The Education Secretary Damian Hinds has announced £5m funding for the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to trial projects that support parents to help improve their children’s early language and literacy skills at home before they start school.
The EEF will fund different projects that provide practical tools and advice to parents so they can help their children learn new words through simple steps like reading and singing nursery rhymes.
Too many children arrive at school struggling with language and social skills, putting them at a disadvantage when they begin their formal education and making it harder for them to master the fundamentals of reading that other children take for granted.
The new fund aims to build the confidence of parents to support their children in language and reading at an early stage. This has been shown to help close the so-called ‘word gap’ – the gap in communication skills between disadvantaged children and their peers when they start school.
The EEF will trial projects in the north of England, looking at what works best in improving children’s communication skills at home before they begin school.
The funding round will open in May. Details will be advertised on the Apply for funding section of our website; or sign up to our email news alerts to be notified when this round opens.
Sir Kevan Collins, CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: