The Department for Education’s statutory guidance on the Early Years Foundation Stage opens with the recognition of the importance of the best start in life for children and of the importance of early experiences in shaping later life chances.
Research tells us that high quality early childhood education and care has a positive influence on cognitive, language, behavioural, and social outcomes. In school and beyond, it can affect grades at GCSE and longer-term social and economic outcomes.
However, research also highlights the impact of poorer early experiences for young disabled children on their learning and progress. The big longitudinal studies tell us that disabled children, starting from the same point in their learning and development as their peers at the age of three, fall behind their peers by the age of five; increasing numbers of young children are being excluded from school and many of these young children are disabled or have special educational needs; and recent evidence has shown us that the impact of compromised expectations and poor experiences starting in the early years can be life-long. It can be seen in the teen years and into adulthood. Experiences of social isolation among disabled adults have been linked to childhood identified disability.
The Equality Act is designed to address inequalities, protect children from discrimination and ensure they are not placed at a disadvantage compared with their peers. The duties are not difficult or onerous, they do not require anyone to do anything beyond what is reasonable. Positive early experiences contribute to a better, happier childhood, to better lives as children grow through their teenage years and to improved life chances and better experiences as disabled adults.
In a study for the Office of National Statistics, the parent of a disabled teenager who attended a mainstream school, told the researchers of the importance of the positive experience of early years education:
That is the foundation to everything that he's achieving now. He wouldn't be achieving that now if he hadn't had the support that he did back in the early years.
Settings that are committed to and striving for equal opportunities and inclusion can be confident that they are making a difference for disabled children. They are unlikely to face difficulties in meeting the duties. What is required of all settings is what is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case.
The DfE recognises the importance of positive early experiences and provides 15 hours a week of free early years education for disadvantaged and disabled children from the age of two. The Government talks regularly about the importance of inclusion and has supported the development of the early years guide and training. Together, the guide and the training are designed to support all those working in the early years in understanding the disability duties in the Equality Act, delivering high-quality, inclusive education and giving disabled children the best start in life. We hope it will support you in delivering this vision.
Philippa Sobbs OBE
CDC Associate
July 2025
Click here to access the guide and training
