attendance record are accounted for when estimating the effects of pre-school education. This
information is also important in its own right to provide a detailed description of the range of pre-
school provision experienced by different children and any differences in the patterns of provision
used by specific groups of children/parents and their relationship to parents' labour market
participation. Predictor variables for attainment at entry to reception included prior attainment
(verbal and non-verbal sub scales), social/emotional profiles, and child characteristics (personal,
social and family). The EPPE multilevel analyses incorporated adjustment for measurement
error and examined differences in the performance of different groups of children at entry to pre-
school and again at entry to reception classes. The extent to which differences in the attainment
of particular groups (e.g. disadvantaged children or those with English as an Additional
Language [EAL]) increased/decreased over this period was fully explored, enabling equity issues
to be addressed.
After controlling for intake differences, the estimated impact of individual pre-school centres was
used to select 12 ‘outlier’ centres from the 141 in the project for detailed case studies. ‘Outlier’
centres were those in which children made more developmental progress than would be
expected by their social background or the developmental profiles at entry to the study. In
addition, multilevel models tested the relationship between particular process quality
characteristics of centres and children's cognitive and social/behavioural outcomes at the end of
the pre-school period (entry to school). The extent to which it is possible to explain (statistically)
variation in children's scores on outcome measures assessed at entry to school, provides
evidence about which particular forms of provision have greater benefits for children. Multilevel
analyses tested the impact of measures of pre-school processes, such as the scores on various
ECERS scales and structural characteristics such as type. This provides evidence as to which
family or educational variables are associated with better cognitive and social/behavioural
outcomes in children.
Identifying continuing effects of pre-school centres at KS1
The follow up of the pre-school and home sample across Key Stage 1 has been used to explore
any continuing pre-school influences on attainment and social/behavioural outcomes measured
in Year 1 and Year 2. The Year 1 analyses adopted standardised reading and mathematics
assessments, while the Year 2 collected national assessment data. The results examined the
evidence of continuing impact of pre-school process characteristics such as quality, duration,
effectiveness and type.
The Linked Study in Northern Ireland 1998-2003
The Effective Pre-school Provision in Northern Ireland (EPPNI) is linked to EPPE and is under
the directorship of Professor Edward Melhuish, Professor Kathy Sylva, Professor Pam Sammons
and Professor Iram Siraj-Blatchford. The study explored the characteristics of different kinds of
early years provision and examines children’s development in pre-school, and influences on their
later adjustment and progress at primary school up to age 7 years. It has identified the aspects
of pre-school provision that have a positive impact on children’s attainment, progress, and
development, and so provides guidance on good practice. The research involved 70 pre-school
centres randomly selected throughout Northern Ireland. The study investigated all main types of
pre-school provision attended by 3 to 4 year olds in Northern Ireland: playgroups, day nurseries,
nursery classes, nursery schools and reception groups and classes. The data from England and
Northern Ireland offer opportunities for useful comparisons. The Northern Ireland Study is
described more fully in Appendix A.