This article focuses on three pieces of research and explores what these studies tell about the effects of home and early education on scientific development in young children as they move into and through primary education. The first piece of research was a longitudinal study that took place between 1997 and 2004; the EPPE (Effective Provision of Pre-school Education) project, which was a five-year study of the attainment and development of children aged between 3 and 7 years. The second piece of research was the Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years (EPEY) project undertaken by Siraj-Blatchford et al. (2002). The third piece of research is the Cambridge Primary Review, which collected evidence between 2004 and 2009 through wide-ranging consultation, formal written submissions, meetings, surveys and evaluations. These three pieces of research can help inform in three areas--the effect of quality pre-school education on cognition, the effect of early social development, and the effect of the home on early development--and help consider the impact on scientific educational development.