Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of the report, Implications of COVID for Early Childhood Education and Care in England, published in June 2022, that speech and language delays were reported across all age groups as children had fewer opportunities to develop their communication skills at home.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The government recognises the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on early childhood education and speech and language development. The department is investing up to £180 million of recovery support in the early years sector to build a stronger, more expert workforce. This will enable settings to deliver high-quality teaching and help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the youngest children, particularly those in the most disadvantaged areas. This includes up to £17 million on the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), improving the language skills of reception-age children who need it most. Two-thirds of primary schools have signed up for the programme. The department estimates that the programme will reach around 90,000 children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This also includes funding to train early years practitioners to support parents with the home learning environment, as part of the family hubs programme. Priority will be given to the families who will benefit most. Improving the home learning environment offers the opportunity to improve children’s cognitive skills and future attainment. The department wants to encourage parents to chat, play and read more with their children, in and around the home.

The department has provided £10.7 million in grant funding to existing early years voluntary and community sector partners to support disadvantaged children’s early literacy and language development, including support for early years special educational needs and disabilities.

In addition, the department reformed the early years foundation stage statutory framework. These reforms will serve as an important platform to support COVID-19 recovery, particularly supporting children from disadvantaged backgrounds who will have been disproportionately impacted.