Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the poorest children start primary school with a good level of development.

We want all children, regardless of their background, to have the best possible start in life and to have access to high quality early education and childcare to prepare them for school.

The results from the 2016 Early Years Foundation Stage Profile show that 54% of children with free school meal eligibility achieved a good level of development in their reception year, compared to 72% of all other children. This gap has continued to narrow year on year - from 19.0 percentage points in 2013 to 17.3 percentage points in 2016.

However we know there is more to do, and that is why social mobility is at the heart of the Government’s agenda, and why we are investing a record amount in childcare - £6 billion per year by the end of this Parliament.

During the last Parliament we extended our offer of 15 hours a week of free early education to the 40% most disadvantaged 2-year olds, and introduced the Early Years Pupil Premium - worth £300 per year per eligible child - to help providers close the gap between disadvantaged 3- and 4-year olds and their peers.