An Australian study has found no statistically significant difference between the literacy and numeracy scores of school children who had attended preschool or childcare and children who had not.

The research also found the duration of preschool or childcare attendance had no impact on later literacy and numeracy scores.

Published in the journal Behavior Genetics, the study looked into whether attending preschool or childcare influences later academic achievement.

The authors used data from the Academic Development Study of Australian Twins, which has been following children since 2012 to investigate how genes and environments influence their literacy and numeracy abilities in primary and secondary school.