Just 23 successful applicants have received funds from a bursary scheme expected to recruit 1,000 high quality candidates to become early years apprentices, figures from the Labour Party show. The Early Years Apprenticeships Bursary Scheme, worth £3,000 to applicants, was launched in September 2013. Of the 48 applicants to the £2.3m scheme, 23 have received a total of £69,000 in funding, figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request by shadow childcare minister Lucy Powell reveal.
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds who achieve the highest levels at primary school have fallen behind their less able but better-off peers by the time they sit GCSE exams. The Guardian reports that the research by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission found that of almost 8,000 disadvantaged students who achieved top grades in English and maths standardised tests at age 11, only 900 went on to study at an elite university.
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