Developing good communication and language, and social and emotional skills are core to a child’s learning journey, alongside physical development, in the vital period before starting school.
Yet, the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent cost-of-living crisis have coincided with a downturn in the proportion of children who are achieving a good level of development by the time they reach five-years-old – with potentially damaging repercussions for their educational achievement, ability to build relationships and long-term economic prospects.
For several years, policymakers have focused on boosting the amount of government-funded childcare available. But the emergence of “childcare deserts” in some of the most disadvantaged areas threatens to undermine these efforts making it harder to access places for poorer families.
In an effort to address this, the government is investing in creating greater capacity in state schools and boosting funding for providers to support disadvantaged children, but early years groups remain sceptical this will be enough to tackle the shortage.
Child development experts also warn that rising levels of family poverty damage child development and need to be reduced if the government is to be successful in its pledge to raise the proportion of children who are school-ready at the age of five.
CYP Now’s special report on early child development outlines latest indicators on children’s progress, the key emerging policies to tackle these issues, and examples of providers delivering good practice to improve young children’s outcomes.
Read more in CYP Now's Early Child Development Special Report:
- Key policy developments
- The big debate: Experts assess poverty impact on children’s early development
- Key data: Trends in early child development and outcomes
Practice examples:
