Making the announcement at a Policy Exchange event on early years education, childcare minister Sam Gyimah said the 26 schools will be given £10,000 each to “draw out the best ways of opening schools up to two-year-olds” and help other settings develop their own provision.
The schools have been drawn from the Department for Education trial two-year-olds in schools project, which was launched with 49 settings earlier in the year by previous childcare minister Elizabeth Truss, with schools given grants to invest in classroom resources or staff training.
Gyimah said in his speech that parents whose children attended schools involved in the trial project were “overwhelmingly positive” about it, praising the greater flexibility it gave them to fit childcare around work commitments.
He added: “The children enjoyed attending, their speech improved, and their social development was also boosted as a result. So there has been some great feedback already.”
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
