Nursery World - Two-year-old pilot study finds high-quality settings make a difference

Five-year-olds who took part in the initial two-year-old pilot of free early education places did no better at school at the end of the Reception year than other children, a Government study has found.

However, researchers found evidence that children who took part in the pilot and attended high-quality settings ‘performed somewhat better at age five than those children who attended low or adequate quality settings as part of the pilot.'

Research carried out for the Department for Education has found there is no evidence that overall children who took part in the pilot had higher scores in their Early Years Foundation Stage Profile assessments than children who did not attend the pilot.

But analysis comparing children in the pilot group who attended high quality settings with those who attended adequate or low quality settings found that the high quality group 'scored significantly higher' in the communication, language and literacy and creative development early learning goals.

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