Daycare Trust, the University of Oxford and A+ Education hope the analysis, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, will help to improve the way quality is measured and help parents choose their childcare.
The study is to examine the relationship between the different quality measures, such as the ECERS and ITERS Environment Rating Scales, quality assurance schemes and Ofsted inspection grades.
It aims to help nurseries and pre-schools identify their strengths and areas for improvement.
With central and local government under pressure to cut spending, researchers say it will also provide data that could be used to decide how best to allocate funding.
The study will include:
- comparison between Ofsted grading and ECERS/ITERS
- the relationship between taking part in a quality assurance scheme, Ofsted grades and ECERS scores
- a literature review and qualitative research with parents, providers, local authorities and Ofsted.
Anand Shukla, acting chief executive of the Daycare Trust, said, 'This study provides an exciting and timely opportunity to analyse the sometimes hazy concept of "quality". Our hope is that our study will clarify exactly what quality means and results in parents being empowered to choose the highest quality of childcare available.'
Sandra Mathers, principal investigator at the University of Oxford and co-director of A+ Education, which provides training, audit and support around the Environmental Ratings Scales, said, 'Research tells us that if under-fives are in a poor quality setting they don't get the good start that affects later outcomes in their learning. The issue of what makes high quality education and care is absolutely central to the current policy debate.'