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The early years are a vital time for families and a crucial period of development for children. Steep inequalities emerge throughout this stage: EPI research has found, for… The early years are a vital time for families and a crucial period of development for children. Steep inequalities emerge throughout this stage: EPI research has found, for example, that disadvantaged children are already more than four months behind their peers by the age of five. Our work examines early years funding, the workforce, childcare entitlements and outcomes for children with special educational needs.
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Covid isolation drove up to four in every ten early years settings to close across England, Wales and Scotland during the spring, a new report from the Education Policy Institute (EPI) and the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) reveals. The…
By Dr Sara Bonetti
This new report by the Education Policy Institute (EPI), funded by the Nuffield Foundation, finds that the four UK nations have begun to adopt increasingly different approaches to education policy after twenty years of devolution. The research, which is…
By Education Policy Institute
Nurseries, pre-schools, and other early years settings have been heavily reliant on the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention scheme during the height of the winter lockdown, a new report from the Education Policy Institute (EPI) and the National Day Nurseries Association…
By Dr Sara Bonetti and Education Policy Institute
This research finds that low attendance rates and a fall in families taking up government-funded early years education could lead to a shortfall in qualified staff in settings after the winter period. The report, published by the Education Policy Institute…
By Dr Sara Bonetti and Education Policy Institute
This research from the Education Policy Institute, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, finds that the presence of a graduate in private, voluntary and independent (PVI) early years settings demonstrates a small but positive association with young children’s educational attainment. Using…
By Dr Sara Bonetti
The Education Policy Institute and the Plymouth Institute of Education (University of Plymouth) have published a new report on early years degrees in England, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. While degree-qualified staff have been identified as contributing to the quality…
By Dr Sara Bonetti and Education Policy Institute
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New research published by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) and National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) shows that 71% of staff in early years settings were furloughed between March and August. The report draws on a survey of 445 early…
By Dr Sara Bonetti
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) and leading early years organisation the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) have launched a year-long research project to examine the impact of Covid-19 on the early years workforce in the UK. The pandemic and economic…
By Education Policy Institute
This report, commissioned by the Social Mobility Commission, finds that low pay, a high workload and a lack of career development for early years workers risk having a serious impact on the provision of care and education services for the…
By Dr Sara Bonetti
Today the Children's Commissioner has published a new report, Best Beginnings , examining the provision of early years education in England, and how it can be supported in both the immediate and long-term following the pandemic. Commenting on the report,…
By Education Policy Institute
A new report from the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), produced as part of a programme of research led by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) and funded by the Nuffield Foundation, investigates the barriers and incentives in recruitment, retention…
By Education Policy Institute
A new report from the Education Policy Institute (EPI), funded by the Nuffield Foundation, examines how the government can develop the early years workforce in England, in order to improve the quality of provision . Early years education can…
By Dr Sara Bonetti
