Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a national public awareness campaign on (a) the role of early years education in child development and (b) its wider economic impact.

Ensuring every child has the best start in life is at the heart of this government’s Plan for Change. This is why we are expanding childcare and providing parents with support and information to help their child’s development.

Children attending high quality early education for at least two years gain the equivalent of a higher grade in around seven GCSEs. For parents, particularly women, improved access to childcare enables employment, boosting family income and the wider economy. The Office for Budget Responsibility projects that by 2027/28, around 60,000 parents will enter employment as a result, with an equivalent effect from 1.5 million mothers already in work increasing their hours.

The government is introducing a new Best Start in Life awareness campaign which will support improved outcomes for children and help achieve our goal of 75% of children reaching a good level of development by 2028.

This campaign provides trusted advice for parents and carers from pregnancy through to starting school, covering healthy pregnancy, infant feeding, childcare, home learning, and school preparation which can be found here: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/. Communications activity will continue throughout the autumn.