What do the Department for Education’s new statistics on early years entitlements suggest about inequalities in access by local area? www.linkedin.com/posts/tammy-...
Tammy Campbell
@drtammycampbell.bsky.social
Director for Early Years, Inequalities and Wellbeing @edupolicyinst.bsky.social | Visiting Senior Fellow @ CASE LSE | Views my own | Life doesn't have to be unfair | https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tammy-Campbell-2
EPI is proud to launch the Early Years Observatory (EYO) - a dedicated hub for data, policy analysis, and commentary on the lives of children under five in England. To mark the launch, we’ve published new analysis, commentary, and explainers, with more rolling out regularly. A thread 🧵
Today, the government published guidance on screen time for under-5s. EPI's Director for Early Years, Inequalities and Wellbeing @drtammycampbell.bsky.social asks: does it meet the needs of parents, carers, and children?
Does the government's new guidance on screen time for under-5s meet the needs of parents, carers, and children? - Education Policy Institute
⏱️ Estimated Read: 4 minToday, the government published guidance on screen time for under-5s. It is published online on the ‘Best Start in Life parent hub’ – the emergent digital offering intentionall...
epi.org.uk
Screen time for under‑fives is a hot topic for policymakers, parents and researchers. New EPI analysis shows how common, and how intensive, screen use is during a crucial stage of infant development, highlighting how the home environment shapes early screen exposure.
Babies and screen time: Recent evidence from the national Children of the 2020s cohort study - Education Policy Institute
⏱️ Estimated Read: 11 minWhich babies are more likely to experience screen time? Among those who watch, who watches the most? And how does using screens interplay with other home activities? Our analy...
epi.org.uk
Of all the bad/stupid policies I’ve covered as an education journalist over the years, one that’s hit our family most blatantly is these automated letters which are issued by schools if a child’s attendance drops below a certain level.
"If the safeguarding principles of professional curiosity and challenge are lost to the white noise of such a zealot-like approach, we have truly lost our way." Hackney safeguarding chair Jim Gamble lambasts DfE's school behaviour ambassador Tom Bennett. chscp.org.uk/wp-content/u...
chscp.org.uk
Thought-provoking and useful exploratory analysis from Rebecca. Resonance with last week’s @hackneycouncil.bsky.social's Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review and @annafazack.bsky.social‘s investigations.
Education Policy Institute@edupolicyinst.bsky.social · 8mo agoNew exploratory analysis examined behaviour policies from 45 state schools across three London boroughs. We found that written policies vary in ways that align, to an extent, with outcomes linked to pupil wellbeing. Read the full analysis: epi.org.uk/publications...
What does the reliance on private providers in early education and care mean for children in England? Dr Tammy Campbell analyses the latest DfE statistics to ask if this shift is desirable for public spending and children's experiences. Read the full blog: epi.org.uk/publications...
"Efforts to tackle the disadvantage gap in education will only be successful within a wider effort to address the causes and effects of poverty." Read EPI's response to the Government's Child Poverty Strategy: epi.org.uk/comments/epi...
The phonics screening check is so closely correlated with month of birth that it can be argued that it is a test of age rather than decoding.
England’s new phonics target sets schools an almost impossible task
The phonics screening check is so closely correlated with month of birth that it can be argued that it is a test of age rather than decoding.
tcnv.link
Today’s Curriculum and Assessment Review highlights mixed opinions on the Phonics Screening Check. This aligns with EPI research, which found mixed views - as well as no positive evidence that the Check's introduction improved later reading results: epi.org.uk/publications...
Free School Meals need review to better serve disadvantaged children. The final report in our @nuffieldfoundation.org-funded project examining FSM as a measure, argues that relying on FSM as a single proxy doesn't reflect the complexity of children’s experiences. news.sky.com/story/why-th...
Why thousands of England's poorest children are missing out on free school meals
The Education Policy Institute is recommending a new national system of auto-enrolment for free school meals and other measures to ensure more eligible children can benefit, as too many who should get...
news.sky.com
Our new report, funded by @nuffieldfoundation.org, shows significant variation in how free school meals (FSM) and free early years meals (FEYM) are accessed across schools and local authorities (LA) in England. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Free school meal plan requires key change to stop children ‘missing out’, Labour told
Experts say children may not receive the meals they are eligible for
independent.co.uk
📺EPI Director @drtammycampbell.bsky.social on @itvnews.bsky.social earlier, giving a cautious welcome to the changes to FSM eligibility www.itv.com/watch/news/w...
🔊Comment: EPI's @drtammycampbell.bsky.social comments on the the expansion of free school meal eligibility.
