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The article describes a longitudinal study called “Conditions of Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education” what was conducted in the United Kingdom in 1997 and 2014. It is noted that the study is Europe’s biggest longitudinal project as of today. The author underlines the complexity of longitudinal studies stemming from the need to plan one for several years ahead and possible changes in the political or economic situation. The study was conducted in four stages, each of which took a great number of targeted cross-sections, a huge amount of data was collected and processed, which was subsequently classified by areas and detailed case reports published. The longitudinal nature of the study revealed the long-term effect early childhood education has and the important role high-quality early childhood education plays in child’s subsequent development and his future academic success or failure - it creates a solid foundation for all future learning and development. The researchers’ conclusions helped to shape the development of the UK educational policy by placing an emphasis on the development of targeted programs and improving the quality of pre-school education, by involving parents in the educational process in the early stages of child development and a deliberate search of ways to reduce the impact of negative factors on child development.