CHILDREN who live in poverty in Scotland are twice as likely to start their school years with developmental difficulties as those from more affluent backgrounds, according to a new report.
Charity Save the Children’s Thrive at Five study of 3,000 children from different socio-economic backgrounds found the poorest children to be “significantly behind” their peers aged just five years old. The study also found that children living in poverty are twice as likely to have difficulties with their physical development or to have emotional difficulties when starting school.
Douglas Hamilton, head of Save the Children in Scotland, said: “Thrive at Five tells us that we must prioritise support for the children growing up in poverty before they even start school.
“The forthcoming children and young people’s bill provides an opportunity for the Scottish Government to commit to investing in early years education.
“Unless these actions benefit young children, we will never stop this vicious cycle that keeps people poor – generation after generation.”