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Inquiry into impact of early education launches
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May 9, 2018By Rachel Lawler
An inquiry into the impact of the early years of a child's life on their future life chances has launched.
Early education impact
Set up by the parliamentary education committee, the inquiry will focus on the effect of early years education and social policy on children in the long-term, while examining current government policy.
Early intervention
Robert Halfon MP, chair of the education committee, said: 鈥淩esearch indicates that children who start school with poor language skills are six times more likely to struggle with reading and 11 times more likely to struggle with maths at the age of 11.
鈥淲hile home and family life are the biggest influence on a child鈥檚 language and skills development in their early years, high quality early years education can have a major impact in helping even the most disadvantaged children to compete with their better-off peers.鈥
"Inequalities in children's life chances sadly often depend on where they live. In this postcode lotery, some children will benefit from schools and health support services who co-ordinate their work effectively and help to deliver great results. Unfortunately, in other areas this won't be the case and childern will not get the support they deserve.
"The education committee is dedicated to promoting social justice and ensuring that all children have the best life chances must be a vital part of this objective. As a committee, we are determined that our inquiry will recommend practical proposals to ensure that all children have the chance to reach and climb the ladder of opportunity and succeed in their lives ahead."
Evidence invitation
The committee is inviting written evidence on: the role of quality early years education; the importance of support for parents and families and integration with other services; and the importance of communication skills and language development.
The committee is inviting written evidence on: the role of quality early years education; the importance of support for parents and families and integration with other services; and the importance of communication skills and language development.
The Life Chances inquiry will be taking submissions until Friday 1 June 2018. Find out more and submit evidence .
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