Childcare in the Millennium Cohort Study

A sample of 300 group daycare settings in England was visited by a team of specialist pre-school researchers, to improve knowledge of the preschool education and daycare experiences of MCS children around age 3.

The project was a partnership between the Centre for Longitudinal Studies, the EPPE (Effective Provision of Pre-School Education) team at the UCL Institute of Education, and the Department of Education at Oxford University.

Information was collected on the nature of the pre-school provision being offered by a sample of the nurseries, playgroups, pre-schools and nursery schools identified by MCS parents during the summer of 2005.

In addition to providing a snapshot of childcare experiences across England, the information provides valuable information on the types of provision attended by MCS children from different backgrounds, of different genders and with different needs, for example children with EAL (English as an Additional Language). It also facilitates analysis of the longer-term effects of different types of childcare provision on children’s educational and social development.