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NLT early years research page

Babies have a sense of rhythm, which could be used to help them develop - press review
Twelve month olds communicate helpfully and appropriately for knowledgable and ignorant partners - research at the Max-Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
The Effects of Background Television on the Toy Play Behaviour of Very Young Children - research
Study predicts long-term benefits of pre-school learning - press review
Car seats at home could harm children's development - press review
Can Television be good for Children? - A review of research
Nurse Family Partnership Programme - First Year Pilot Site Implementation in England: Pregnancy and the post Partum period - independent research by University of London, Birkbeck
The good, the bad and the pacifier - article analysing practitioners' perceptions of pacifiers (or dummies)
Thursday's Child - an IPPR report into educational reform
Helping new families - Support in the early years through universal health visiting - a report by the Conservative party
For Love or Money: Pay, progression and professionalisation in the 'early years' workforce
The Dad Deficit: The Missing Piece of the Maternity Jigsaw - report from the Fatherhood Institute
Maternal and Infant Health in the Perinatal Period: The Father's Role - a research summary by the Fatherhood Institute
Preschool kids do better on tasks when they talk to themselves - press review
The Impact of Sure Start Local Programmes on Three Year Olds and their Families - evaluation of living in a Sure Start Local Programme area.
National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (Harvard University) - Working papers on science behind the core concept of child development.
The Primary Review - Research Survey 2/1a: Children's Cognitive Development and Learning
Language and Social Exclusion - a report from I CAN and part of the I CAN Talk Series.
Babies may make social judgements - press review
The Good Childhood Inquiry - a national inquiry by the Children's Society.
The Impact of Early Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills on Later Outcomes - a report from the Centre for the Economics of Education.
Early years: Getting on well - a report from Ofsted.
Perspectives on the relationship between education and care in early childhood - a background paper - a report on early education in Ireland.
The Everyday Experience of American Babies: Discoveries and Implications (doc) by Todd Risley.
Psychologist explains secret of children's word explosion research - press review
The Foundation Stage: a survey of 144 settings - Ofsted report
Promoting Speech and Language - a themed study in fifteen Sure Start Local Programmes - a review of policy and practice issues in relation to improving children's language in SSLPs.
Tackling low educational achievement - a report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Babies' toys do not give long-term benefit - according to research.
Visual Language Discrimination in Infancy Research shows babies can tell languages apart observing facial expressions.
Language test may predict skills problems - press review
Empowering Parents in Sure Start Local Programmes by Professor Fiona Williams and Dr Harriet Churchill National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS).
The Economic Promise of Investing in High-Quality Preschool
Using Early Education to Improve Economic Growth and the Fiscal Sustainability of States and the Nation by the Committee for Economic Development.
Development in the early years: its importance for school performance and adult outcomes Report from The Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning (WBL).
On your marks- an article by Kathryn Duckworth on the WBL research above.
Catch 'em young - a report from the Work Foundation on the link between experiences in early years and adulthood and the consequential importance of parenting to get the early years right and the benefits for the whole of society.
Hi-tech toys offer no educational gain say researchers.
Toddlers learn complex actions from picture book reading - press review
The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. A clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Educational TV has positive effects on toddlers and preschoolers according to a study published in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
NLT response to the DfES/HM Treasury Joint Policy Review on Children and Young People (DOC) Response to the 'prevention' strand of the review. Argues that early language support for children, and a lifelong offer of support for parents, are protective factors that enable children to meet the five outcomes of Every Child Matters.
Cost to the Nation of Children's Poor Communication - this report from I CAN, part of the I CAN Talk Series, documents the accumulating evidence of poor basic communication skills in children arriving in today's reception classes.
The power of parenting TV programmes - help or hazard for today's families? A survey from the National Family & Parenting Institute about parents' reactions to parenting TV programmes.
Mother-child bookreading in low-income families: Correlates and outcomes during the first three years of life. Research shows link between maternal bookreading and children's vocabulary.
Promoting phonological awareness in nursery-aged children through a Sure Start Early Listening programme
Listening to Mothers, Fathers and Carers - a survey of parents' concerns reveals the importance of informal networks.
Talking comes easier for babies who blow bubbles - research from Lancaster University links mouth movements and children's language ability.
Are there effects of mothers' post-16 education on the next generation? Effects on children's development and mothers' parenting - report from The Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning (WBL).
Learning from others in 9 to 18-month-old infants Goubet, N. et al, March/April 2006. Research supporting the idea that during the first half of the second year, infants develop a new collaborative stance toward others.
'Bucking the trend': What enables those who are disadvantaged in childhood to succeed later in life? by Jo Blanden, published by DWP in May 2006, finds that parental interest in a child's education is very important and that parents of children who buck the trend are more likely to have read to them. Download the report at www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/WP31.pdf
Where do parents turn for advice? An overview of research findings at the National Family and Parenting Institute.
Gesture Paves the Way for Language Development by Jana M Iverson, University of Pittsburgh, and Susan Goldin-Meadow, University of Chicago.
Turning their ears on.keeping their ears open. Exploring the impact of musical activities on the development of pre-school age children Research project commissioned by Youth Music.
Does Television Rot Your Brain? New evidence from the Coleman Study Matthew Gentzkow, University of Chicago, and Jesse Shapiro, University of Chicago and NBER, 27 January 2006.
What a loving home means to a child's wellbeing Research shows deprivation does physical and mental damage.
The Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading Interim Report, by Jim Rose, December 2005
Families and the state. Two-way support and responsibilities An inquiry into the relationship between the state and the family in the upbringing of children, carried out by the Commission on Families and the Wellbeing of Children (2005).
Dads and their babies; the mother's perspective - research from the Equal Opportunities Commission (October 2005).
The Sure Start Language Measure Standardisation Study, July 2004 - March 2005 Penny Roy, Helen Kersley and James Law.
Digital beginnings: Young children's use of popular culture, media and new technologies This report presents the findings of a study which took place from September 2004 to July 2005. The study explored young children's (aged from birth to six) use of popular culture, media and new technologies in the home through a survey of 1,852 parents and carers of children who attended 120 individual maintained and non-maintained early years settings in England.
Birth to School Study: A Longitudinal Evaluation of the Peers Early Education Partnership (PEEP) 1998-2005, published in August 2005, supports existing evidence that that good quality early parenting and effective early interventions lead to improved cognitive and social skills for pre-school children.
Too Much, Too Late: Life chances and spending on education and training written by Vidhya Alakeson, published by the Social Market Foundation, March 2005.
Communicating Matters identifies key behaviours for practitioners to support children's language development.
Discussion paper (PDF - 241 KB) - Talk To Your Baby has written a paper exploring the reasons behind the perceived decline in young children's language and communication skills.
Long-term impact of speech, language and communication difficulties - Talk To Your Baby has pulled together a summary of research findings on the long-term impact of speech and language impairment for children and young people.