Nursery World - Nursery education pleases parents

Just over one parent in ten in England considers the quality of nursery education in their local area to be excellent, while eight per cent said it was not very good or not good at all, according to a survey carried out for the Department for Education and Skills. However, 81 per cent of the parents quizzed by the National Centre for Social Research said local nursery education was very or fairly good. The Fifth Survey of Parents of Three-and Four-Year-Old Children and Their Use of Early Years Services, based on research carried out between summer 2000 and spring 2001, also found that 98 per cent of four-year-olds and 94 per cent of three-year-olds had been in some form of nursery education at the time. This was a rise of six per cent and two per cent respectively since the survey series began in 1997.

However, 81 per cent of the parents quizzed by the National Centre for Social Research said local nursery education was very or fairly good. The Fifth Survey of Parents of Three-and Four-Year-Old Children and Their Use of Early Years Services, based on research carried out between summer 2000 and spring 2001, also found that 98 per cent of four-year-olds and 94 per cent of three-year-olds had been in some form of nursery education at the time. This was a rise of six per cent and two per cent respectively since the survey series began in 1997.

The proportion of children from low-income homes and lone-parent families taking part in nursery education was rising, although it was still generally lower than for children from better-off and two-parent families.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included