Nursery School Pic: Wikimedia Commons
Lewisham leads the country for pre-school education, according to a report by the Department of Education.
The findings published on October 13 revealed that 77.7 per cent of children from birth to five years old in the east London borough had received a ‘good level of development’.
Councillor Paul Maslin, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People in Lewisham, said: “This is a fantastic achievement. These brilliant results clearly show the dedication of early years professionals working across the borough to ensure the very best start in education for our youngest residents.”
Within EastLondonLines boroughs, Croydon had 73.7 per cent, Hackney had 68.2 per cent and Tower Hamlets had 59.9 per cent of their nursery children scoring well according to standards set by early years foundation stage (EYFS).
The boroughs of Lewisham, Croydon and Hackney outperformed the national average of 66.3 per cent and the inner London average of 67.7 per cent, with only Tower Hamlets being below average in both.
This is based on assessments conducted by EYFS according to specific standards of learning when a child turns five years of age.
The guidelines include literacy, communication, physical ,and social and emotional development.
Maslin added: “The importance of these results cannot be underestimated – when children do well early in life it sets a pattern of lifelong learning and achievement so that every child has the very best start in life and the chance to go on to achieve great things.”