Research shows that Reception teaching has an impact on future earnings

New research from the Department for Education (DfE) has found that a child’s future earnings can be significantly impacted by the quality of their education in the early years.

The study, published by Durham University and the DfE, utilised DfE databases to link adults’ earnings to the Reception classes that they attended. The findings, which considered factors such as family circumstances, ethnicity and language, estimated that the top 2.5% of Reception classes increase lifetime earnings by an average of £4,400 per pupil.

The researchers used a three-step process to discover the link between Reception teaching and adult earnings. First, they assessed children at the beginning and end of their Reception year to identify ‘effective’ classes – defined as classes where children made significantly more progress in learning than average. Next, they used databases tracking pupils’ attainment in Reception to their GCSE results (Tymms et al.). Finally, using data predicting adult earnings from GCSE results (Hodge et al.), they were able to link Reception attainment to average adult earnings.

Based on research by Tymms et al. on the distribution of GCSE attainment in 2019, the average pupil in an ‘effective’ Reception class will gain the equivalent of around 0.15 grades in Maths and 0.31 grades in English language. Using Hodge et al. it is possible to derive estimates of the lifetime earnings due to a one standard deviation improvement in Maths and English language GCSE, based on 2023 present values. Combining the results of these two studies, we end up with an estimate for lifetime earning benefits, ranging from an additional £2,100 to £7,400 per individual, on average.

However, the benefits of high quality early education don’t end at increased salaries. The report concluded that “The social and economic returns from investments in high-quality Reception classes may also be much larger than the study’s estimates, especially for disadvantaged pupils”. Behavioural, social, and emotional development are all hugely impacted by early years’ education.

It’s also important to acknowledge the importance of the years before a child joins Reception; a crucial period for psychological development. The challenges that children face before joining primary school can have huge impacts on their development. It’s likely that the correlation between early education and adult earnings extend earlier than Reception year.

It's important to note that the authors of the study warned against over exaggerating the results of the study, despite the efforts taken to balance extraneous variables, such as social and economic class. Furthermore, it’s difficult to make predictions based on historic earnings data, due to the ever-changing labour market.

The results of this study have provided concrete evidence that early education really does affect an individual’s later life, not only financially, but also in terms of non-cognitive factors as a result of strong early education.

To read the full results of the study, follow the link here: https://www.gov.uk/government/...