Nursery World - New research supports call for 30 hours to be extended to vulnerable children

Vulnerable three- and four-year-olds who received 30 hours of free childcare in LEYF's nurseries, demonstrated improved communication and maths, reveals an analysis of the nursery group's programme.

LEYF are calling on the Government to provide 'urgent funding' to widen access to the 30 hours PHOTO Adobe Stock

LEYF is now calling for 'urgent reform' of the 30 hours, to open it up to children who are currently locked out of the policy because their families do not meet the earning threshold.

The research, commissioned by the nursery group, assessed the impact of offering vulnerable three- and four-year-olds, who are not entitled to the Government’s extended entitlement, up to 30 hours of childcare per week in 12 of its 39 nurseries.

It found that children who received 30 hours of learning demonstrated an average 8 per cent improvement in seven key areas within the EYFS.

LEYF is now calling on the Government and global investors to provide £165m of ‘urgent’ funding to ‘bridge’ the initial shortfall and widen access to the current 30 hours offer. Without this, it says that progress in closing attainment gaps will diminish, with potentially ‘devastating’ consequences for the 1.3 million children (aged under five) who live in poverty in the UK.

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