Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated in the last five years on a link between brain development and nurturing in early years; and what additional resources her Department is providing in (i) Hartlepool, (ii) North East England and (iii) England to ensure infants' brains are stimulated and developed.

The Department for Education recognises the importance of brain development and nurturing in the early years. Research shows that high quality early education, in conjunction with effective parenting skills, has a positive influence on children’s confidence, their capacity to learn, and contributes to a sense of well-being and self-worth. The foundations for human development – physical, intellectual and emotional – are laid in early childhood. It is for this reason that the department has invested so heavily in the early education entitlement for all three- and four-year-olds as well as the most disadvantaged two-year-olds. The department has also brought forward a Childcare Bill to give families where all parents are working an entitlement to 30 hours of free childcare for their three- and four-year olds.

The department has commissioned and evaluated a significant amount of research on early education, which encompasses consideration of a range of issues such as child development and nurturing. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework, which all registered early years providers must follow, recognises that good parenting and high quality early learning together provide the foundation that children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up. The EYFS is based on evidence considered by Dame Clare Tickell in her 2011 review. A report of the evidence can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-early-years-foundation-stage-review-report-on-the-evidence

A number of other important reviews have also informed this department’s policy on early education. These include reports by Graham Allen MP in 2011 on early intervention and Professor Sir Michael Marmot in 2010 which highlighted the important lifelong effects that the early years (starting in the womb) has on many aspects of health and well-being, educational achievement and economic status. The reports can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-intervention-the-next-steps--2 and https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/61012/earlyintervention-smartinvestment.pdf

http://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/projects/fair-society-healthy-lives-the-marmot-review

The department also published research in 2014 on the CANparent trial, a government initiative to examine the development of a universal offer of parenting classes to enhance parenting skills and increase confidence. The report can be found at: http://www.canparent.org.uk/sites/default/files/Trial_evaluation_final_report__09_07_14_.pdf

Child development in the early years remains a key research priority for this department. A major piece of longitudinal research, Study of Early Education and Development (SEED), has been commissioned to evaluate the effectiveness of the current early education model in England. SEED will specifically examine the impact on child development of providing funded early years education to two year olds from lower income families. The study will follow the progress of over 5,000 children from the age of two, up until the end of key stage one at the age of seven. SEED will update evidence from the highly influential Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) that has provided crucial evidence of the benefits of high quality early years education. A full impact report is due in 2020.

Although we do not have a separate funding stream to “ensure infants’ brains are stimulated and developed”, the department continues to invest heavily in the early education entitlement for all three- and four-year-olds and the most disadvantaged two-year-olds. The early years pupil premium (EYPP) was introduced in April 2015 and provides additional support for disadvantaged three- and four-year-olds accessing the government-funded entitlement hours.

For three- and four-year-olds, the 2015-16 initial funding allocation for the existing entitlement and the early years pupil premium is:

These data are published and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2015-to-2016

Funding allocations for 2015-16 for two-year-olds will be announced in July 2015, as this is the first year of participation-based funding for two-year-olds. The hourly rate for two-year-olds was announced in October 2015 for all local authorities. Children in Hartlepool will receive £4.85 per hour and the national average hourly funding rate is £5.09. This data is published and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/392709/Hourly_rates_for_2-year-olds__2015_to_2016.pdf

Local authorities are funded for the early years entitlement and the EYPP through the Dedicated Schools Grant. In consultation with their Schools Forum, local authorities are responsible for deciding how best to distribute this funding across their locality. They also set their own local rates of funding for early years providers and should set rates in close consultation with providers.