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<p><del class="ministerial">We recognise the vital importance of early intervention,
particularly for the most disadvantaged members of society and the crucial role played
by education and children’s services in promoting good outcomes for children and families.
The latest Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results available at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-results-2014-to-2015"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-results-2014-to-2015</a>
show that the proportion of children achieving a good level of development in relation
to the most deprived areas, SEN, free school meal eligibility, term of birth, first
language and ethnicity is improving. The proportion of children eligible for FSM has
increased from 45% in 2014 to 51% in 2015 and the gap between FSM and other children
has narrowed from 18.9 percentage points in 2014 to 17.7 in 2015</del></p><p><ins
class="ministerial">We are concerned that some parents of summer born children either
feel forced to send their children to school before they are ready, and before compulsory
school age, or risk missing the reception year at school where the essential teaching
of early reading and arithmetic takes place.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Subject
to parliamentary approval, we have therefore decided to amend the School Admissions
Code to ensure that summer born children can be admitted to the reception class at
the age of five, where this is what their parents want, and can remain with that cohort
as they progress through school, including through to secondary school. We will conduct
a full public consultation in due course. </ins><br /><ins class="ministerial">I recently
set out this policy intent in an open letter to parents, schools and local authorities.
The letter is available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-born-children-nick-gibbs-letter-about-school-admissions.</ins></p>
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