Nursery World - Premature babies need extra help at school

More than half of all children born extremely prematurely need extra help at school, according to new research.

Babies are considered to be extremely premature if they are born at less than 26 weeks gestation.

The results come from the EPICure study, an ongoing research project established in 1995 to determine the chances of survival and health of babies born extremely prematurely. It found that out of 190 children who attended mainstream school, 57 per cent had Special Educational Needs and 55 per cent required SEN resource provision.

The study also found that compared with children carried to full term, extremely premature children scored significantly lower on IQ tests and core subjects, with one in three finding reading difficult and almost half struggling with mathematics.

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