Though, as experts including @drtammycampbell.bsky.social and @carlcullinane.bsky.social told me, a proper system of auto-enrolment will be the crucial next step in ensuring those children actually receive the free meals
Why the free school meals system is broken – and how to fix it
Under the current system, harsh eligibility requirements and complicated bureaucracy mean many children living in poverty miss out on a free lunch. Experts tell Ellen Peirson-Hagger what the governmen...
tes.com
@kerriscooper.bsky.social and I wrote this @edupolicyinst.bsky.social blog on the 'two child limit' a while ago - sad that it's more relevant that ever
Tammy Campbell@drtammycampbell.bsky.social · 2y agoAs child poverty rates are reported to rise, me and @handle.invalid 's recent @edupolicyinst.bsky.social blog on why the 'two child limit' may not only be ill-conceived, cruel, and inefficient - but misunderstood epi.org.uk/publications...
🚨For anyone that missed our 2025 Annual Lecture with @annavignoles.bsky.social looking at education and skills inequalities in the UK, you can now watch the recording here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR06... epi.org.uk/events/educa... With thanks to @britishacademy.bsky.social for kindly hosting us.
EPI Annual Lecture 2025: Addressing Education and Skills Inequalities in the UK
YouTube video by Education Policy Institute
youtube.com
The reality of claiming PIP: a 🧵 1) To claim PIP you have to describe in excruciating detail all the ways you cannot function. This means that you are forced to think in very detailed terms exactly how disabled you are, which often has a devastating effect on the mental health of the applicant 1/?
💬 The EPI’s @drtammycampbell.bsky.social outlines the key findings from a major report into free school meals and puts forward the case for auto-enrolment (and why it would not solve all issues)
Free school meals: the case for auto-enrolment
The author of a major new study into auto-enrolment for free school meals and the associated benefits it unlocks outlines the key findings - and what issues would still remain
tes.com
📢 Today, the Education Policy Institute (EPI), funded by @nuffieldfoundation.org published a new report exploring the strengths & weaknesses of Free School Meals (FSM) and Pupil Premium (PP) as measures for identifying disadvantaged pupils in England. Read full report👇 epi.org.uk/publications...
Who has been registered for free school meals and pupil premium in the National Pupil Database? - Education Policy Institute
A new report published by the Education Policy Institute (EPI), funded by the Nuffield Foundation, explores the strengths and weaknesses of free school meals (FSM) and Pupil Premium (PP) as measures f...
epi.org.uk
Op-ed: the government should continue to investigate the ways that FSM registration is used; who it represents, includes and excludes; the workings of policies and practices relying on FSM; and how pupils and families can more effectively be supported and provided for... www.tes.com/magazine/ana...
Free school meals: the case for auto-enrolment
The author of a major new study into auto-enrolment for free school meals and the associated benefits it unlocks outlines the key findings - and what issues would still remain
tes.com
Join us for our next #CASE #SocialExclusionSeminar on 5 March. Whitney Crenna-Jennings @edupolicyinst.bsky.social will be speaking on children missing from education Find out more: sticerd.lse.ac.uk/case/_new/ev... Sign up via Eventbrite: eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-do-wom...
From @allenjoseph.bsky.social and @wcrennajennings.bsky.social: 'reliable waiting time data for children’s mental health services do not exist...researchers, policymakers and leaders should be brave enough to admit what they don’t know.' blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp... @lseblogs.bsky.social
Nice chart from @mrjpandrews.bsky.social showing how schools serving more economically disadvantaged pupils are likely to be scored low according to current 'accountability' measures
Education Policy Institute@edupolicyinst.bsky.social · 2y ago📝NEW: Today, EPI will publish a new paper on Reforming Accountability that highlights how school accountability needs reforming to better serve pupils and parents. We are also publishing an interactive tool to measure performance of school groups. Continue for our findings👇
🚨New EPI event summary paper from @kerriscooper.bsky.social : How can we reduce food poverty for under-fives? Building on recommendations with expert input. Read the full article here👇 epi.org.uk/publications...
How can we reduce food poverty for under-fives? Building on recommendations with expert input. - Education Policy Institute
What have we learnt about food poverty experienced by under-fives? We recently published a report on food poverty affecting under-fives, which highlighted the scale and the impact of the problem, as ...
epi.org.uk
Move in the right direction, but could go further?
The Sutton Trust@suttontrust.bsky.social · 2y ago🗣️"We absolutely should not be having a situation where some families and some children are locked out of certain schools because of the high cost of uniforms." @beckymontacute.bsky.social discussed the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill with @cathkemi.bsky.social on BBC News this morning ⤵️ 📺
If your lab/team does fact checks or code reviews, do you have any tips for how to make it a less painful process? #academiasky