The Government is proposing to extend nursery education to two-year-olds, because it says the most vulnerable children start school at such a disadvantage that more nursery schooling might help them.
In France around 35 per cent of two-year-olds already attend nursery school, or ecoles maternelles. A recent study by French economists Dominique Goux and Eric Maurin shows conclusively that children who attend school aged two have similar results to other children on maths and French tests at age eight, and there are no differences in the staying-on rates aged 16 - there are no discernible harmful effects of starting school early. But it does make a big difference to mothers. Significantly more single parents work if their two-year-olds go to school.
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