'Work-life balance' generally refers to how people may combine paid employment with family responsibilities. The UK government's attempts to promote work-life balance are connected to wider concerns to maximise labour-force participation and include policies on tax credits, child care and...

In 1998, a conference brought together US psychologists, economists, sociologists, demographers, political scientists, social workers, and medical doctors, to review what we know about the processes that affect child development and how we might wisely increase public and private investments in...

Recent advances in brain research have provided new evidence that early experience matters and have greatly increased interest in the effects of early childhood interventions on outcomes for children. This paper reviews what is now known about the potential benefits and potential ill effects of...

When Labour came to power in 1997 it made commitments to reduce poverty and improve children's health, education and wider life chances. Early childhood was considered central to the strategy, and considerable resources were invested in very young children. This paper examines the main policies...

This paper examines how the quality of formal early childhood education and care is associated with children's background. By using different indicators of quality, the research also explored how the relationship varies depending on the way quality is measured. The analysis combines information...

This paper examines how the quality of formal early childhood education and care is associated with children's background. By using different indicators of quality, the research also explored how the relationship varies depending on the way quality is measured. The analysis combines information...

It is widely agreed that the early years are a particularly important time for efforts to increase social mobility, because a good deal of inequality is already apparent by the time children start school, and because children's development may be less amenable to change after they enter school....