Blogs

"I read the results of a recent study stating that children on free school meals lag just as far behind their more affluent peers in a good school as they do in an inadequate one. This underlines what many working in children's services know already - there is a lot more to closing the achievement gap than the quality of a child's schooling alone. The right help needs to be put in place much sooner than the school years. The government has introduced a number of schemes designed to improve outcomes for children from poorer families. One of these is around early years funding, which is already enjoyed by all three- and four-year-olds, and is to be extended to 40 per cent of the most disadvantaged children aged two. This will be welcome news for many families. But one thing I've learnt from speaking to local authorities is that encouraging parents to take up their entitlement to funded childcare can be a challenging task. This needs addressing, as providing the right support earlier in a child's life could play a key role in helping to close the achievement gap."