The Government has announced a multi-million-pound package to help schools boost early language skills for those in Reception – ensuring no child is left behind as a result of the coronavirus.
Research shows that children who start school with poor vocabulary are twice as likely to be unemployed as an adult, and it is vital that we focus on raising outcomes among those whose education has been disrupted by the coronavirus at a crucial time for their development. I welcome £9 million the government has provided through the new Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme –providing schools with training and resources for five-year-olds, helping them deliver one-to-one and small-group support. This is part of our National Tutoring Programme – a key pillar of the £1 billion Covid catch-up package. We cannot afford for our youngest children to lose out, which is why we are focused on improving early language skills for the Reception children who need it most, and especially those whose long-term outcomes have been affected by time out of education. I am looking forward to hearing about schools in the Great Yarmouth being part of this exciting project and learning how it has made a difference to our children's lives.