Research

Early years research

CWDC has worked closely with colleagues and partners to build a strong programme of research to inform our early years work programme and priorities.

Our early years research strategy is to gather, and widely share, strong evidence to support policy discussions, decision making and to share good practice in the early years sector.   

Current early years research

The EYPS Longitudinal Study is due to complete in Summer 2012. This research investigates the impact of early years professionals, records their experiences and career development as EYPs. This study includes the national survey of early years professionals

Previous early years research includes:

• The Graduate Leader Fund (GLF) evaluation (DfE, July 2011)

Designed to assess the early impact of Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) on the quality of provision. The research was commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE), project managed by CWDC and conducted by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), the University of Oxford, and the Institute of Education (University of London).

• Early impact of Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) (June 2009)

This research explored the early impact of the status upon individuals achieving EYPS via the validation and short pathways.  It focussed on line management, leadership and practice, career prospects, salary, and recognition of the status by employees and colleagues.

• Research into the composition, needs and aspirations of the nanny workforce in England (October 2009)

This research aimed to provide key data on the composition of the nanny workforce, as well as information about the range of roles undertaken by nannies, their career aspirations, and support available.   

• Practitioner-led research programme (PLR) (2007-2010)

The PLR programme gave practitioners across the whole of the children's workforce the opportunity to explore, describe, evaluate and report on their services. Each practitioner designed their own research and set their own question to explore, with no previous experience of research being required.

Learn more about GLF and other DfE research publications