Children's early experience crucial to success in later life

Posted on 11 January 2016

Children's development and experience in their early years, and progress during the first year of school, are crucial for success in later life

A report written by Hannah Buckley, a statistician in York Trials Unit, with Peter Tymms and Christine Merrell, of Durham University, has been published on the Scottish government’s website.

The report was also picked up in an article in The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/nicola-sturgeon/12085818/Nicola-Sturgeon-announces-three-Rs-tests-for-pupils.html.

Hannah said: “It is important to assess children during this early period to monitor their development so that educational provision can be tailored to their needs. Our report describes a secondary analysis of existing data from the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS) On-entry Baseline and Follow-up assessment, which is widely used by schools in Scotland for such formative purposes.

“This secondary data analysis offers a perspective for policy-makers by providing a picture of children's development when they start school in Scotland and progress during their first year at school. Trends over time and a comparison of the development of children starting school in Scotland and England are also reported.”