As part of the Welsh Foundation Phase pilot, 2.5m will be given to local authorities in Wales from April for Foundation Phase Setting Support Teachers. All LEA-funded non-maintained settings will receive at least 10 per cent of a qualified teacher's time, equivalent to one half-day every week.
Ms Davidson said, 'In building the Foundation Phase Action Plan, I promised that we would invest more funds to ensure that all funded non-maintained settings would receive a minimum of 10 per cent teacher time.
'There is clear and unequivocal evidence from our evaluation of the Foundation Phase pilot that more input and support from teachers has a positive and significant effect on standards. I am sure that by providing for at least half a day a week, we will very quickly reap the benefits and see standards and quality rise.'
The funding follows a study of the Foundation Phase pilot published in January, which found that greater input from qualified teachers led to better results, particularly in meeting the learning needs of disadvantaged children. The report called for qualified teacher involvement in all settings.
Professor Iram Siraj-Blatchford of the Institute of Education, who led the study team, said of the funding, 'It's good news - although 10 per cent of a qualified teacher's time is less than what is required, it is an acknowledgement from the government that there is a need.
'It's a good start point, but not a good end point. A lot more money is needed. At the moment it's not clear where that money is going to come from, but we hope to see clarification on this in the next comprehensive spending review.'