Home, nursery and school all need help to boost poor kids

Children do best when they are stimulated at home, school and nursery, suggesting that all three areas need to be targeted to improve the results of children from deprived backgrounds. Researchers in the U.S. followed 1,300 children from birth to Year 5 as part of the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. The study evaluated children's environments at home and in the nursery when they were four and a half, looked at their school environment in Year 1 and tracked their progress in tests from Year 1 to Year 5. Those children who were stimulated in all three environments - home, nursery and Year 1 - did better than other children and this was particularly true of children from low-income families, suggesting that any government initiatives need to address all three environments.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100514074913.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader