Reception 'short on quality'

The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) team, based at London's Institute of Education, found reception classes slightly better than playgroups and 'slightly less good' than private nurseries. They fared much worse than other local authority pre-school settings when rated on facilities and activities, though they scored similarly on interaction and supervision. Local authority centres, nursery schools and classes and combined centres provided better quality overall.

EPPE, which is funded by the Department for Education and Skills, used an environmental rating system, ECERS-R, to assess the quality of a range of aspects of provision such as space and furnishings and personal care routines as well as activities and relations between parents and staff. Reception classes fared better when assessed in terms of the early childhood curriculum and pedagogy using a system of measurement called ECERS-E, however. They were strong on literacy and mathematics, and scored more highly than playgroups and private day nurseries, although they did not outscore combined centres. Overall, reception classes scored in the 'minimal to good' range, but slightly below minimal quality on personal care routines.