Early Years

Study that explores what we do and do not know about the roles that ‘informal childcare’ play for different families. It shows how these have evolved over the past decade – and discusses how they may continue to evolve – in the light of demographic and policy changes.

This research aims to provide local authority early years and children’s services leaders, and children’s centre managers, with evidence of how children’s centre services are targeting the most disadvantaged families. In particular, how they are defining, identifying and prioritising families in greatest need of support, and the practical implications of targeting for local authorities, for children’s centres and for policy.

The report sets out the facts about the experiences of these children and young people, both during their early years and as they progress through the care system.

Annual report that presents evidence from inspection and regulatory visits undertaken between September 2010 and August 2011 by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted). It takes evidence from inspection activity across the full range of Ofsted's statutory remit, which includes early years and childcare, provision for education and skills in schools, colleges and adult learning, children's social care and local authority services for children.

The review aims to address a topical policy issue in the UK, that is the research evidence on the impact on children and their parents of the integration of care and education in the early years. This systematic review was published by EPPI-Centre in 2011.Systematic reviews aim to find as much as possible of the research relevant to the particular research questions, and use explicit methods to identify what can reliably be said on the basis of these studies.

Paper that argues strongly that the government is correct to take the bold step of embracing the firm evidence on child development in seeking to create a strategy that "sets out plans to support a culture where the key aspects of good parenting are widely understood and where all parents can benefit from advice and support...what is needed is a much wider culture change towards recognising the importance of parenting, and how society can support mothers and fathers to give their children the best start in life".

Briefing paper that provides a framework for early intervention for professionals taking crucial commissioning and funding decisions at the local authority level. It distils key common threads from the plethora of recent reports on the pressing need for this approach. Most significantly, it addresses emerging misconceptions about how an authority- or borough-wide early intervention strategy should be delivered and, in particular, challenges an overly ‘programmatic’ approach.

This subject profile provides an introduction to services for pre-school children. It updates and expands SB 06/83 published in October 2006.

Briefing paper on the subject of fetal alcohol harm.

Report undertaken to understand why some parents who are entitled to use early years services don’t normally do so. More specifically, the research seeks to understand how parents access information that shapes their decision-making about early years provision, and how service providers can better engage with and support parents to meet their families’ needs. On the basis of the findings, the case is made for a number of key policy changes, to ensure that early years provision enables children from low-income families to break out of the inter-generational cycle of disadvantage.