Nursery World - To the point... (1)

This week's columnist Helen Penn says everyone needs to be clear about the kind of childcare they're talking about The one outstanding accomplishment of this Government in respect of childcare has been to commission research on its initiatives and publish the results on the DfES website. Indeed, almost everyone publishes their research on the net. It used to be difficult to get hold of research articles and reports, but now nearly everything is available for downloading.

The one outstanding accomplishment of this Government in respect of childcare has been to commission research on its initiatives and publish the results on the DfES website. Indeed, almost everyone publishes their research on the net. It used to be difficult to get hold of research articles and reports, but now nearly everything is available for downloading.

The problem is that research is so variable in quality. You need a guide to find your way around. Some research reports are well-thought out and accurate. Anything from the Institute of Fiscal Studies - for instance their recent report on child poverty - is always worth reading. The Office of National Statistics and the National Audit Office, while carefully policy-neutral, have excellent, clearly presented data.

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