Nursery World - The iron triangle: quality provision

Research into childcare consistently comes up with three influences on quality, says Dr Tony Munton

Research into childcare consistently comes up with three influences on quality, says Dr Tony Munton

The Government's National Childcare Strategy has prompted a rapid expansion in childcare and is certainly making people think about how we provide daycare for young children. Nurseries will be at the heart of any future growth, and to ensure that children and parents receive a high quality service, nursery practices need to be based firmly on evidence of what works best.

That is harder than it appears. Gathering and interpreting evidence about quality in childcare is notoriously difficult (see box). However, the vast amount of research carried out both in the UK and abroad does enable us to make some general conclusions. First, that the quality of a child's experiences can be vitally important to development. Second, that three elements can have a major effect on the quality of care nurseries provide:

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