Children of the 21st Century (Vol. 2): The First Five Years

Following on from Children of the 21st Century: From Birth to Nine Months, this book documents the first five years of life of the children from the Millennium Cohort Study, which is tracking almost 19,000 babies born in 2000 and 2001 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Written by experts from a variety of disciplines, the book takes an extended look at the children's lives and development as they begin formal statutory education, as well as service planning in early years, health and social services.

Viewed against a backdrop of emergency budget cuts of statutory resources available to pregnant women and families with the youngest children, and faced with the uncertainty of the Comprehensive Spending Review's impact on integrated early childhood education and care, the evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study is sobering. While children from disadvantaged families are less likely to attend formal childcare, when they do, they receive higher-quality provision than their more advantaged peers.