Informed Families

The Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) study showed seven areas of practice that are very important to good outcomes when working with children from three to five years.* To get a sense of whether the settings you are looking at provide quality childcare and early learning in each area, ask yourself:

• Do staff encourage ‘sustained shared thinking’ (which means that adults and children work together to solve problems and explain ideas)?

• Is there an equal balance between planned staff led activities and are children able to choose play activities freely?

• Do staff have a good understanding of the area of the curriculum?

• Do staff have a sound understanding of child development and how children learn through play?

• Because highly qualified staff are most effective in supporting children’s learning, do less qualified staff work with qualified teachers to provide more effective care?

• Do staff encourage good behaviour by helping children to reason and talk about conflicts with others rather than always ignoring bad behaviour, distracting children or simply telling them to stop?

• Will staff share their educational aims with you, so that you can support their children’s learning at home (see How can I continue my child’s learning and development outside the setting?)?

*For more information about the EPPE study, see the factsheet resource from this series: ‘Choosing Group Childcare EPPE Research (1997 – 2004). Since the EPPE study, there has been a strong investment in graduate level training in early years and childcare and many more early years practitioners have taken degrees and achieved EYPS (Early Years Professional Status). Research published in July 2011 showed that graduates with EYPS have played a signifi cant role in promoting and driving up improvements within their settings and in particular, in relation to the EYFS and with other practitioners’ interaction with children.