Nursery World - 'Redirect funding to the early years'

Public spending should be redirected to the early years and away from universities and adult training, a think-tank urged last week. A report by the Social Market Foundation (SMF) called for savings to be made in further and higher education to tip the balance of public spending more in favour of the under-fives.

A report by the Social Market Foundation (SMF) called for savings to be made in further and higher education to tip the balance of public spending more in favour of the under-fives.

A failure to invest enough money early on in children's lives could mean the education system will fail nearly half of all young people, the report claims.

The report, Too Much, Too Late, is the final study in the SMF's early years and life chances research project. It recommends that the Government should:

* raise the current 3,000 cap on student tuition fees

* introduce cheaper work-based training programmes for low-skilled adults

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