04.02.14
Two-year olds could have places at school nurseries
School nurseries should extend their opening hours and accommodate children as young as two years old, childcare minister Liz Truss has suggested.
She is writing to local authorities to urge them to explore how to increase access to childcare, and help parents back into part-time employment. In September the government will introduce legislation to allow school nurseries to accept two year olds.
Currently, schools must register with Ofsted before taking in this age group.
Truss told the Daily Telegraph: “Schools have excellent facilities. It is age appropriate, so what you are doing with two-year-olds in terms of singing, reading stories, playing with paint is very different from what you do with a seven-year-old.
“If you have a really high-quality school nursery, children who are behind can catch up with their peers by the time they start school.
“Many parents would prefer longer days rather than five short bursts during the week. If you're working part-time, you could have two sessions of seven and a half hours, or three sessions of five hours. It gives much more flexibility."
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