The Institute of Education concludes that universal pre-school education raises standards and leads to greater equality in how well children do at school.
The study also concludes that while all social groups benefit from pre-school provision, children from the poorest families gain the most from universal provision.
They say that this is because in the UK, and most other countries, it is the poorest children and those from immigrant backgrounds, who have traditionally been less likely to receive free pre-school education.
The research will lend force to the argument that universal access to free early education places for three-and four-year-olds most be preserved in the face of cost-cutting pressures.
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