§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the age participation rate in education for the under-fives expressed as a percentage of the two, three and four-year-old age group.
§ Mr. DunnThe percentages of children aged two, three and four years in England in January 1984 attending maintained nursery and primary schools were 4 per cent., 30 per cent. and 73 per cent. respectively.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why the number of nursery schools has been reduced between 1980 and 1984.
§ Mr. DunnLocal education authorities have discretion as to the form and extent of provision they make for under fives. The 5 per cent. reduction in the number of nursery schools between 1980 and 1984 has been more than offset by a 17 percent. increase in the number of primary schools with nursery classes and overall numbers of pupils attending nursery schools or classes either full or part time, have increased by 20 per cent. Among the possible reasons for this, nursery classes are often considered to offer more effective links with continuing primary education and are less expensive to establish and maintain than separate nursery schools; falling rolls have offered opportunities for economical adaptation of surplus primary accommodation appropriately for this purpose; and distribution of nursery education in classes at a number of primary schools will often make it more readily accessible than if the same number of places were concentrated in a single nursery school.