Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of early years intervention on the educational effect of child poverty.

Caroline Dinenage

Tackling poverty and disadvantage, and delivering real social reform, is a priority for this Government. This Government is committed to ensuring that all children are able to fulfil their potential.

There is a strong evidence base from the UK and around the world that shows high-quality early education has long lasting benefits for children. Analysis of the evidence from Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education Project has shown that pre-school is of particular importance to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. We also know that attending high-quality pre-school from age two has a positive impact on cognitive attainment.

The Department has commissioned a major piece of longitudinal research– the Study of Early Education and Development – to understand more about how high-quality early education affects attainment and social and behavioural development up to age seven. Findings are forthcoming and will be published and available at: http://www.seed.natcen.ac.uk/reports.aspx

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