Researchers from Bryson Purdon Social Research, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) carried out a literature review of English and American studies into the role of informal childcare.
Their analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study, tracking nearly 16,000 children born between 2000 and 2002, found that by age three, children living in more advantaged households and being looked after by their grandparents are significantly further ahead with their vocabulary than children in formal childcare settings.
In contrast, a 2009 study by Hansen and Hawkes, 'Early Childcare and Child Development', found that children looked after by grandparents were less ready for school than those attending early years settings.
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