How can we best develop tools to assess development before school-age, so we can measure important changes in educational outcomes over time and understand the relative impact of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and home learning environment?
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
-
The Early Year Analytics (TEYAN): A Wellbeing and Development Management Decision Support System for Early years Providers
Early years development sets solid foundation for lifelong learning, performance, behaviour, and wellbeing. Scientists established that newborns start with similar brain structure, but events during sensitive period of c...
Funded by: Innovate UK
Why might this be relevant?
The project focuses on developing a decision support system for early years providers to track children's development and support decision-making in ECEC, aligning with the question's goal.
-
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 analyzes global data to support young children's learning and development, addressing barriers and accelerators in LMIC ECE programs.
-
Early Learning Abilities Promoting Success in Education (ELAPSE): Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study and directions of a new longitudinal study
Despite the wide acknowledgment that adverse early life conditions negatively influence cognitive development (e.g. longitudinal UK data Feinstein, 2003; Jerrim & Vignoles, 2013; Schoon, Hope, Ross, & Duckworth, ...
Funded by: ESRC
Why might this be relevant?
The project investigates how early learning skills and life conditions influence later educational outcomes, focusing on child poverty and early education.