PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Pre-school Education: Coronavirus (6 July 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle the impact of lost teaching time for children in early years education and (b) ensure that the most disadvantaged children are prioritised.

Asked by:
Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

Levelling up outcomes for disadvantaged children has long been a priority for government. That is why we have committed to reforms to the Early Years Foundation Stage, launched the Hungry Little Minds campaign, and since 2018, have committed more than £60 million to programmes to improve early language and literacy.

The most effective intervention government can take to address the impact of COVID-19 on early outcomes is to get children back into their nurseries.

Since 1 June, early years settings have been able to welcome back children of all ages. We want to ensure councils and early years providers are able to get children back into settings as quickly as possible, where they can be fully supported during this crucial period for their development. From 20 July, restrictions on group sizes will be lifted to enable nurseries to operate full capacity again. We will work with the sector to explore how best to continue to support children’s early development.

Answered by:
Vicky Ford (Conservative)
14 July 2020