More two-year-olds from poorest homes to get free nursery places

Around 260,000 youngsters from the poorest families are to receive the help Chancellor George Osborne announced yesterday.

The statement comes just two weeks after the Department for Education (DfE) published proposals for up to 140,000 two-year-olds from poor homes to benefit from plans to extend free nursery education.

In his Autumn Statement, Mr Osborne said that education was the way to change the life chances of the poorest youngsters and take them out of poverty.

“To ensure that children born into the poorest families have a real chance to become one of those graduates, we will take further steps to improve early education,” he said.

He said he planned to double the number of children who would receive free nursery care.

“Forty per cent of two-year-olds, 260,000 children, from the most disadvantaged families, will get this support in their early years,” he said.

“Education. Early years learning. That is how you change the life chances of our least well off - and genuinely lift children out of poverty.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg first announced plans to give two-year-olds from poor homes 15 hours of free early education in October last year.

All three and four-year-olds in England are currently eligible for this amount.

Mr Osborne’s statement also confirmed plans, originally announced at the weekend, to spend £600m on schools funding, some of which will focus on maths for 16 to 18-year-olds.

“This will give our most talented young mathematicians the chance to flourish,” Mr Osborne said.

It also includes plans to create an extra 100 free schools,

These flagship schools are a key education reform of the Government.

Ministers have encouraged parents, teachers, faith groups and successful existing schools to apply to set up new state-funded schools if they can prove their is parental demand in their area.

Yorkshire has been at the forefront of the free school movement with three already opened in Batley and Bradford and seven more planned new free schools given initial approval in Birkenshaw, Bradford, Hull, Leeds and Rotherham.