Giving every child the best start in life.

Starting school is a huge milestone not just for children, but for families, pre-school settings, schools, and Local Authorities too. The government’s Best Start for Life programme sets out an ambitious vision: improving children’s development, reducing inequalities, and making sure no child gets left behind.

Every child should have the opportunity to grow, play, learn and thrive. However, for too many children, their opportunities are limited by their background. That is why this government has set a mission: to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child.

The case for preschool intervention has been very well researched, for example, in the Education Equity For The North Of England: Challenges & Opportunities report which stated that

Failing to close the school readiness gap risks entrenching cycles of disadvantage across generations.

This understanding is of the long-term benefits of quality pre-school education is echoed in the Best Start to Life report which states that

The benefit of attending high-quality early education and childcare for at least 2 years is equivalent to gaining a higher grade in around 7 GCSEs.

What is most worrying is that

Children from low-income families are more likely to be missing basic developmental milestones. By age 5, these children on average are almost 5 months behind their peers in development.

Unfortunately

This developmental gap continues to grow, and by the time they take their GCSEs at age 16, they are on average 19 months behind.

In her foreword the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson notes that

We want to see health, children’s and family services, nurseries, childminders, schools, charities, and businesses connecting and collaborating to deliver this shared mission.

This emphasis on collaboration was highlighted in the study Birth to 5 Matters, 2021. They noted that

Transitions are opportunities for professional dialogue between settings, as well as with the home.

And that

Moving from feeling known to feeling unknown can raise insecurities about having entitlements and needs met.

This approach has been taken by Tameside in Greater Manchester. They wanted a consistent and reliable approach to nursery to primary school transition to ensure no child would arrive at school without the support they needed in place.

They therefore used Pupil Pathways’ StepIntoSchool, the digital infrastructure to support smooth transitions into reception

Early Years Consultant Penny Greenwood at Tameside and her team noted that there were five key benefits to using this solution. These were

A single, centralised space to store and review all transition information
Flexibility to update records right up to the September start
Stronger lines of accountability and communication between settings and schools
Secure, GDPR-compliant transfer of sensitive data
Better preparation for children with additional needs

The Best Start for Life programme is about giving every child the strongest possible foundation. But to deliver on that ambition, authorities need the right tools to connect providers, and schools and to prove the difference funding is making.

StepIntoSchool is one of those tools. It ensures every child arrives at school ready to succeed, and every Local Authority can show the impact of its Best Start investment.

Please use our contact form to see how we could help you ensure the Best start in life for all your children and that no learner is left behind.