While all three and four year old children are entitled to 15 hours of early childhood education and care, eligible working families are entitled to an additional 15 hours - 30 hours in total. The problem is that only 20 per cent of working families on low incomes (in the bottom third of earnings) benefit from this entitlement. This contrasts with 70 per cent of families in the top half of earnings.
Arguably, this funding inequity results in a topsy turvy policy outcome. Numerous studies, both within the UK and internationally, point to the potential of high-quality early childhood education and care in mitigating educational and social inequalities.
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