Summary of the impact

The Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) project led by Edward Melhuish produced major government policy changes since 2008. EPPE is a longitudinal study focussing on the impact of early childhood education and the home learning environment on educational and social development. The government's recent decision to extend free early years provision for disadvantaged children was based on EPPE's finding (highlighted in several government reviews) that good quality early education has long-term benefits, in particular for disadvantaged children. EPPE also demonstrated the critical role of better-qualified early years staff, which has led to new policy recommendations on staff training.

Summary of the impact

EPPSE is a Government-funded, high profile, longitudinal study with a multi-disciplinary design and numerous outputs, almost unprecedented in the UK in terms of its scale and scope. It has become a seminal study of the influence of early education on children's later development. Findings have been used in the UK and internationally for:

• national policy and spending — the expansion of pre-school provision and supporting families, especially the disadvantaged;
• curriculum design — National Curriculum and early childhood education guidelines;
• service delivery — audits of the quality of pre-school;
• professional practice — enhancing practitioners' understanding of `effective' pedagogy;
• social equity — national and international programmes concerning social justice.

The two Principal Investigators at the IOE have taken lead roles in all of the above.

Summary of the impact

The research of the Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE) has reshaped the discourse on access to education in low-income countries. It has influenced directly the education programmes of DFID, AusAid, the World Bank, the Commonwealth Secretariat, UNICEF, UNESCO, and Education International. The research was key to securing £80 million from DFID for the flagship RMSA programme of the Government of India, to contributing to the design of the £250 million DFID programme in Ethiopia, to writing the Commonwealth Ministers' Post-2015 Framework for Development, and to theorising the UNICEF 25-country studies on Out-of-School Children.

Summary of the impact

The IOE researchers featured in this case study have had a major and sustained impact on education in the Indian sub-continent. Geeta Kingdon has shaped UK government policy on educational aid to India. She has also helped to ensure that millions of poor children in Uttar Pradesh — India's most populous state — qualify for free places in private schools. Angela Little's work in Sri Lanka has raised the profile of primary education, which has been hampered by low status and inadequate funding. She has also done much to improve the life chances of the country's disadvantaged children — particularly those growing up on tea plantations.

Summary of the impact

This case study describes the impact of research into early childhood education and care (ECEC), highlighting significant findings, outputs, pathways to change and impacts for early education and care services for children under three. Impacts have been substantial, including increased awareness of this `phase'; improved access to professional development; democratic practitioner participation and improved practitioner knowledge. Additionally, influence on policy debate about childcare, changes to organisational policies and practices in the public sector, and commercial development in the private sector, are described. The reach of the impact ranges from individual to organisational levels and local to international contexts.

Summary of the impact

Identifying and promoting best practice in the education of young children, this case study focuses on local, national and international policy and practice in two linked areas: children's learning and staff professional development. It underpins national strategy for England, Northern Ireland and Wales and informs international curriculum developments. We have made a significant impact on children's lives through:

• shaping and dissemination of playful pedagogies and outdoor learning initiatives which have been adopted by early years practitioners in schools nationally and recognised internationally
• evaluation of workplace practice leading to improvements in early years settings which have led to changes in employers' policy and practice
• strategic alliances with Cambridgeshire, Essex and Northamptonshire Local Authorities, impacting on early years practice.

Summary of the impact

Educational effectiveness and improvement research by the University of Southampton School of Education has contributed significantly to the design and implementation of educational policy and practice at both national and international levels. Impact has been predominantly in the area of policy, but the School's ground-breaking research has also shown the effects of (and practice within) `good' schools and has pioneered novel approaches to school improvement, school organisation and the use of data in schools. The Educational Effectiveness and Improvement Group has helped establish the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI) and given it a global reach; its research has directly informed policy implementation through academy chains, schools and local authorities in the UK generally and in Wales in particular, and internationally in the US, China, Sweden, Cyprus and Chile. The School's worldwide reach is among the most widespread in Education.

Summary of the impact

The Research Consortium on Educational Outcomes and Poverty (RECOUP) examined the effects of education on the lives and livelihoods of people in four developing countries - India, Pakistan, Kenya and Ghana. It also investigated how best to improve education and poverty-reduction strategies in and for developing countries. Its research outcomes influenced the volume of UK aid to education between 2008-13. It helped to improve the allocation of UK aid, resulting in greater emphasis being placed on the most needy countries. It brought particular benefits for the aid process in the case of India. It also helped refine international approaches to the education of the disabled.

Summary of the impact

Research conducted by Stranmillis University College (SUC) has significantly contributed to the effective teaching of literacy skills to children aged 4-6 in the first two years of primary school in Northern Ireland (NI) [1]. Informed by the evaluation, the Linguistic Phonics Approach (LPA) is currently employed by 461 schools in NI affecting some 25,000 children per year. The research provided a cost-benefit analysis, created innovative assessment instruments to assess children's written skills and evidence of the positive impact of LPA on children's literacy development [2]. SUC is the only institution in Ireland to deliver certified LPA training to 90 BEd and 15 PGCE students per annum.

Summary of the impact

The Cambridge Primary Review (CPR) produced the most comprehensive and authoritative review of English primary education since the 1960s. Combining educational research with a commission of enquiry, this major initiative produced a series of reviews and reports which received extensive coverage in the UK media, generating sustained, informed public debate about primary education with considerable impact on the thinking and activities of practitioners and policy-makers. Subsequently a national network of regional CPR centres has become a standard source for serving and trainee teachers and CPR's website has been accessed in 75% of the world's countries.