A a third of five-year-old boys in England are not starting school”ready for school“. For children from disadvantaged areas, that figure is much higher – under half of children eligible for free lunches enter school without meeting the developmental level expected for their age. This gap could not be greater: children who start school already late are more likely to be behind to fall back and tear away from their further education.
Until now, the government has done little to ensure that more children want to enter school with healthy developmental stages; as we have said beforethe most missing element is the mission of the government to break down the barriers of opportunity. It is therefore welcome that Keir Starmer last week included a specific target to improve school readiness – the Prime Minister has committed to increasing the number of children who are school ready from two-thirds to three-quarters by the end of this parliament – as part of his new milestone “change plan”.
If this ambitious target is met – with a particular focus on children from poorer countries – this will transform the lives of tens of thousands of children a year. But a sign can only be a principle; In the coming weeks and months, officials will need to make changes to make things happen.
The biggest headache is whether the resources are needed for the difference. The testimony shows the last effort of the government Sure Start system and the general general provision, especially for children from poor circumstances, helped to . it closes a wider gap in school availability. However, after 14 years of public service cuts, the children’s seats are a shadow of their former self.
In the early years, support for children with special educational needs goes beyond the norm. The nursery sector is in crisis, with nursery schools forced to close due to rising costs and lack of funding, and the number of trained professionals to an. all time low. And levels of child poverty are predicted to rise by 400,000 over this parliament unless the government increases benefits and credits low income of the parents.
This is a fundamental question of the wider government. Since resources are so tight – and public employment spending targets very challenging – it is difficult to find resources to spend on services in the first intervention, because there is such a demand for acute services. From substance abuse to education to health services, the state is effectively waiting for problems to address the worst before they occur, which is terrifying on both a human and economic level.
Post Newsletter promotion
He must work hard to avoid this trap, otherwise he will have no hope of meeting his school readiness. In the spending review next spring, ministers simply have to find resources to tackle child poverty and invest in the kinds of early years services that are so important to help all children get the most out of their education.