Thrive at Five: Comparative child development at school-entry age
Children who grow up in poverty are arriving at primary school with development levels far behind those of their more affluent peers. Save the Children commissioned Scotcen Social Research to analyse data from the Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) study in order to compare the developmental health of children at school-entry age from different backgrounds. This report draws out some of the key findings of that work with a focus on the differences in development between children who grow up in poverty and their peers.
The analysis has revealed that children from deprived backgrounds are more likely to do significantly worse than other children across a number of key developmental indicators: physical well-being, social skills, emotional health, cognitive ability, and communication skills.
These are all crucial factors in a child’s performance at school and future well-being. There is a direct link between the development gap that emerges in the pre-school years and the later underachievement at school of pupils who grow up in poverty. Ultimately, the consequences of this developmental gap are found in the lack of future opportunities of children in poverty.
These children are less likely to do well at school, gain good qualifications, and find the well-paid, stable employment required to find a route out of poverty. They are more likely to remain mired in poverty in adulthood, increasing the likelihood that their own children will be born into deprivation.
Published : 31st December 2012
Publisher : Save the Children [ More From This Publisher ]
Rights : Save the Children
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