The DfE has announced a package of support aimed at boosting social mobility in the early years. Covering three domains of the home learning environment, early years settings and local services (and worth £100 million), it is not insignificant.
But while it makes sense to focus on those three domains, I’m unconvinced that all of the activities and interventions underpinning this package are rooted in the best available evidence.
Arguably, the most promising intervention is the commitment to train 3,000 early years practitioners to support children’s development in language, literacy and numeracy. Not only is the focus on upskilling the workforce welcome, but there is also funding set aside for evaluation so that we can learn about the effectiveness of the programme. Along with additional funding for EEF trials, there is opportunity here to continue to build the evidence of what does and doesn’t work.
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