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What influences English and Mathematics
attainment at age 11?
Evidence from the
EPPSE project
What is EPPSE?

EPPSE is the Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education
Project.

It is a longitudinal study that has followed 2,500 children from the age of 3
through pre-school, primary and secondary school. It examines how preschool, primary school and home background relate to children’s
achievements and behaviour. EPPSE children were in primary schools
from 1999-2007 (from age 3+ to age 11).

The children were regularly assessed on their development from the age of
3. There have been interviews with staff in pre-school and school, and
assessments of the quality of pre-school and school environments.
There are five key influences on child development at age 11
– Child characteristics e.g.
gender or birth weight.
– Family characteristics, e.g.
parents education, home
language.
Family
Factors
– Learning opportunities in
the home.
– Pre-school attendance and
experience.
– Primary school experience.
Child
Factors
Learning
at home
PreSchool
Primary
School
Mathematics
and English
attainment
at KS2
Children’s characteristics and their family background predict their
outcomes

At age 11 girls did significantly better than boys in English, but boys did
somewhat better in mathematics.

Children with very low birth weight or early health problems did less well in
English and mathematics than other children.

Mother’s education (especially a degree) had a strong positive effect on
outcomes in English and mathematics, more so than family income or social
class.
What children learn at home is crucial

A good environment for learning at home (in the early years), compared to a
poor one, had a similar positive effect for children as having a mother with a
degree. Learning at home was particularly important for English.

Parents who provided a good environment for learning at home taught their
children specific skills e.g. letter-sound relationships and improved language
and vocabulary.
– It included activities such as being read to; painting and drawing; going to the
library; playing with letters/numbers and learning activities with songs, poems
and nursery rhymes.

Parents tended to treat girls and boys differently. Overall girls had a better
home learning environment.
Good pre-school experience makes a difference to children’s
attainment
Good pre-school/nursery
– provided an initial boost to pre-reading and early number skills and also helped
children progress when at primary school (possibly through developing
children’s motivation and capacity to learn);
– pre-schools that helped children to understand early number concepts led to
better outcomes in mathematics at 11.
 Quality is important
– going to any pre-school had benefits for children when they started primary
school, however, only higher quality pre-schools still had an impact on children’s
attainment at age 11;
– higher quality pre-schools benefitted all children in primary school and gave a
greater boost to development for the most disadvantaged.
Effective primary schools help to counter disadvantaged
backgrounds

Primary schools varied in the progress pupils made from KS1-KS2
– EPPSE pupils made better progress in English and mathematics in more
academically effective1 primary schools;.
– children from highly disadvantaged backgrounds benefited most from attending
an academically effective primary school – more so than their more advantaged
peers.

The influence of primary school was more important for attainment and
progress in mathematics than in English.

Good pre-school experiences offered some protection against poor
educational experiences later.
– Attending a high quality pre-school offered some protection for children who
went on to attend less academically effective primary school.
1 - A school’s academic effectiveness was measured through analysis of KS1 and 2 results for all
schools in England taking account of background characteristics.
See related EPPSE Research Bite “Effective Teaching Methods in 82 Primary Schools” which
examines the impact of teaching quality on pupils’ achievement and the teaching behaviours which
have an impact on pupil outcomes.
English – the key factors influencing pupils’ attainment
Influences on KS2 English

Child, family, and home
background are more important
in predicting differences in
overall pupil’s attainment in
English than in mathematics

Pre-school has a significant
influence.

The effectiveness of the primary
schools a child attends is also
important. Pupils who have a
combination of good quality preschool and then attend a more
effective primary school have
better outcomes.
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Effect size is a statistical concept that shows the strength of the relationship between an outcome such
as National Assessment scores and another variable such as Mothers’ qualifications, while controlling for
other factors. An effect size of 0.1 is relatively weak, one of 0.35 moderately strong, one of 0.7 strong.
Mathematics – the key factors influencing pupils’ attainment

Mothers’ education was
still important but other
home and family
characteristics less so.

The quality of the preschool and the
effectiveness of the
primary school a child
attends are also both
important for attainment
in mathematics. They
have stronger effects
than either gender or
family socio-economic
status.
Influences on KS2 Mathematics
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Effect size is a statistical concept that shows the strength of the relationship between an outcome such
as National Assessment scores and another variable such as Mothers’ qualifications, while controlling for
other factors. An effect size of 0.1 is relatively weak, one of 0.35 moderately strong, one of 0.7 strong.
How can you use the evidence in this study?

How do you support the learning of children who don’t receive much support
for learning at home ?

How could you influence the experiences of children before they come to
primary school?
– Can you work with your local pre schools that feed your primary (either based at
school or elsewhere)?

How can you encourage more involvement of parents in children’s learning?
– In the early years, and throughout primary school?
Authors and Further Reading

Principal Investigators for the EPPSE project are: Kathy Sylva
(Oxford), Edward Melhuish (Birkbeck), Pam Sammons (Oxford), Iram
Siraj-Blatchford & Brenda Taggart (IoE).

This Research Bite draws on the EPPSE report:
Influences on Children’s Attainment and Progress in Key Stage 2:
Cognitive Outcomes in Year 6
A short summary (Research Brief) which covers both cognitive and
social/behavioural outcomes can be downloaded from the Department
for Education website:
http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DCSF-RB048-049.pdf
The full report is also available:
https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/RSG/publicationDetail/Page1/DCSF-RR048
Further Information
EPPSE Website:
http://eppe.ioe.ac.uk
Or contact
Brenda Taggart
Principal Investigator and
Research Co-ordinator
00 44 (0) 207 612 6219
[email protected]