Lord Field of Birkenhead
Main Page: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Field of Birkenhead's debates with the Department for Education
Secondary Education
Lord Field of Birkenhead Excerpts(11 years, 10 months ago)
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Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead) (Lab)
Given that the Secretary of State is rightly concerned to ensure that no children fail, why is he so obsessed with schools? All the evidence points to the idea that perhaps at three years old, but certainly by the time they enter school, their life chances are determined. Might one invite him to be equally obsessive about the foundation years as he is about schools?
Michael Gove
I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for the point that he makes. Absolutely: we believe in intervening as early as possible, which is why we have extended the number of hours of pre-school learning that we offer, particularly to disadvantaged children. More can be done, however, and we are reforming the early years foundation stage. The Minister of State, Department for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Brent Central (Sarah Teather), who has responsibility for children and families, is doing fantastic work in that area, and I look forward to working with the right hon. Gentleman to do more.