When reviewing academic research it is important to set it in the context of other existing research. Remember the MMR scare, when suddenly lots of people took as gospel the findings of one skewed piece of research on the triple vaccine, even though it was at odds with everything else written on the subject.
I am not saying that Professor Belsky's research is necessarily skewed, but it is in contrast with other major respected research such as EPPE in the UK and Headstart in the US. The DfES Sure Start Unit has pulled a lot of this together to support its policies and that research gives a different picture. Put very crudely, if care is of a standard quality, children below the age of two-and-a-half develop better in a more domestic care environment, but from then onwards they benefit from exposure to group care.
We may well have lessons to learn from Belsky's work, but I would want to see an analysis of how it fits with the existing body of research before leaping to conclusions about harm.
John Thorn, head of Early Years and Childcare Services, Nottinghamshire
Children and Young People's Department
