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Our work in early years seeks to understand and evaluate how children and families can be best supported to develop their skills.
There are already significant skills gaps by family circumstances by the time children start school. This restricts opportunities for children from more deprived backgrounds to achieve their full potential.
Our projects engage with:
- how and when key skills are developed
- how best to provide high-quality early childhood education through professional development
- the use of educational technology to improve basic skills in early years.
Our research
Working papers
- Mathematics Attainment Falls Behind Reading in the Early Primary School Years - Laura Outhwaite, Jake Anders and Jo Van Herwegen
- App-based support for parental self-efficacy in the first 1000 days: a randomised control trial - Laura Outhwaite
- Mothers working during preschool years and child skills: does income compensate? - Cheti Nicoletti, Kjell Salvanes and Emma Tominey
- Parental Inputs and Socio-Economic Gaps in Early Child Development - Lindsey Macmillan, Emma Tominey
Briefing notes
- Who uses government-funded early education in England, and what explains the variation in take-up? - Laura Outhwaite, Ivana La Valle and Claire Crawford
- Understanding how we can raise attainment in mathematics
- The impact of timing of benefit payments on children’s outcomes
- Academic and social and emotional interventions in response to COVID-19 school closures
- Inequalities in resources in the home learning environment
- Why should we invest in Early Childhood Education and Care?
Blog posts
- The 2021 Autumn Budget and Spending Review: what does it mean for educational inequalities? Claire Crawford
- Why greater investment in early years should be a no-brainer for the Chancellor. Claire Crawford and Laura Outhwaite
- A substantial childcare package from the Chancellor – but children’s needs take a back seat. Claire Crawford and Laura Outhwaite
- Making Maths Count in Early Childhood. Laura Outhwaite
- Levelling up education and skills: a recipe for success? - Claire Crawford, Laura Outhwaite, Sam Sims and Gill Wyness
- The challenges of COVID-19 for young people need a new cohort study: introducing COSMO - Jake Anders and Carl Cullinane
- Vaccine hesitancy in children and young adults in England - Patrick Sturgis, Lindsey Macmillan, Jake Anders, Gill Wyness
- How can policy-makers and parents support home learning during lockdown? - Laura Outhwaite
- What has the effect of Covid-19 had on Early Years providers and what should the government do about it? - Jake Anders and Laura Outhwaite
- 10 things you may not know about educational inequality
- Home schooling during lockdown: Inequalities in inputs and perceptions - Jake Anders, Lindsey Macmillan, Patrick Sturgis and Gill Wyness
- Who goes to private school? Looking beyond the money - Jake Anders