In a report out today, Professor Sir Michael Marmot says that it is ‘unacceptable’ that only half of all five-year-olds have a good level of development.
He also criticises the Government for changing the way it measures how well children are doing at the end of Reception, because it means it is not possible to compare the latest figures with previous data.
Just 52 per cent of children achieved a good level of development at the end of the EYFS in 2012/13, and this figure was just 36 per cent for those with free school meals.
Sir Michael has published updated data to his major review on health inequalities, Fair society, healthy lives, which was published in 2010, and in which he called for more investment in children's early years to tackle health inequality.
The latest report includes adapted and new indicators to take into account the coalition Government’s policies.
Sir Michael, director, University College London, Institute of Health Equity, said, ‘We continue to fail our children. How can this still be happening? For three years the Institute of Health Equity has published evidence showing we are failing our children.
‘It is unacceptable that only half of our five-year-olds are achieving a good level of development.
‘The answer is not for Government to keep changing the measure.
‘We need real action to improve the lives of families, support good parenting and improve access to good quality affordable early years services. The evidence is clear: we have to get it right at the start if individuals are to achieve the best possible health throughout their life.’
The latest report also reviews other information, including employment, wellbeing, life expectancy and income.
It shows that there has been deterioration in living standards since the 2010 Marmot Review, with the proportion of people living in households below the minimum-income standards rising from 3.8m to 4.7m between 2008/9 and 2011/12, equivalent to 23 per cent of families.
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said, ‘It is vital that all children, and particularly those from more disadvantaged backgrounds, are given the best possible start in life.
‘Research has clearly shown that high-quality early education has a positive impact on children’s long-term development - and yet, despite this, the early years sector has continued to endure significant funding shortfalls, while sustained government cuts have led to the closure of vital support services such as Sure Start children’s centres.
‘As highlighted by Sir Michael Marmot’s comments, the Government needs to do far more to support those children and families most in need. Substantial investment is required to support the provision of quality early years services and the delivery of targeted support and intervention, and we would urge the government to act on these concerns as a matter of priority.’
Emma Smale, head of policy and research at Action for Children, which runs more than 200 children's centres, said, 'We know from our experience of running children’s centres that they help children to develop physically, emotionally and socially in their crucial early years.
'To reach more of the families who need this support most, children’s centres have to be able to identify them. That’s why we are calling on the Government to give centres access to local birth data from the NHS.'
Commenting on the report, a Department for Education spokesperson said, ‘No child should start school behind their peers. This is why our plan for education is providing flexible, affordable and good quality childcare.
'We are raising the status and quality of the early years workforce by introducing rigorous new qualifications so practitioners are highly skilled and can help all children reach the expected level of development. Furthermore, we are investing £50m from April next year to extend the pupil premium to the early years.’
