Author Description

This paper looks at the impact of recent government initiatives on early childhood care and education for 3 to 5-year olds in the full range of pre-school centres in the study. This was based on interviews conducted with 135 heads of pre-school settings and 12 local authority co-ordinators in six local authorities. At a time of rapid policy development and because of the diversity in pre-school provision, the EPPE study recorded how recent changes in local authority under-fives provision might be affecting the centres that are being studied. The findings relate primarily to the impact of recent initiatives concerning Early Years Partnership Plans and increased collaboration across pre-school services, the introduction of the Desirable Learning Outcomes and associated inspection arrangements, new funding arrangements and plans for training.