CREC is a charitable organisation established in 2007 and dedicated to raising the quality of early childhood provision in order to enhance the life chances of children. It does this through these four charitable 'objects':

• improving the visibility and prestige of work and research in the field of early childhood;
• undertaking research in this field;
• increasing awareness of diversity and social exclusion and promoting equity in the field;
• supporting professional development for those who work with young children.

CREC’s Current Equalities Initiatives: CREC has a long standing interest in promoting, researching and developing initiatives focussed on issues of equality.

 Most recently it has:

• contributed to the Dept of Education’s review of defining the ‘neediest’ as the current economic and political climate in the UK seeks to target previously universal services on ‘those most in need’;
• sought funding for a research project which identifies the characteristics of successful working class white boys, a group who statistically are amongst the lowest academic achievers;
• as a member of the Tickell Review Panel into the Early Years Foundation Stage, fore-grounded the issues of equality that DECET defines;
• begun with  other DECET members in Portugal, a collaboration with the Aga Khan Foundation to promote and research issues of equality;
• begun with Early Years Equalities, one of the foremost UK organisation in the field, the development of a research project on Diversity ‘Improving Futures’;
• through EECERA re-established with DECET colleagues from Le Furet a SIG on ‘Diversity’ and another SIG which will look at Gender;
• edited a themed volume of EECERJ in 2010 which had Diversity and Equality as its focus with some major contributions from DECET members;
• delivered equalities training to some 200+ Master’s level Early Childhood leaders and managers;
• begun to fully fund overseas early years leaders to undertake an MA at CREC including Palestine Territories, Korea, South African townships and the Caribbean;
• run an EECERA conference in Birmingham attended by more than 900 delegates from across the world which had at least 35 paper presentations on issues related to Diversity and Equality.

 

CREC has an independent Board of Trustees and a governing document, a 'Declaration of Trust', which follows the guidelines of the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales. The Trustees appoint Directors to carry out the work of CREC. There are currently two Directors; Professor Christine Pascal and Professor Tony Bertram. CREC also has a small team who collaboratively fulfill the objects of the Trust.