Just a few examples of why the early years matter now, and for children's futures

Sharing some information I pulled together for our Teaching School Alliance about the long-term benefits of high quality early education:

• one in four children who struggled with language at age five did not reach the expected standard in English at the end of primary school - compared with one in 25 children who had good language skills at age five (Save the Children)
• one in five children who struggled with language at age five did not reach the expected standard in maths at the end of primary school - compared with one in 50 children who had good language skills at age five (Save the Children)
• The benefit of experiencing high quality early education equate to 41 more points at GCSE, the equivalent to gaining seven B grades at GCSE, rather than seven C grades (DFE Research: The EPPSE Project)
• 94% of children who achieve a good level of development at age 5 go on to achieve the expected levels for reading at Key Stage 1. They are 5 times more likely to achieve the highest level. (DFE research)
• Pupils who start off in the bottom 20% of attainment at age 5 are six times more likely to be in the bottom 20% at Key Stage 1 compared to their peers (DFE research)