Can Pre‐school Education Affect Children's Achievement in Primary School?

Abstract The evidence presented in this paper suggests that exposure to pre‐school experience has a significantly positive effect on the outcomes of the first two runs of the National Curriculum assessment results for seven year‐olds. A hierarchical linear model (using ML3E software) enabled the evidence of this pre‐school effect to be identified whilst taking into account the nested structure of the children within the class. The effect is over and above the positive advantage gained by age and social group and is consistently significant in all four subjects of reading, writing, number and science. Both nursery and playgroup experience have a positive effect on children's achievements when compared to non‐attendance. The children with nursery experience came predominantly from the lower socio‐economic groups while the children attending playgroup tended to be from the higher social groups. This paper suggests that it would be unwise to compare the results from children having nursery experience and those having playgroup experience since it is unreasonable to expect the educational opportunities for children in the lower socio‐economic groups in a poorly resourced playgroup to be equivalent to those available in a better resourced nursery class.