91����

Every child deserves the same opportunity to flourish. But in England today, that opportunity remains deeply unequal.

reveals that in 2025, the disadvantage gap (the difference in attainment between disadvantaged children and their peers) reached the equivalent of 4.9 months of learning at age 5 - its widest point since 2014 - while also growing at the end of key stage 4. This means that before children have even finished Reception year, those from disadvantaged backgrounds are already well behind their peers.

This early inequality is a systemic, nationwide issue that can - and does - shape a child’s educational journey. In 2025, early disadvantage gaps were , and, in every one of England’s 153 local authorities, those gaps widened between ages 5 and 16.

has shown that once disadvantaged pupils fall behind, it becomes increasingly hard for them to catch up. The gap now doubles to around 10 months , and at least 40 per cent of this is already entrenched by age 5.

Against this backdrop, the government has set an ambitious and welcome target: for .

The disadvantage gap in early years

On the surface, raising overall development standards is a commendable goal. However, with a large and widening disadvantage gap at age 5, we must ask the question: who will actually make up that 75 per cent?

There is a that hitting this national target will rely on the progress of non-disadvantaged children, alongside those without vulnerabilities such as special educational needs and disabilities.

Crucially, we know that disadvantage and SEND are closely intertwined: to the disadvantage gap at age 5. Moreover, disadvantaged children are more likely to be identified with SEND, and early attainment gaps for children with SEND are even wider than the disadvantage gap. For children starting school with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) in 2025, the attainment gap at age 5 is now at its highest level on record, .

If overall good level of development improves but the most vulnerable children are left behind, achieving this 75 per cent target could come at the cost of a growing divide in early development and school readiness.

To close this divide, we must look to the most effective intervention available: high-quality early years settings. has long shown that children attending these settings gain the early experiences needed to transition successfully into school and have as they progress through the system.

Early years education, underpinned by child-centred care, open-ended play and holistic learning, is among the most powerful tools to , especially for children from .

It’s not always about starting early with maths and English; it’s about starting children on a path of learning that prioritises their whole development as the building blocks for later academic achievement.

Unequal access to EYFS settings

Yet access to early years education is remarkably unequal. Over time, , increasingly prioritising working families to the detriment of children in disadvantaged families with parents out of work.

Currently, working parents can access 30 hours of funded childcare from when their child is nine months old. But children in disadvantaged households - those who stand to benefit the most from early years settings - must wait until they are aged 2 to access just 15 hours.

The secretary of state has recently signalled her intent to address this imbalance, which is a necessary and welcome step. Funding must be equalised so that families on the lowest incomes are able to access as much early years education as possible. Without levelling the playing field, the early disadvantage gap we see in 2025 is in danger of widening further.

Importantly, as the government works to expand access, it should avoid relying on poorer-quality providers to do so. High-quality early years provision makes the biggest difference for disadvantaged children, yet their families can be by bureaucratic applications, top-up fees and providers favouring privately funded places.

While the is another welcome step, systematic improvement is needed to simplify the current system and ensure that entitlements fully cover the costs of funded places. This will go some way to prevent a two-tier market where the most vulnerable children are pushed into the lower-quality settings.

To tackle the disadvantage gap at its root, we must be bold. As the Secretary of State herself recently acknowledged, we have “reached the limit of what we can achieve with the current system.” We’re not going to achieve the government’s ambitious targets for halving the gap, without investment and policy reform that matches up to the challenges the system faces.

By directing resources to where they have the greatest impact, we can disrupt the cycle of disadvantage before it truly begins and fundamentally improve a child’s long-term educational journey.

Maxime Perrott is a researcher at the Education Policy Institute

��