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It's easy to be baffled by research... Take the example of Sure Start - the programme has been featured numerous times on this site, with some reports concluding that it has had huge benefits for young children, while other publications have been more critical of its achievements, and others still saying that it is successful, but not necessarily for the children that could benefit from it most. Confusing stuff for even more experienced researchers...

Anyway, the latest study into Sure Start has argued that the programme and other similar early years initiatives introduced over the last decade have had little impact on children's early language and numeracy. Researchers from Durham University tracked data from test scores at 472 state primary schools over 8 years to reach their conclusions.

The findings are published in an article entitled 'Changes in Children's Cognitive Development at the Start of School in England 2001 - 2008'. This features in the Oxford Review of Education, which UCB students can access via the InformaWorld service.