Early Years

The National Strategies site provides a range of downloads and other materials covering the Early Years Foundation Stage - Statutory Framework and Guidance.

In Northern Ireland, NI Curriculum offers guidance and suggestions for a range of activities in the foundation stage.

Learning and Teaching Scotland provides a self-assessment toolkit for the early years.

The Welsh Assembly Government has a page on the Foundation Phase (3-7) in Wales, and access to a range of supporting materials.

The Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) is a charitable organisation dedicated to raising the quality of early childhood provision. This site includes details of the Effective Early Learning (EEL) Programme and Baby Effective Early Learning (BEEL) Programme for supporting self evaluation and improvement strategies for the early years.

SureStart is the government's programme to eradicate child poverty and to deliver the best start in life for every child.

The British Association for Early Childhood Education (Early Education), founded in 1923, is a national voluntary organisation for early years practitioners in the UK, providing support, advice and information on best practice for everyone concerned with the education and care of young children from birth to eight.

The Early Childhood and Primary Education Department of the Institute of Education is an internationally recognised centre for postgraduate study and research into the development and education of children between the ages of 3-11.

The Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) Project is a longitudinal study funded by the DCSF, focussing on the progress and development of 3,000 children from entering pre-school to the end of Key Stage Two in primary school (from age 3 to 11 years old). Details of extension studies can be found at the same site.

The National Literacy Trust provides notes some research on The effect of early intervention and parental involvement on children's literacy and educational attainment.