Half of three and four year olds go to nurseries that ‘don’t have qualified teachers’, claims Save the Children

HALF of three and four year olds go to nurseries that don’t have qualified teachers, a hard-hitting report has revealed.

Save the Children says more than 250,000 pre-school children are at risk of falling behind by five because of a severe shortage of nursery teachers.

And the number of applications for early years teaching jobs has plummeted leaving nurseries struggling to fill roles.

Research shows children who don’t have access to qualified staff are almost 10 per cent less likely than their classmates to speak in full sentences and follow basic instructions when they start school.

Save the Children is calling on the Government to invest in a qualified early years teacher for every nursery across England.

Their analysis found in 2015/16, half of all three and four year-olds - more than 280,000 children – went to a private, voluntary or independent nursery without a teacher who held a degree-level early years qualification.

They said a postcode lottery meant children living in the West Midlands were least likely to get access to an early years teacher.

Youngsters living in the North East were most likely.

Charity campaigners want ministers to focus on the poorest areas including Blackpool, Oldham, Birmingham and Barking and Dagenham in east London.

Three-year-olds who don’t go to nursery are 55 per cent less likely to reach a good level of development than a pre-schooler who goes to a nursery with a qualified member of staff.

The report said 860 people applied for nursery teaching roles, down from 2,300 the year before.