Call to help disadvantaged five-year-olds with language and speech
EDUCATION LEADERS in Yorkshire have called for the most disadvantaged pupils to be prioritised in the Government’s early years multi-million support package for language and speech.
The call comes after the Department of Education announced that £9m will be made available for reception-age children to improve speaking and language skills as these pupils’ education has been disrupted by Covid-19 at a crucial time of their development.
The programme, known as the Nuffield Early Language Intervention, will provide schools with training and resources, helping them deliver one-to-one and small group support for fiveyear-olds whose spoken language skills may have suffered as a result of the pandemic.
Samantha Twiselton, deputy for the Doncaster opportunity area, one of three Yorkshire priority areas, alongside Bradford and the North Yorkshire Coast, said a concerted effort was needed to prioritise the most disadvantaged pupils particularly those in northern schools, to tackle an education system that has been beset with inequalities based on region.
She told The Yorkshire Post: “I absolutely think more of the £9m should be distributed across the North.
“The opportunity areas are only ever small regional examples of poverty and disadvantage which is much more widespread in Yorkshire and the North than opportunity areas in the South.
“It sounds like a lot of money... but I can’t see how this can be a comprehensive offer that gets to every child who really needs it. We want it targeted on the children and the areas that need it the most.”
Anne Marie Canning, the chair for the Bradford opportunity area, added: “It is absolutely vital we get these programmes into the communities that need it the most and working really effectively.”
Children’s Minister Vicky Ford said: “We cannot afford for our youngest children to lose out, which is why this package of support is focused on improving early language skills for the reception children who need it most.”