The research evaluated 28 different early education programmes. It found the best approaches were those that provided a planned curriculum and emphasised teacher-led practice, supported by so-called structured "child-chosen" activities.
Oli de Botton, senior consultant at the CfBT Education Trust and author of the report, admitted early education should balance the discipline of teaching with play. But he claimed teacher intervention and use of academic materials improve outcomes significantly, particularly for the most deprived children.
"Effective programmes didn't exclude play, but they did include a significant amount of teacher-directed activity," he explained.
But Skills Active national programme manager Leslie Godfrey argued that free, unstructured play is vital to early education because it teaches children to make independent choices and assess risk.
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