Liverpool City Council was one of the local authorities chosen by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to extend the 12.5 hours of free nursery education to two-year-olds in 2005. Since then it has reached 1,300 children and their families.
Jan Gallagher, principal officer of the childcare and family information service, led the pilot's strategy. She said, 'The criteria was broad and either family-focused or child-focused - children who had speech and language problems or delayed development, or where the family were at a disadvantage, such as having disability, drug and alcohol abuse, or mental health problems.
'Communication difficulties were one of the main reasons for referral. We identified this as an issue and created listening packs in response.'
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