Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of early interventions in the early years sector.

The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life by strengthening early intervention, supporting families to engage in play and communication, and enhancing the home learning environment. Our Plan for Change includes a national target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028 and increase school readiness.

There is strong evidence that the first 1,001 days, from conception to age two, are critical for a child’s cognitive, emotional and physical development. Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, we are supporting families with joined-up services across health, education and early years. This includes support for infant feeding, perinatal mental health, parenting, early language development and the home learning environment.

As announced in last month’s Spending Review, the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, ensuring more families across the country can access high quality, integrated support to give their children the best start in life.

In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings. Our Little Moments Together campaign provides free, accessible resources that encourage parents to chat, play and read with their children.

For school-age children, we continue to promote parental engagement in reading and learning at home, recognising the importance of sustained support throughout a child’s educational journey.