§ Mr. BowisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the estimate of the number of children currently receiving nursery and other forms of pre-primary education.
§ Mrs. RumboldA total of 548,000 under-fives were attending maintained nursery and primary schools in England in January 1989. This was an increase of 15,000 over the previous year and an increase of 119,000 since 1980. During the decade the age participation rate increased from 39 to 45 per cent. A further 42,000 (3 per cent. of the age group) were attending nursery units in independent schools. The Department does not collect information on other forms of pre-primary education.