Children starting school are behind in their development
According to recent figures, a third of children starting school are still behind in their development and statistics from Department of Education show that children from disadvantaged families are behind in their literacy, and numeracy skills.
The Government states that there is, however, a rise in the number of children meeting expected levels, however, the gap between disadvantaged children and their peers is becoming interesting larger.
Figures issued by The Department for Education highlight that 31% of under-five-year-olds are still not meeting the expected levels of development in Communication and Language, Maths and Personal and Emotional Development more so social development. Only 52% of children who receive free school meals reached the expected levels of development.
More needs to be done to ensure children don’t start school behind, as all children deserve the best possible start in life. Children who start school behind are less likely to stay behind, and this could have huge impactions later on in life.
Is the lack of trained nursery teachers the issue or are Government’s priorities on education wrong?
Ensuring all children receive high-quality care, and education is of utmost priority, as well as investing in a qualified workforce.
According to The Department for Education £6bn per year is being invested in childcare by 2010 to help address these issues.
Perhaps it can be attributed to inadequate brain development due to commencing in education to soon . Why can’t we let kids be kids and not enter education until they are 6 or 7 like our European counterparts. Not only do they have a greater sense of well being but also correspond or exceed our children in efucational attainment. It is not only children from so called disadvantaged areas ( areas of social and economic deprivation) that are disadvantaged but also children who are not ready for school that are disadvantaged. The government need to take heed .