Early Education and Care Survey

Early Education and Care Survey

Early Education and Care Survey

information for parents

The Children of the 2020s Early Education and Care Study aims to understand more about the early education experiences of children growing up in England today. We want to know more about what is important for high quality early education and childcare, and how these experiences affect children’s development and learning. The information we collect will help inform early education practice in England. It will also help the government understand how it can improve early education and childcare services for families like yours in England, and help scientists understand more about children’s early development. This part of the study is being run by our partners in the Children of the 2020s study at the University of Oxford.

 

 

Why have I been asked to take part?

 

You have been asked to take part because you and your child are part of the Children of the 2020s study and because your child attends a childcare and early education provider.

 

 

What does taking part involve?

 

If your child’s early years provider agrees to take part, we would carry out a telephone survey with them about the service they provide, for example, the number of children attending, and the qualifications of staff. The survey will take place a couple of months after your visit from the Ipsos interviewer and will be repeated around the time your child or children turn 4.

 

 

What if I do not know where my child will be attending next year?

 

You may not yet know which provider your child will attend when they are aged 4. This is fine and will be true for many families. We will ask you which provider your child is attending as part of the Age 4 survey.

 

What will happen to the information you collect?

 

The information we collect about your child’s childcare provider, and the providers of other children in the study, will be linked with information already gathered about children’s learning and development as part of the Children of the 2020s study. This will help us to understand how the experiences children have in early education and care affect their development and learning. All analysis will happen at the group level. Neither your child nor your child’s childcare and early education provider will be named. Researchers will not be evaluating your child as an individual.

 

The information you give us will be held securely and will be treated in strict confidence in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation. If you are taking part in the pilot survey, this information will be used solely to inform the design of the main survey. You will not become part of the main study. Any information you provide during this research will NOT be used for marketing, nor will we sell or pass on your information to any third party. Please see the Privacy Notice for further information about how your data will be used, how long it will be held, and your rights under data protection laws linked below.

information for Parents – FAQS

Would you be collecting information about my child?

 

We will be gathering information on the early education and care which is provided to children (including your child). We would not collect, or ask your child’s provider for, any information on your child’s learning or development.

 

Would other people know my child is taking part in the study?

 

To make sure we collect information about the right room, and from the right staff, we would need to identify (i.e. name) your child to your child’s childcare provider. We would ask them to keep this information confidential.

 

Can I have access to the information you gather on my child’s childcare and early education provider?

 

We are not able to provide individual feedback to families, or to childcare and early education providers, on the information we gather. You will be able to read about our findings – and what these tell us about early education in England today – in a published report. All our reports are available on our website here.

 

information for childcare settings

The Children of the 2020s Early Education and Care Study aims to understand more about the early education experiences of children growing up in England today. We want to know more about what is important for high quality early education and childcare, and how these experiences affect children’s development and learning. As part of this we are carrying out a separate survey of childcare settings attended by children who are part of Children of the 2020s. This will help inform early education practice in England. It will also help the government understand how it can improve early education and childcare services for families in England, and help scientists understand more about children’s early development. This part of the study is being run by our partners in the Children of the 2020s study at the University of Oxford.

 

 

Why have I been asked to take part?

 

You have been asked to take part because a child/ren who is part of the Children of the 2020s attends your childcare setting. The child/ren’s parent(s) provided your contact details and their permission to ask you to take part in the Early Education and Care Survey.

 

 

What does taking part involve?

 

We would like to speak to the setting manager or someone at the setting with managerial responsibilities so they can provide the information we need. We would carry out a telephone survey with them about the provision, for example, the number of children attending, and the qualifications of staff. The survey will take place a couple of months after the parent(s) takes part in the Children of the 2020s and will be repeated around the time the child or children turn 4.

 

We have sent childcare settings a letter explaining more about the survey and a list of the questions we’d like to ask. It would be helpful if this information could be collated before the telephone survey as it will make it easier and quicker to complete.

 

What will happen to the information you collect?

 

The information we collect will be linked with information already gathered about children’s learning and development as part of the Children of the 2020s study. This will help us to understand how the experiences children have in early education and care affect their development and learning. All analysis will happen at the setting level. Neither the child nor the childcare setting will be named in any reporting. Researchers will not be evaluating the child or childcare setting individually.

 

The information you give us will be held securely and will be treated in strict confidence in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation. If you are taking part in the pilot survey, this information will be used solely to inform the design of the main survey. You will not become part of the main study.

 

Any information you provide during this research will NOT be used for marketing, nor will we sell or pass on your information to any third party. Please see the Privacy Notice for further information about how your data will be used, how long it will be held, and your rights under data protection laws linked below.

 

information for childcare settings – FAQS

Would you be collecting information about the child/ren?

 

We will be gathering information on the early education and care which is provided to children at the childcare setting. We would not collect or ask for any information on the child/ren’s learning or development.

 

Will the child/ren be identified to childcare settings?

 

To make sure we collect information about the right room, and from the right staff, we would need to identify (i.e. name) the child/ren. Please keep this information confidential.

 

Can I have access to the information you gather from my childcare setting?

 

We are not able to provide individual feedback to childcare settings or to families. You will be able to read about our findings – and what these tell us about early education in England today – in a published report. All our reports are available on our website.

 

Key Resources

Here are some key study resources for the Early Education and Care Survey, you can download if needed.