Today we are publishing next year’s local authority allocations for the early education programme for two-year-olds from low-income families. From September next year, 130,000 two-year-olds will be able to receive 15 hours a week of early education, rising to 260,000 two-year-olds the year after. Councils now know how much funding they have to deliver this vitally important programme.
It is important that funding for two-year-olds, as well as three- and four-year-olds, reaches the front line. All the evidence shows that it is the quality of staff that matters most in getting young children ready for school and closing the educational gap between children from rich and poor backgrounds. So providers must be given the resources they need to recruit and retain talented people and to improve the skills of their existing staff.
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