“Socio-emotional skills are important not just in the workplace but for forming strong and successful relationships in all areas of life, and the inequalities identified in this report are concerning.
“We agree that more needs to be done to support the social and emotional development of all children from a young age. Improving access to early years education is key to closing the disadvantage gap, and this will require an uplift in funding and staffing levels. Creating a long-term workforce strategy for the early years sector, as suggested in this report, would be a good place to start.
“We also agree with the need for targeted funding for disadvantaged pupils in 16-19 education. We have long called for reform of the pupil premium to provide funding for disadvantaged 16 to 19 year-olds which matches that for younger pupils. Educational inequalities do not disappear at this age, and this should be reflected in funding levels to ensure schools and colleges are able to support all students as they prepare to enter the workplace or engage in further study.”