You are invited to take part in a research study titled “Achieving high-quality provision in the baby room of English nurseries”. Before you decide to take part, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Please email Kayla Halls at k.halls@mdx.ac.uk if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information.
What is the purpose of the study?
The research project ‘Achieving high-quality provision in the baby room of English nurseries’ aims to open up the conversation about what quality provision means in the baby rooms of English nurseries. It focuses particularly on the experiences and skills of the people working with 0-2-year olds, and aims to develop a cohesive and collaborative vision for the future of this workforce.
Through conversations with baby room educators, we wish to explore working patterns, working conditions, status, sense of professionalism and professional learning among baby room educators in England. This will help us pinpoint the strengths, weaknesses and gaps in the current preparation of and support for baby room educators as seen through the sector’s eyes.
To do this, we will be holding 6 in person CPD conferences, aiming to reach at least 300 baby room educators.
Why have I been chosen to participate?
In order to gain a thorough understanding of baby room educators’ personal and professional experiences, it is important that we reach as many baby room educators as possible. The only criteria for inclusion into this part of the study is your role as baby room educator or as nursery manager of a setting with baby room provision. We will be holding 6 in person CPD conferences, aiming to reach at least 300 baby room educators. Within this group of early education and care professionals, we are hoping for people from as many different life and work perspectives to participate.
Do I have to take part?
It is up to you to decide whether to participate in a conference. If you do participate in a conference, you will be asked to complete surveys, polls and participate in a focus group. If you do decide to take part, you will be given this information sheet and you will also be asked to complete a consent form if your personal data will be processed. If you take part, you are still free to withdraw at any time and without giving a reason. If, for any reason, you wish to withdraw your data provided during the focus group part of the study, please contact the researchers by July 31, 2025. After this date, it may not be possible to withdraw your individual data as the results may have already been published. It is not possible to withdraw the data you provided through questionnaires and polls as this was anonymised at the point you provided it.
What will I have to do?
You will have been asked to fill out a brief survey (5-10 minutes max) when you registered for the conference. A few quick poll questions will be asked throughout the conference day, for a maximum involvement of 5 minutes. Finally, there will be a workshop that will function as a focus group, which will last a maximum of 45 minutes. Participants to the conference will be randomly divided into three focus groups, which at high level will all discuss similar topics.
What are the possible risks or benefits of taking part?
Appropriate risk assessments for all procedures have been conducted and will be followed throughout the duration of the study; we have not identified any risks to you of taking part.
To maximise benefits of research participation to you, we have decided to collect data during conferences designed specifically to support the professional learning and development of baby room educators (and managers of nurseries with baby room provision). In other words, we hope that participating in this study will also help you as it will afford you access to a day of continuing professional development specifically focused on working in the baby room and completely free of charge.
Data Protection and Confidentiality
Personal data (e.g., your name, email address, voice or any data that can identify you) will be processed by this study and your confidentiality will be protected. All information you provide will be processed in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act 2018. Please click on the link below to view/download the Middlesex Privacy Notice for Research Participants:
https://www.mdx.ac.uk/about-us/policies/privacy/privacy-notice-for-research-participants
Focus groups during the conference will be audio recorded to enable the research team to focus on the participants without having to take notes. Recording will be transcribed for thematic analysis and at this point, the data will be anonymised so that no individual can be identified. Only the research team will have access to the recording, which will be deleted at the end of the project along with any other data collected during the conference.
Who has reviewed the study?
The study has received full ethical clearance from the Middlesex University Research Ethics Committee.
Contact for further information
If you require further information, have any questions or would like to withdraw your data then please contact Mona Sakr via email: m.sakr@mdx.ac.uk
www.thebabyroom.blog 