University of Oxford Professor and NDNA policy committee member, Kathy Sylva, is leading the project, inviting practitioners from high-quality NDNA member nurseries to get involved.
Practitioners, including settings with outstanding Ofsted ratings and those who have completed NDNA’s e-Quality Counts quality improvement programme, are taking part in a scoping study to explore issues around parental engagement.
It is hoped that the qualitative data collected during this scoping study can feed into further guidance for NDNA members, and will be used by the University of Oxford research team to develop a set of improvement strategies for nurseries. The researchers are hoping to present the results of the project to a wide audience of policy makers and practitioners at the European Early Childhood Education Research (EECERA) and NDNA conferences in 2012.
Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive of NDNA, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the University of Oxford on this exciting research project which is a great opportunity for some of our high-quality member nurseries to get involved in discussions around parental engagement and to contribute to improvement strategies.
“With the revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) placing an increased focus on parental engagement, our research will inform policymakers, share the good work taking place in the sector and promote quality improvement.”
Kathy Sylva added: “This project provides an ideal opportunity to capture the expertise of those at the frontline of the sector, feeding into further research and informing future improvement guidance for nurseries.”
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Notes to editors:
• National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) is a national charity representing children’s day nurseries across the UK, giving them information, training and support, so they can provide the best possible care to young children. NDNA is the voice of the sector, an integral part of the lives of nearly one million children and their families.
• For more information, to arrange interviews or photographs please contact Lindsay Garfitt, Senior PR and Policy Officer, on 01484 40 70 66 or Lindsay.Garfitt@
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National Day Nurseries Association is a national charity representing children’s nurseries across the UK, giving them information, training and support, so they can provide the best possible care to young children.
