Good early language development is a key factor for a child’s future success. ECaT supports early intervention, improves practice and involves parents in the process of creating positive outcomes and life chances for children and young people.
1.4 Explain why strategic direction from national and local policy is required to address factors impacting on outcomes and life chances for children and young people.
Strategic direction from national and local policy is required to ensure every young child gets the early intervention that they need and enable change.
3.8 million children are currently living in poverty in the UK, one area in particular that is affected by this is education. By the time they start school, many poor children are already lagging behind, this can continue throughout their whole education.
The Child Poverty Action Group states:
• children from poorer backgrounds lag at all stages of education
• by the age of three, poorer children are estimated to be, on average, nine months behind children from more wealthy backgrounds
• by the end of primary school, pupils receiving free school meals are estimated to be almost three terms behind their peers
• by 14, this gap grows to over five terms
• by 16, children receiving free school meals achieve 1.7 grades lower at GCSE
The top 20 parliamentary constituencies for child poverty in the UK are: 1. Manchester Central (47% of children in poverty)
2. Belfast West (43%)
3. Glasgow North East (43%)
4. Birmingham, Ladywood (42%)
5. Bethnal Green and Bow (42%)
6. Liverpool,