Improving quality of the Childcare Workforce

Improving quality of the Childcare Workforce

Kathy Sylva

University of Oxford

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This presentation will explore

Impact of pre-school

Effects of quality of pre-school provision on children

Staff qualifications and their effect on children’s learning

Effective Provision of Pre-School EducationE P P E

Kathy Sylva University of Oxford

Edward Melhuish Birkbeck, University of London

Pam Sammons Institute of Education, University of London

Iram Siraj-Blatchford Institute of Education, University of London

Brenda Taggart Institute of Education, University of London

Karen Elliot Institute of Education, University of London

1997-2003, 2003-2008

Questions explored in the EPPE research

What is the impact of pre-school on young children’s intellectual and social/behavioural development?

Are some pre-schools more effective than others? Can pre-school experience reduce social

inequalities? What is the effect of workforce qualifications on

children’s development?

Six local authorities

141 Pre-school centres randomly selected within the authorities to include: nursery classes playgroups private day nurseries day care centres run by local authority nursery schools fully integrated centres

Approx 2,800 children from 141 centres and 300+ ‘home’ children

Sample

25 nursery classes

590 children

34 playgroups

610 children

31 private day nurseries

520 children

20 nursery schools

520 children

7 integrated centres

190 children

24 local authority day care nurseries

430 children

home

310 children

Pre-school Provision(3+yrs)

Reception Year 1 Year 2

(5 yrs) (6 yrs) (7 yrs)

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Plan of Study

Cognition British Ability Scales

Language British Ability Scales

Social and behavioural development Cooperation/conformity, peer sociability, anti-social or ‘upset’ behaviour.

Child Assessments at entry to the study (age 3.0 years to 4 years 3

months)

Cognition British Ability Scales

Language British Ability Scales

Numeracy Early number skills

Literacy skills Letter recognition, phonological awareness

Social/behavioural development Cooperation, peer sociability, independence/concentration, anti-social or ‘upset’ behaviour.

Child Assessments at entry to school (age 4+ to 5+ years)

Child assessments over time

Family background information

Interviews with staff

‘Quality’ rating scales

Case studies of effective centres

Sources of data

Multilevel models established the extent to which the pre-school centre influenced children’s progress.

Children’s progress was assessed controlling for prior attainment at age 3+.

Child, parent, & home learning environment factors were included in the analyses.

Child Measurescontrolled for: gender ethnicity number of siblings

Measuring Value Added

Family Measurescontrolled for:

eligibility to FSM mother’s highest level of qualification highest social class

Home Learning Environment Measures frequency reading to child frequency of library visits frequency child paints/draws at home frequency parent teaches letters/numbers frequency parent teaches the alphabet frequency parent teaches songs, nursery

rhymes, etc

Other Measures length of time in months spent in pre-school

Measuring Value Added continued

Integrated centres and nursery schools are best for cognitive outcomes.

Integrated centres, nursery schools and nursery classes are best for social outcomes.

Does type of pre-school experience matter?

The impact of qualityHow EPPE measures quality

Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-R total + subscales)

ECERS-E (total + subscales) Caregivers Interaction Scale (4 subscales, e.g.,

punitiveness, detachment)

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Literacy Mathematics Science andenvironment

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Level 2 Level 3 / 4 Level 5

ECERS-E subscales by manager qualification

% staff time at different levels (unqualified, level 2, level 3 & 4 and level 5*) was tested in models.

For cognitive progress, % staff contact time at level 5 was positive significant for outcome (pre-reading).

For social behavioural development: % staff contact time at level 5 was positive significant for ‘Co-operation & Conformity’ and also significantly associated with reductions in ‘Anti-social / Worried’ behaviour

* Level 5 = degree level teacher (QTS)

Staff qualifications and children’s learning

After taking into account the impact of child, family, home environment

characteristics…at the end of year 1

children from high quality pre-schools had higher reading attainment

children from pre-school centres with high ECERS-R subscale scores showed fewer Conduct problems

qualified teachers made a difference in children’s academic and social outcomes

A ‘take-home’ message?Children who stayed at home were more likely to be

identified as ‘at risk’ at the beginning of school than children who had attended some type of pre-school.

A pre-school of high quality can help children move out of cognitive risk by the start of primary school.

This positive impact remains evident at least until the end of Year 2.

The higher the staff qualifications, especially QTS, the more developmental progress children make in the pre-school period.

For further information on EPPE Sammons, P., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Taggart, B & Elliot, K.

(2002). Technical Paper 8a: Measuring the Impact of Pre-School on Children’s Cognitive Progress over the Pre-School Period. Institute of Education, London.

Sammons, P., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Taggart, B & Elliot, K. (2003). Technical Paper 8b: Measuring the Impact of Pre-School on Children’s Social/behavioural Development over the Pre-School Period. Institute of Education, London.

Sammons, P., Smees, R., Taggart, B., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Elliot, K. (2004). EYTSEN Technical Report No.2. Institute of Education, London.

Sammons, P., Taggart, B., Smees, R., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Elliot, K. (2003). The Early Years Transition and Special Educational Needs (EYTSEN) Project. DfES Research Report 431.

Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2004). Effective Pre-school Education. DfES Research Report.

visit the EPPE website: http://www.ioe.ac.uk/projects/eppe

For further Information about EPPE visit the EPPE website at:

http://www.ioe.ac.uk/projects/eppe