Bath Lib Dems have welcomed news that nurseries, childminders and early years providers are set for a £109,157 cash injection to help three and four-year-olds from disadvantaged families.
Children from low income families have often fallen behind more well off classmates before they even start school.
But from April 2015, the Early Years Pupil Premium – which has been backed by groups like Barnados, 4Children and the Child Poverty Action Group – will mean extra money to make sure every child gets a fair start.
Bath MP, Don Foster said: “By investing over £100,000, in Bath and North East Somerset, to help the most disadvantaged three and four-year-olds, Liberal Democrats are continuing to ensure that children in our area are getting the best possible start in life.”
Nurseries and schools will be free to choose how to spend the money, which is part of a £50m Government pot.
Steve Bradley, Lib Dem PPC for Bath, commented: “The earliest years are the most important in a child’s life. Parents know how quickly children change and grow in their first few years, and how formative that experience is. Every child deserves the best possible chance we can give them.”
This builds on the announcement last autumn that pupils at over twenty schools in Bath will benefit from close to an extra £1 million on top of the school budget thanks to the Liberal Democrat Pupil Premium.
Commenting further, Wera Hobhouse, Lib Dem PPC for North East Somerset: “This is a big step forward and will be very welcome in communities like Radstock, Paulton and Keynsham. As a teacher and parent myself, I know how crucial the early years in a child’s development are.
“Children who fall behind at this stage find it almost impossible to catch up later. This is why the extra money particularly targeted at children from less well-off families is so important and I am delighted that Lib Dems in government are properly committed to all our children’s future.”
It comes on top of Lib Dem-led changes in Government to help families, which include shared parental leave, tax free childcare, Free School Meals, and a pupil premium for school age children.
Dine Romero, Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children and Youth at Bath and North East Somerset Council said: “The Lib Dem commitment to children and families through free schools meals, free child care, massive investment in B&NES schools including new kitchens and classrooms will see children given the chance they deserve.”
