The government announced a £340 million plan to implement its pledge to extend free nursery education for all children in England aged 3-4. The entitlement would be also increased from 12.5 to 15 hours each week. It would be rolled out over the three years to 2010.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 7 November 2007, columns 3-4WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | DCSF press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Nov
A group of childhood development experts called for an urgent review of the new national curriculum for children under 5, warning that it was a 'fundamentally flawed' concept. They said that introducing a more formal curriculum would inhibit the way young children learned naturally, and precipitate problems in later life.
Source: Letter to Times Education Supplement, 30 November 2007
Links: TES report | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Nov
The education inspectorate in Scotland examined the relationship between the quality of provision offered to young children and the qualifications and training of those adults working with them. It identified the importance of high-level qualifications and training in early education for effective leadership skills and the delivery of quality provision for children.
Source: The Key Role of Staff in Providing Quality Pre-school Education, HM Inspectorate of Education in Scotland (01506 600200)
Links: Report | HMIE press release
Date: 2007-Nov
The government announced £642 million of capital investment in early years settings from 2008-09 to 2010-11. The funding would focus in particular on the private, voluntary, and independent sectors, in order to ensure that all settings were of the highest quality and that all children – including those with disabilities – were able to access provision. The grant would also support small sessional providers to make the investments needed to deliver childcare more flexibly.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 22 November 2007, columns 139-140WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Speech | DCSF press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Nov
The proportion of children aged 5 in England reaching a good level of development in communication, language and literacy, and personal, social and emotional development increased by one percentage point in 2007, to 45 per cent.
Source: Foundation Stage Profile 2006/2007: National Results, Statistical First Release 32/2007, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR | DCSF press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Oct
A report examined the costs of delivering the free early education entitlement for children aged 3 and 4 in different settings, and explored the implications of increasing flexibility.
Source: HEDRA Consulting, What Is the Impact and Cost Implication of Extending the Free Early Education Entitlement: Final Report, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Sep
The government announced details of a grant of more than £4 billion (for the period 2008-2011) for children's centres, early years education, and childcare. The money would go towards: providing a Sure Start children's centre in every community by 2010; outreach work to reach the most disadvantaged families; training and support for the early years workforce; ensuring that there were sufficient childcare places in each local authority; ensuring that every nursery and children's centre had a graduate to lead children's learning and development.
Source: Press release 2 August 2007, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0870 000 2288)
Links: DCSF press release | Sure Start press release | CPAG press release | EDCM press release | NDNA press release | Daycare Trust press release | PSLA press release | Guardian report | Community Care report | Children Now report
Date: 2007-Aug
A six-year comparison of almost 35,000 children in England found that there had been no change in the developmental levels of pupils entering primary school, despite the introduction of several new early years initiatives.
Source: Christine Merrell, Peter Tymms and Paul Jones, Changes in Children?s Cognitive Development at the Start of School in England 2000-2006, Curriculum, Evaluation and Management Centre/Durham University (0191 334 4255)
Links: Paper | BBC report | Children & Young People Now report | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Aug
Researchers examined the impact of pre-school provision, focusing on the relationships between various child, family, home, pre-school, and primary school characteristics and measures of children?s social/behavioural development collected at age 10.
Source: Pam Sammons et al., Influences on Children?s Development and Progress in Key Stage 2: Social/behavioural outcomes in year 5, Research Report RR007, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2007-Aug
A series of surveys collected information about childcare and early years provision and its workforce.
Source: Robert Kinnaird, Susan Nicholson and Emma Jordan, 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Surveys: Overview Report, Research Report RW009, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260) | Susan Nicholson and Robert Kinnaird, 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Surveys: Sessional Providers, Research Report RW016, Department for Children, Schools and Families | Robert Kinnaird, 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Surveys: Primary Schools With Reception But No Nursery Classes, Research Report RW015, Department for Children, Schools and Families | Andrew Jones and Robert Kinnaird, 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Surveys: Primary Schools With Nursery and Reception Classes, Research Report RW014, Department for Children, Schools and Families | Robert Kinnaird, 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Surveys: Out of School Providers, Research Report RW013, Department for Children, Schools and Families | Gemma Deakin and Robert Kinnaird, 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Surveys: Nursery Schools, Research Report RW012, Department for Children, Schools and Families | Robert Kinnaird, 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Surveys: Full Day Care Providers, Research Report RW011
Links: Overview report | Summary | RW016 | RW015 | RW014 | RW013 | RW012 | RW011 | RW010 | RW009 | Technical appendix
Date: 2007-Aug
The government announced (following consultation) a series of changes to the funding arrangements for schools, early years settings, and 14-16 funding, for the years 2008-09 to 2010-11.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 25 June 2007, columns 1-5WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | NASUWT press release | PSLA press release | Children Now report
Date: 2007-Jun
A report examined how parents could became partners in early learning. Most local authority plans in respect of children and young people stressed the importance of establishing effective partnerships with parents: but there was still a need in some areas to explain what this meant in practice. Local authorities were increasingly recognizing the importance of using the data they held to evaluate the impact of parent programmes ? particularly the impact on children?s early learning. A number of authorities were establishing parent networks to disseminate effective practice.
Source: Parents as Partners in Early Learning (PPEL) Project: Parental Involvement - A snapshot of policy and practice, Sure Start Unit/Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: Report | SSU press release
Date: 2007-Jun
Researchers examined the relationship between parenting behaviours and children's development. Mothers with higher levels of education and greater family income interacted more with their children, engaged their children in more outside activities, and provided more stimulation and teaching in the home environment.
Source: Leslie Gutman and Leon Feinstein, Parenting Behaviours and Children?s Development from Infancy to Early Childhood: Changes, continuities, and contributions, Research Brief RCB02-07, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Brief
Date: 2007-Apr
The education inspectorate said that children were doing well in most early learning settings (at ages 3-5): but in one-third of settings standards in communication, language, and literacy were lower than expected, and speaking and listening skills were weak.
Source: The Foundation Stage: A survey of 144 settings, HMI 2610, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | PSLA press release | BBC report | Children Now report
Date: 2007-Mar
The government published a new framework for the high-quality development, learning, and care of all children in their early years (from birth to age 5). All registered early years providers and schools would be required to use the framework from September 2008.
Source: Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Framework | DfES press release | NCH press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Children Now report
Date: 2007-Mar
A report examined what leadership meant to key participants in early childcare settings. There was no single style of adult leadership that was suitable for all types of nursery, day care provision, reception class, or children's centre.
Source: Carol Aubrey, Alma Harris, Mary Briggs and Daniel Muijs, How Do They Manage? An investigation of early childhood leadership, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report | ESRC press release
Date: 2007-Feb
A report said that effective pre-school support could protect children against a lack of adequate teaching at primary level.
Source: Pam Sammons et al., Influences on Children's Attainment and Progress in Key Stage 2: Cognitive Outcomes in Year 5, Research Report 828, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2007-Feb
A think-tank report examined the economic and social impact of parenting during children?s early years development. There was a compelling economic case for investing in high-quality early years programmes that helped parents became better parents. Many of society?s most intractable social problems - crime, drugs misuse, unemployment, poor skills, and endemic unhappiness - were rooted in the experiences of children during their first five years of life.
Source: Alan Sinclair, 0-5: How Small Children Make a Big Difference, Work Foundation (0870 165 6700)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Jan
