The researchers found that most three-and four-year-olds were happy in all-day provision, and that they enjoyed the company of other children. Dr Christine Stephen, a member of the team, said that one of the recommendations that emerged from the research was that practitioners needed to be supportive of children's 'peer culture'.
She said, 'We were impressed that the children talked about their interaction with other children giving them cause for pleasure. Adults need to allow children time to giggle together, get learning opportunities from each other and learn to negotiate with each other.'
The children were also able to express a preference about their activities and tended to talk about free play activities rather than adult-led, group activities. A summary of the research, Interchange 68: All-day provision for three-and four-year-olds, recommends that prac-titioners give more consideration to children's choices in creating their own curriculum, and notes that there is sometimes tension between allowing children to follow their interests and practitioners' desire to 'balance' their activities across the areas set out in the curriculum.
The research team looked both at children who were cared for all day long in a group care setting such as a local authority centre, playgroup, private nursery or nursery class, and at children who spent some time in a group care setting and some time either with a nanny or childminder or in another group setting. Some parents preferred to use one provider all day while others favoured a mixture, but they were unanimous that their child enjoyed the time they spent in all-day care and that the child felt happy and secure there.
The study stresses that childcare partnerships need to support diverse arrangements for full daycare to meet parent's needs and that 'no one model of provision or one provider sector (private, voluntary or local authority) offers a more satisfactory all-day experience than others'.
Some local authorities were found to have problems arranging staff contracts to allow for extended hours and all-year provision in their own settings, and achieving this would require a review of terms and conditions and pay. Developments in the role of practitioners also suggested that a review of terms and conditions was necessary.
'Changes in the culture of pre-school environments mean that there has been a shift in the demands on practitioners in all sectors, a 'professionalising' of their role that has, as yet, not been matched in the rewards offered,' the report says.
Interchange 68: All-day provision for three-and four-year-olds is available on the Scottish Executive site, www.scotland.gov.uk.Copies of the full report cost 10. For more information and copies of the full report contact Dr Christine Stephen, Institute of Education, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, or e-mail christine.stephen@stir.ac.uk.
