Towards universal early years provision: analysis of take-up by disadvantaged families from recent annual childcare surveys

摘要

There is a lot of research evidence showing that receiving good quality early years education is associated with improved outcomes for children’s development, and is particularly beneficial for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. There is also evidence showing that children from disadvantaged backgrounds (e.g. those from workless and low-income families) are less likely to attend early years education settings and thus to receive the benefits of it. There have been a number of policy strategies and initiatives since the late 1990s aiming to change this situation and to enable more children, and disadvantaged children in particular, to participate in early years education. The present report reflects the Coalition Government’s commitment to continue work on identifying barriers to the uptake of early years provision among the most disadvantaged 3 and 4 year olds as an important means of reducing educational and socio-economic inequality.The study uses data from the 2008 and 2009 surveys in the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents series.