The Government has a confused approach to early years education,
and measures such as the 30 hours childcare commitment appear to be
entrenching disadvantage, say the Education Committee in a report
published today.
The Sutton
Trust points out that the attainment gap between
disadvantaged children and their more advantaged counterparts is
already evident when children begin school aged 5, with a gap
between them the equivalent of 4.3 months of learning. This gap
more than doubles to 9.5 months at the end of primary school, and
then more than doubles again to 19.3 months at the end of
secondary school.
Despite the efforts and Government’s good intentions to improve
early years education, the Education Committee’s report finds
there is lack of direction in the approach to early years policy.
The Committee calls for Government action in three key areas to
help tackle the social injustices which currently exist in early
years education and childcare.
First, the Government should reform the 30 hours free childcare
offer and target provision to early education for disadvantaged
children. Second, maintained nursery schools should be fully
funded. Third, the Government should develop a comprehensive
strategy to join up early years services and build on the success
of children’s centres and other provision, such as family hubs.
Rt Hon , Chair of the Education
Committee, said: “Tackling social injustice is
the central objective of the Education Committee. Despite the
good intentions and efforts made by the Government, there remain
significant social injustices in children’s life chances in
England which early years childcare and education is failing to
address.
“Supporting a child in the early years of their life is
crucial to tackling social injustice and giving children the best
possible chance to succeed. How well young people achieve at
school has a massive impact on their life-chances. Sadly, we know
that disadvantaged children start school behind their peers and
that the gap widens, unless tackled, by the time they get to
secondary school. But high-quality early years education, with
well-trained professionals, can help to tackle this injustice and
help these children climb the ladder of opportunity. It’s vital
the Government reform the 30-hour childcare offer to focus it to
help the most disadvantaged. The Government should also ensure
that maintained nurseries, who often deliver excellent outcomes
for disadvantaged kids, get the funding support they need.
“A strong home learning environment can have a major impact
on children’s life chances. The Government needs to come forward
with a comprehensive strategy for early years services, including
children’s centres and family hubs, to give disadvantaged
children the best possible start in life”.
In 2016, disadvantaged pupils were on average 19.3 months behind
their peers by the time they took their GCSEs. The Education Policy
Institute estimates that "at the current rate of
progress, it would take a full 50 years to reach an equitable
education system where disadvantaged pupils did not fall behind
their peers during formal education to age 16.”
The Committee welcomes the cross-government working group chaired
by , Leader of the House of
Commons, which is reviewing how to improve the support available
to families in the period around childbirth to the age of 2.
ENDS
Editor’s Notes
1. A full list of conclusions and recommendations can be found on
p.31 of the report.
