Department of Education figures released this week show that Greater Manchester has closed the educational equality gap between the most disadvantaged children in the city-region, and the rest of the country thanks to reforms of the local early years services.
56% of children from disadvantaged backgrounds (defined as those eligible for free school meals) now start school “ready to learn” – a 4 per cent increase on the 2015/16 figures, equivalent to 250 children. School readiness and deprivation show a strong correlation, so these figures are particularly positive given the relatively higher levels of deprivation in the city-region compared to the rest of the UK.
Criteria defining whether a child is school-ready include their health and physical well-being, language and communication skills, social and emotional development and cognitive and general knowledge.
Greater Manchester now looks to close the educational equality gap for all children, and exceed the national average for these figures in the next two years.
Greater Manchester’s progress was unveiled at an event to showcase the innovative work being done to reduce the educational equality gap through speech, language and communication initiatives through a £1.5 million Department of Education funded programme Pathways to Talking.
Speaking at the event at the AJ Bell Stadium in Salford, Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said:
Greater Manchester continues to lead the way in tackling the issue of school readiness, working together innovatively and doing things differently to make sure no child is left behind.
“The positive impact of this work on families and children across Greater Manchester cannot be underestimated. That we have now closed the gap between children from our most disadvantaged communities and the rest of the country is testament to the pioneering reforms of our early years provision here in Greater Manchester. I’m confident that we are heading in the right direction, and I hope it spurs everyone to go further and faster.
“Speech, language and communication is a particular focus of our school readiness work, because we know that if the first three years of a child’s life aren’t filled with sound and language, they will struggle to thrive in later life. However, we also know that with the right support, children can catch up and through the Pathways to Talking programme we are making significant strides.”