Having a graduate teacher in a nursery has only a limited impact on children's attainment, new research suggests. In England the government wants more graduate staff in nurseries in a bid to boost children's literacy and numeracy.
But a study published by the London School of Economics (LSE) claims highly qualified staff had only a "tiny" effect on attainment.
The researchers, from the Centre for Economic Performance at LSE, Surrey University and University College London, looked at figures, drawn from the National Pupil Database, on about 1.8 million five-year-olds who started school in England between 2008 and 2011. These were the most recent figures available when the project began in 2012.
The researchers cross-referenced the children's attainment at the end of their first year at school with information on the nurseries they had attended the previous year.
The information revealed, that the children from nurseries with teachers qualified to degree level on the staff performed only slightly better than children who had not had access to qualified teachers at nursery. This amounted to having an overall teacher assessment score at the end of the reception year of just a third of a point higher, where the maximum points available is 117.
The researchers also found only a minimal benefit for children who had attended nurseries rated outstanding by Ofsted, compared with those who had attended other nurseries.
