This is a multi-cohort, multi-wave study of pre-school children and their parents in England. The study is in part designed to test whether making funded early childhood education and care (ECEC) available to low and moderate income families raises their use of preschool care.

What is the need?

The Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) was a major study designed to help the Department for Education (DfE) provide evidence on the effectiveness of early years education and to identify any short- and longer-term benefits from this investment. This report is part of SEED, and focuses on the take-up of the early education offer for two-year-olds, and on exploring how early childhood education and care (ECEC) may be related to children’s development at age three. SEED aimed to study children longitudinally at age two, three, four, five and seven to seek information on how variation in ECEC experience may be associated with cognitive and socio-emotional development.

What are we doing?

The project was led by the University of Oxford. Members of staff at PERU were responsible for designing this study and for reporting analysis of the data using difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity approaches and multiple regression.

What will be the outcomes?

Against a background of a general increase over time in ECEC use by all types of families with all levels of disadvantage, the project found limited evidence of increased use of funded ECEC for disadvantaged two-year-olds between the ages of two and three years in response to the introduction of the policy of 15 hours of free early education in the year following its introduction.

When controlling for home environment and demographic factors, the amount of ECEC received between ages two and three years was associated with differences in cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes at age three years. Beneficial outcomes across all three levels of disadvantage studied suggest that ECEC use has a positive benefit regardless of a child’s household income disadvantage level. Although, given the lower starting point among disadvantaged children and reduced likelihood to take up childcare ECEC may be of particular importance for this group.

What are the timescales?

The project has now finished.

Project links

Melhuish, E., Gardiner, J., & Morris, S. (2017a). Study of Early Education and Development (SEED): Impact Study on Early Education Use and Child Outcomes up to age 3 years: Technical Annex to the Main Report. DFE-TR706London: Department for Education. ISBN 978-1-78105-784-1 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627124/SEED_Impact_at_age_3_Technical_Report.pdf

Melhuish, E., Gardiner, J., & Morris, S. (2017b). Study of Early Education and Development (SEED): Impact Study on Early Education Use and Child Outcomes up to Age Three: Research brief. DFE RR 706, London: Department for Education. ISBN 978-1-78105-785-8 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627108/SEED_Impact_at_age_3_Research_Brief.pdf

Melhuish, E., Gardiner, J., & Morris, S. (2017c). Study of Early Education and Development (SEED): Impact Study on Early Education Use and Child Outcomes up to age three: Research report. London: Department for Education. ISBN 978-1-78105-783-4 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627098/SEED_ECEC_impact_at_age_3.pdf