The research estimates that around 106,000 five-year-olds in England in a single year group did not meet the expected level of literacy, but could have achieved the expected standard if provided with the right support early on.
It has been carried out by Pro Bono Economics (PBE) and commissioned by KPMG UK in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust.
It comes as the National Literacy Trust launches its new five-year campaign, Early Words Matter, which offers early support to 250,000 children in the most disadvantaged areas of the country, while also raising awareness of the critical role the early years play in social mobility.
The campaign calls on the Government and the business community to commit to working together to provide better early years support to families from disadvantaged communities.
The PBE report found that insufficient literacy skills support early on will generate economic costs of around £830mn over the lifetimes of each year group of five-year-olds, or £7,800 per child on average.
Economic costs were found to be particularly high in areas with greater deprivation. Across Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester where more than a quarter of five-year-olds have low levels of literacy, the total lifetime economic cost of five-year-olds not meeting the expected standard for literacy is around £30mn for each school reception year group, says the report.
It warns these costs are expected to increase without action, as the number of children impacted is likely to have grown in recent years.
'This research confirms the dire need for immediate intervention'.
Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of the National Literacy Trust, said, ‘We know that experiencing poverty has a huge effect on a child’s early communication, language and literacy skills, and that this will have consequences for their learning, their confidence, their wellbeing, and their ability to thrive for the rest of their lives.
‘This research confirms the dire need for immediate intervention and the National Literacy Trust’s pioneering early years campaign. We are urgently calling on both the Government and the business community to commit to supporting our campaign to reach 250,000 young children in the next five years with flagship programmes and local community outreach in areas worst hit by poverty and the cost-of-living crisis.’
