List members may be interested in the following:
Expressions of interest sought for: Literature review of early years
provision for children from disadvantaged backgrounds in the United Kingdom
Background and aims of the review
The National Audit Office (NAO), the independent body that reports to
Parliament on how public money is spent, is currently undertaking
preliminary work in the area of early years provision with a view to
publishing a value for money report by December 2003. The report will
examine whether the increased investment in this sector over recent years
has resulted in improvements to the quality, accessibility and
affordability of provision, and make recommendations to the recently
established Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Unit. As well as
utilising published data and information collected by the Department for
Education and Skills, we expect to survey providers and parents.
As part of this examination we are considering commissioning a literature
review to establish what have been found to be the impacts of early years
provision on the development of children, especially those children from
disadvantaged backgrounds or areas. We will draw on the review in key areas
of the report and publish the review, or a summary, as an appendix to our
report. The successful applicant(s) should be able to demonstrate
specialist knowledge in this study area and confirm their ability to meet
the deadline outlined below.
Terms of reference
Our definition of early years refers to children below statutory school
age; and provision encompasses the range of settings eligible for
government support, either directly or through the childcare tax credit,
including day nurseries, maintained nursery schools, integrated services,
pre-schools and nursery classes. We are interpreting quality of provision
as encompassing the social, cognitive, personal and emotional development
of the child as well as issues more specifically focused on childcare such
as quality of staffing and the physical environment.
Scope of the review
The review should cover, where appropriate, both published and ‘grey’
literature and qualitative data as well as quantitative studies. It should
consist of a number of subsections addressing different aspects or groups
of studies and draw high level findings together in a concluding section.
The maximum length for the literature review is 10,000 words, which should
be fully referenced and available in Microsoft Word format.
Timetable
We propose to issue formal tenders for this work by 20 December. We would
like to receive expressions of interest along with an outline of the
proposed approach (500 words maximum) and proposed cost. The successful
applicant will be required to submit a draft report by 28 February and a
final report by 31 March. The possibility of earlier completion would be
looked upon favourably in the selection process.
Expressions of interest and proposals can be sent by post to National Audit
Office, Room A679, 157-197 Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, London, SW1W
9SP; or submitted by email.
NAO contacts
For any further information about this work, please contact a member of the
study team:
Sandy Gordon (Audit Manager) 020 7798 7454 email:
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Rebecca Sidell (Researcher) 020 7798 7800 email:
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To find out more about the role of the National Audit Office, please visit
our website: www.nao.gov.uk
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