Nursery World - Good early years give a head start

Children who attend high-quality early years settings continue to do well in tests at the end of primary school, according to the latest findings from the largest ongoing study into the impact of pre-school and primary education.

High-quality pre-school also has an effect on children's social andbehavioural outcomes, the latest study from the EPPE (EffectivePre-School and Primary Education 3-11) project said.

Professor Edward Melhuish at Birkbeck, University of London, who led theresearch, told Nursery World the findings showed that 'pre-schooleffects still persist' at the end of Year 6 when children are aged11.

He said the findings are 'significantly large for any Government wantingto improve the educational success of the population. We're saying thatto get long-term benefits it has to be high quality.'

But there is no significant benefit for children's attainment at the ageof 11 if they attended low-quality early years provision.

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