Disadvantaged children 'positively benefit' from 20 hours a week of early years education – research

Children from less advantaged backgrounds who attend nursery and childcare settings have better cognitive development, language and communication skills and ‘positively benefit’ from provision up to 20 hours a week, according to new research from the Sutton Trust.

The analysis, conducted by Professor Edward Melhuish at the University of Oxford, looked at the impact the number of hours three- and four year-olds spend in early years education and care, with breakdowns by socio-economic background.

It found that the relationship between children’s development between the ages of three and five and children’s exposure to early childhood care and education is ‘complex’ and ‘differs substantially’ between children from disadvantaged families and their more advantaged peers.

Using data from the Study of Early Education and Development (SEED), a longitudinal study looking at the impact of early years provision, the home environment and parenting on cognitive and socio-emotional development, researchers looked at whether the 30 hours entitlement should be extended to all children, particularly those of low-income families, to ensure that all children are on an even footing when starting at school.

The authors state, ‘There have previously been concerns that disadvantaged children may have socio-emotional problems if in childcare for longer hours, however, the new data here shows that this is not the case. For disadvantaged children, there are clear benefits of time in early years provision up to 20 hours per week, and no evidence of negative impacts for longer hours, if provision is of high quality.’

They added, ‘There are also potential benefits for take-up of making the Government’s offer for early years provision universal. Currently, families can fall in and out of eligibility for 30 hours (especially those only just qualifying), leaving parents with uncertainty about their childcare arrangements, and the process is often challenging for nurseries and families to navigate.’

Earlier this week, the Chancellor was said to be considering plans drawn up by the Department for Education on whether to extend the free 30-hour-entitlement to include under-twos ahead of the Budget next month.