (between 2 and
3 years) was also linked with better intellectual attainment and being more sociable with other
children (Peer sociability). The benefits of an early start continue to be evident at the end of Key
Stage 1. There was evidence that an early start in group settings, particularly before the age of
2, led to slightly increased behaviour problems for a small group of children when they were 3
and again at 5. There was no evidence that full-day attendance led to better development than
half-day attendance.
Effect on different groups of children
The research explored whether pre-school had an impact on the progress of different kinds of
children. Pre-school was particularly beneficial to children who are more disadvantaged. EPPE
shows that one in three children were ‘at risk’ of developing learning difficulties at the start of pre-
school, however, this fell to one in five by the time they started school2. This suggest that pre-
school can be an effective intervention for the reduction of special educational needs (SEN),
especially for the most disadvantage and vulnerable children.
Different groups of children have different needs. Results suggest that specialised support in
pre-schools, especially for language and pre-reading skills, can benefit children from
disadvantaged backgrounds and those for whom English was an additional language.
Disadvantaged children are more likely to have adverse social profiles at age 3 and at school
entry. The slightly higher levels of anti-social behaviour seen in a small group of children starting
pre-school before age 3, can be reduced by high quality pre-school in the period 3-5 years.
Whilst not eliminating disadvantage, pre-school can help to ameliorate the effects of social
disadvantage and can provide children with a better start to school. Therefore, investing in good
quality pre-school provision can be seen as an effective means of achieving targets concerning
social exclusion and breaking cycles of disadvantage.
It is also interesting to note that at entry to pre-school girls generally show better social
development than boys, especially in co-operation/conformity and independence and
concentration. Girls also show better cognitive outcomes than boys.
Quality effects
An important question for the EPPE research was whether higher quality pre-school provision
makes a difference to the intellectual and social behavioural development of young children. If
so, what is essential in ensuring quality? Information from observations on the quality of each
setting, using standardised rating scales, showed a significant link between higher quality and
better intellectual and social/behavioural outcomes at entry to school. For example, children in
high quality centres showed more independence and reduced anti-social/worried behaviour by
the time they enter primary school. The quality of the interactions between children and staff
2 See the Early Transition and Special Education Needs (EYTSEN) Institute of Education, for more detail on SEN in
the early years.
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