The early educational environment at five years of age in a European cohort of children born very preterm: challenges and opportunities for research

• Published in: BMC pediatrics Vol. 24; no. 1; p. 369
• Main Authors: Smith-Longee, Alyssa, Johnson, Samantha, Aubert, Adrien M, Seppänen, Anna-Veera, Pierrat, Veronique, Zemlin, Michael, Lebeer, Jo, Sarrechia, Iemke, Siljehav, Veronica, Zeitlin, Jennifer, Sentenac, Mariane
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 29.05.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Age; Analysis; Birth weight; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Cohort Studies; Compulsory education; Early childhood education; Early education; Early Intervention, Educational; Education, Special; Europe; Europe - epidemiology; Evaluation; Families & family life; Female; Follow-up; Follow-Up Studies; Health aspects; Humans; Inclusive education; Infant, Extremely Premature; Infant, Newborn; Infants (Premature); Learning activities; Male; Medical records; Medical research; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Methods; Morbidity; Obstetrics; Parents & parenting; Participation; Pediatrics; Physiological aspects; Premature birth; School environment; Sociodemographics; Very preterm birth; Europe; Netherlands; United Kingdom > UK; Denmark; Italy; France; Estonia; Inclusive education; Early education; Very preterm birth; Europe; Follow-up
• ISSN: 1471-2431; 1471-2431
• DOI: 10.1186/s12887-024-04792-1

Early childhood education offers opportunities for stimulation in multiple developmental domains and its positive impact on long-term outcomes and wellbeing for children is well documented. Few studies have explored early education in children born very preterm (VPT; <32 weeks of gestation) who are at higher risk of neurodevelopmental disorders and poor educational outcomes than their term-born peers. The purpose of the study is to describe and compare the educational environment of children born VPT in European countries at 5 years of age according to the degree of perinatal risk. Data originated from the population-based Screening to Improve Health In very Preterm infants (SHIPS) cohort of children born VPT in 2011/2012 in 19 regions from 11 European countries. Perinatal data were collected from medical records and the 5-year follow-up was conducted using parental questionnaires. Outcomes at 5 years were participation in early education (any, type, intensity of participation) and receipt of special educational support, which were harmonized across countries. Out of 6,759 eligible children, 3,687 (54.6%) were followed up at 5 years (mean gestational age 29.3 weeks). At 5 years, almost all children (98.6%) were in an educational program, but type (preschool/primary), attendance (full-time/part-time) and use and type of school support/services differed by country. In some countries, children with high perinatal risk were more likely to be in full-time education than those with low risk (e.g. Estonia: 97.9% vs. 87.1%), while the inverse pattern was observed elsewhere (e.g. Poland: 78.5% vs. 92.8%). Overall, 22.8% of children received special educational support (country range: 12.4-34.4%) with more support received by children with higher perinatal risk. Large variations between countries remained after adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics. There are marked variations in approaches to early education for children born VPT in Europe, raising opportunities to explore its impact on their neurodevelopment and well-being.