Child of the North Ninth Report: Call for the government to revise preschool provision to improve outcomes for children 

The report, "An evidence-based approach to supporting children in the preschool years", is the ninth in a series of monthly Child of the North in collaboration with Centre for Young Lives. The report aims to support the Government in its ambitious vision for children and to show how putting the interests and life chances of children at the heart of policy making and delivery is crucial to Britain's future success. This report focuses on the need for a culture of connectivity across health sectors and education to support children in having the best start to life. 

The report will be formally announced and released today, the 4th of October, during a Healthier Together meeting where paediatricians, scientists and school leaders are meeting in Birmingham to discuss how practitioners can support the new government in its 'opportunity' mission. The meeting represents an unprecedented alliance across universities, health, education and care to support the new Government and create a step change in approaches to child health. Our director, Christian Bunting and EALC director Kathryn Loftus will be attending to represent Birth to 19, 50 Things to Do Before You're Five and our contribution to the end word of the report. 

The report sets out how high quality early years settings play a crucial role in supporting successful development in young children, including their language, social, emotional, and physical skills, and behaviour. Children are not prepared for school from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and as a result children's development has decreased significantly - "Children [are] arriving at Reception wearing nappies, still sitting in buggies, and unable to properly communicate or socialise with other children."

Statistics from the report reveal:

• In 2022/23, a third of children were not considered school ready, with 45% of children receiving Free School Meals not school ready. 
• Over half of children who were not school ready performed below expected in their Key Stage 1 reading assessment. 
• An analysis of children deemed not school ready shows that they were nearly 2.5 times more likely to be persistently absent from school than their peers. 
• Children who are not school ready are around three times more likely to be NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) by the ages of 16-17. 
• The percentage of school ready children varies across the country, from just 59% school readiness in Manchester to 84% in London. 

The report highlights how children from less affluent homes are more likely to enter education with poorly developed language abilities and children who enter school with poor oral language are at high risk of low educational attainment which, in turn, limits their later career opportunities. The report presents overwhelming evidence suggesting the health and education of a population are greatly influenced by the experiences of children before they enter the formal school system, and the compelling economic case for investing in the early years.

The report calls for:

•  Investment in Early Childhood Education Programmes that support the holistic needs of families in educational settings within the most disadvantaged areas. There is evidence to show that disadvantaged children who receive early educational intervention from infancy to the age of five have better cognitive and academic outcomes, including positive effects on children’s language, literacy, and socio-emotional development. These programmes can also help ensure access to comprehensive health and nutrition services for young children, including regular health screenings, immunisations, and nutrition assistance.
• Improvements and extended training opportunities for professionals and families. Evidence shows that home visits by trained professionals to first-time, low-income parents leads to better pre- and post-natal health, fewer childhood injuries, increased intervals between births, and improved school readiness. There is also good evidence to support the implementation of positive parenting programmes that provide a multi-level system of parenting and family support. These programmes have been shown to improve child behaviour and reduce parental stress and conflict, which benefits children's overall development.
• Connecting systems more effectively through shared information to provide more integrated support throughout a child’s educational journey. Public services, such as education, health, and social care, often work in silos. As a result, health information, for example health conditions, or birth factors that may facilitate earlier identification of problems, is rarely communicated directly to nurseries and preschools. Better sharing of information would connect public services, speeding up provision of support, and reducing structural inequalities. Collaborative working through improved information sharing would also allow professionals to develop practical and quick solutions to everyday issues and barriers that children may face. 

The report gives examples of innovative programmes already boosting children's school readiness, particularly prioritising children living in disadvantaged communities. The report spotlights our own 50 Things to Do Before You're Five as already working to achieve better outcomes for children from the start of life: 

‘50 Things To Do Before You’re Five is an initiative that provides ideas for fun, low or no-cost activities for families with young children that aim to help children develop the skills, language, and resilience needed for starting school and beyond. It can also be used by nurseries, childminders, schools, health teams, cultural settings, and community organisations, or by anyone who wants to improve outcomes for young children. The associated website and app are free for parents and practitioners. They provide details of each activity, including local links to parent groups, parks and green spaces, museums, and libraries. There are suggested age and stage-appropriate words and vocabulary to use in conversations during the activity to increase children’s vocabulary, adaptations that can be made if children have additional needs, and a list of related books. Parents have reported increased confidence in communicating more purposefully with their child during play. Other benefits are reported to include improved relationships with parents, and improved engagement and interactions between children and practitioners.'

Anne Longfield, Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives, said:

“This report provides affordable, realistic proposals and shares best practice that will support a new focus on transforming support for children and families. If we get it right, we can transform the life chances of millions of children.” 

 Professor Mark Mon Williams, Child of The North report series editor, said:

“The time has come for everyone throughout the UK, including politicians, to help nurture the next generation through their early years so our country can enjoy the benefits of a healthy and well educated population."

Dr Camilla Kingdon, Former President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said:

“The years leading up to starting school are fundamental to how a child transitions into education.  The data is telling us that far more needs to be done - especially in our more disadvantaged communities.  I am so delighted with this report and the examples, some of them really simple, of how we can turn our current situation around.  The loss of human capital cannot continue.  Our children deserve more - and we can do better.”  

Information about Child of the North/ Centre for Young Lives:

Child of the North is a partnership between the N8 Research Partnership and the Northern Health Science Alliance / Health Equity North and includes partners from across the North of England. Its vision is to develop a platform for collaboration, high-quality research, and policy engagement to support fairer futures for children living in the North of England. The N8 Research Partnership is a strategic collaboration between the universities of Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, and York, and aims to maximise the impact of this research base to enable business innovation and societal transformation. The N8 universities receive around 80% of competitively awarded research funding in the North of England, and employ more than 18,000 academic staff, forming the largest research-pooling partnership in the UK. N8 creates programmes involving a critical mass of world class academics which form networks of innovation excellence with partners in other sectors, to drive investment and economic growth.

To read the full report, click here.