Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is one of the most prevalent neurodevelopmental conditions, affecting around 8% of children aged 5–6 years.

The Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) is a large-scale longitudinal, mixed methods research involving: i) a longitudinal study to follow the progress of over 5,000 children from age 2 until the end of Key Stage 1 (aged 7); ii) a study of 1,000 early years settings attended by the children in the longitudinal study; iii) intensive case studies of good practice in 16 early years settings; iv) a value for money study to quantify and monetise the impacts of early education; v) qualitative studies exploring the experience of childminders on the free entitlement provision, and how the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disability are met.