Can Starmer help get children ‘school ready’?

It takes a lot of effort for ‘Johnny’ to take off his coat every morning when he joins his reception class. That’s because his teacher or a teaching assistant have to help the five year old pull his arms out from the sleeves of his duffel coat. Johnny is not disabled in any way; he simply was never taught how to dress himself.

‘School readiness’ is a catch-all term for some alarming failures. Children who are not toilet trained, who don’t know how to hold a spoon, who can’t sit still. Some can’t articulate properly because at home they are not talked to enough. Others come to school smelling so badly, teachers are spending on average £27 of their own money to buy hygiene products for their charges.

Teachers are at their wits’ end: they know that unless things improve their pupils’ outcomes will be compromised.