Over 700 early years settings, including childminders, to take part in new EEF-funded projects

733 nurseries and early years settings across England will take part in eight new evaluations of programmes to support early language and numeracy development, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) announced today.

The new projects, co-funded with the Department for Education’s Stronger Practice Hubs, are a major part of the EEF’s increased focus on support for the early years sector. All the projects will be independently evaluated, representing a significant contribution to the early years evidence base.

They include the first ever EEF-funded evaluation involving childminders. The pilot of Communication Friendly Home-Based Settings, developed by Elkan, will give childminders training to improve their provision and practice to support their children’s language skills. This project is being evaluated by a team based at the University of York.

A version of this programme, Communication Friendly Settings, will also be tested across nurseries. The delivery organisation, Elkan, will train two staff to train other staff in their setting to support children’s speech, language and communication skills. The evaluation, led by a team from the University of York, will look at the impact of the programme on three- and four-year-olds.