The Study of Early Education and Development (SEED), commissioned in 2012, includes a major longitudinal study designed to help the Department for Education (DfE) by providing evidence on the effectiveness of early years education and by identifying any short- and longer-term benefits from their investment.This current report, written by Edward Melhuish and Julian Gardiner,  examines the ongoing effects of Early Childhood Education & Care (ECEC). There are a range of conclusions, nevertheless, in line with findings from the same sample at age three the advantages of a more stimulating and responsive Home Learning Environment and the beneficial effects of time in ECEC are largely independent. This suggests that even children with the most stimulating home learning environments still stand to benefit from spending time in ECEC. You can read the report in full here. You can discuss the report on this thread