Which early childhood services, or combinations of services, are most effective in improving the (health, cognitive, socio-emotional, and educational) development of disadvantaged children before age 5? How does this vary by children’s age (for example 0-2 and 3-5) and for different domains of learning (such as literacy and maths)?
Background
The early years in childhood are crucial to supporting opportunity. This pillar of the Opportunity Mission aims to set every child up for the best start in life, measured against the proportion of 5-year-olds reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage. Other key research topics include supporting families to help children learn and develop through provision of high-quality childcare.
Full details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-areas-of-research-interest
Next steps
Get in touch with research.engagement@education.gov.uk
Related UKRI funded projects
-
Harnessing the power of global data to support young children's learning and development: Analyses, dissemination and implementation
The 2017 Lancet Series, Advancing Early Childhood Development: From Science to Scale, estimated that 43% of children under 5 years in LMICs (250m children), were at risk of not reaching their potential because they had s...
Funded by: GCRF
Why might this be relevant?
The project focuses on early childhood development in LMICs and explores barriers and accelerators to learning, as well as associations between early learning and child development.
-
EN-REACH: Every Newborn - Reach up Early Education intervention for All Children in Bangladesh, Nepal & Tanzania
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target the unfinished agenda for child survival with 5.3 million deaths of children before their fifth birthday. Importantly, the SDGs also reflect families' and national governme...
Funded by: MRC
Why might this be relevant?
The project aims to adapt parenting packages to include children with disabilities and improve educational outcomes for all children, aligning with the question's focus on effective early childhood services.
-
Understanding Children's Lives and Outcomes
Understanding Children's Lives and Outcomes, led by Morag Treanor and Fiona Mitchell, will provide new insights to help better understand and deliver the best possible outcomes for children, utilising existing datasets n...
Funded by: ESRC
Why might this be relevant?
The project examines educational exclusions and absences, which is partially relevant to the question on effective early childhood services for disadvantaged children.