Most children in poor areas have already fallen behind in their development by the time they start primary school, it was revealed. The deficiency will result in under-achievement, unemployment, ill health – and an early death, experts have warned. And unless more effort is made to ensure that toddlers are encouraged to talk, play and read, the class gap will widen.
Almost 70 per cent of children in prosperous Solihull, West Midlands, have a good level of behaviour and understanding at the age of five. But in the poorest performing borough of Haringey, north London, this figure falls to just 42 per cent. This could leave children “blighted” for the next decade of their lives. And it is the starting point for a life on benefits, in poor housing and suffering from ill health.
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