Children are arriving at school still wearing nappies, using buggies and unable to communicate properly with their classmates, the former children’s commissioner for England has said.
Anne Longfield warned that too many young children are being “held back” as they are not receiving the support needed to boost their “school readiness”.
The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated many early years developmental problems – especially for vulnerable children, according to the report from her Centre for Young Lives think tank and the Child of the North.
It suggested that around a third of children were not considered to be “school ready” in 2022/23.
The report – which warns of a “crisis” in preschool provision – calls on the Government to implement positive parenting programmes and home visits by trained professionals to increase support to families.
Ms Longfield, executive chair of the Centre for Young Lives, said: “I have heard many concerning experiences from school staff about children arriving at Reception wearing nappies, still using buggies, and unable to communicate at the expected level or to socialise with other children.
“Some of these children have developmental problems, struggle with speech and behaviour, and can require significant extra attention and support from already overstretched schools.”
The report warned that a “widened” language gap between children from more and less advantaged communities since the pandemic could hinder an entire generation of young people.
Schools and nurseries have “high levels of concern” around speech and language, with significant numbers of children below age-related expectations at the end of Reception, it said.
The research – which looked at Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) data on five-year-olds’ development in England – suggested that 72% of pupils who were not eligible for free school meals (FSM) were “school ready” in 2022/23, compared to just 52% of FSM-eligible children.
It highlighted the postcode lottery of school readiness, with just 59% of children in Manchester “school ready” compared to 84% in London.
Children deemed not school ready are more likely to be persistently absent from class than their peers, and more likely to be NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) by the ages of 16-17, according to a recent analysis.
The report has called on the Government to act to “prevent a downward spiral from poor spoken language through poor literacy and numeracy to longer-term effects” on their lives as adults.
Last week, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the early years was her “first priority” as she announced that extra childcare places in school-based nurseries will be available from next year to help deliver the expansion of Government-funded childcare.
Working parents of all children older than nine months in England are now able to access 15 hours of funded childcare, before the full roll-out of 30 hours a week to all eligible families in September 2025.
Ms Longfield added: “The Government’s commitment to 300 new state nurseries is an opportunity for schools and communities in disadvantaged areas to tackle these problems head on by establishing new early years support to boost children’s development and tackle poverty by providing childcare support to help parents work.
“None of these problems will fix themselves. Our preschool system is disjointed, is struggling with a recruitment and retention crisis, and has been historically underfunded.”
Judy Clegg, professor of speech and language therapy at the University of Sheffield, said: “Many children are starting school without the speech, language, and communication skills they need to begin learning.
“Urgent action is required to provide support, so every child can listen, talk, and engage with others—skills essential for thriving in the classroom, learning to read, making friends, and succeeding in school.
“Increased funding for health and early years education to collaborate effectively is crucial and expanding speech and language therapy services is vital to ensuring no child is left behind.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “The disruption caused by the pandemic undoubtedly had an impact on the development of some young children, and many school leaders have reported concerns around speech and language development in particular.
“High-quality early years education is one of the nearest things we have to a silver bullet in education, and is vital in helping to narrow the gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers.
“It is therefore positive that the new Government has made clear that early years is among its top priorities, and it will be important that policies like expanding nursery provision and improved access to childcare are supported by the necessary funding and investment in the workforce.
“We would also like to see crucial support services rebuilt so that young children receive the support they need as early as possible.”
A Government source said: “This is yet another example of the trail of devastation the Conservatives left across education.
“This report will make tough reading for the Tories, who should be doing some soul searching. Instead, they spent their conference bashing maternity pay and defending Liz Truss’ disastrous mini-budget.
“This Labour government is focused on fixing the foundations and rebuilding Britain, beginning the work of rolling out school-based nurseries, implementing early speech and language interventions, and driving forward the child poverty taskforce.”
