International Early Learning Study (IELS) for Child Well-Being: National Centre for England

Expressions of interest are sought for a National Centre to administer the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) International Early Learning Study (IELS) for Child Well-Being in England. IELS is a pilot developed and run by the OECD, in collaboration with interested countries.

As Wales has expressed an interest in taking part in the study, the National Centre may be required to administer the study in both England and Wales. A decision on the participation of Wales in IELS will be taken by early February and before the Invitation to Tender (ITT) is issued.

The Department for Education (DfE) participates in several international comparison studies. These enable the department to robustly compare our policies and performance to other countries, identify our relative strengths and challenges, and learn important lessons for our education system. IELS will help the DfE understand more about children's development and early learning experiences, both at home and in Early Education and Care (ECEC). This will facilitate our assessment and development of early years policy.

The National Centre will take on the National Project Manager (NPM) role. They will be required to implement the IELS study in England (and possibly Wales) according to the specifications issued by the OECD's International Contractor, and in line with the interests and requirements of the DfE. Work with OECD's international contractors to finalise the design and methodology of IELS in order to best meet the requirements of the DfE. The National Centre will be responsible for the recruitment of schools to participate in the study, manage the item trialling and field testing, and administer the study with the sampled children, their parent(s) and teachers/early years practitioners. The National Centre will be responsible for analysing the results and clearly and accurately presenting the findings in a national publication. They will also support the DfE in sharing the key findings and lessons with policy officials and external stakeholders. Further information will be provided in the ITT.