Why is Sure Start making qualified teacher support a priority in Children’s Centres?
A3: The Effective provision of pre-school education (EPPE) Project (1997-2003) clearly demonstrated that: ‘Settings which have staff with higher qualifications, especially with a good proportion of trained teachers on the staff, show higher quality and their children make more progress.’ (Research brief findings from The pre-school period, 2003) The research also demonstrated that the most positive outcomes were achieved where teachers were working directly with children and practitioners. The teachers working in these roles will not only have to have the ability to provide good quality educational experiences for children, they will also need to be able to articulate and disseminate effective practice to a wide range of audiences, as well as embracing the children’s centre philosophy. They should be committed to and demonstrate multi agency working and value the significant part that parents/carers play in their children’s development. High quality teacher input is one of the core com
