Early nursery 'pays dividends'

CHILDREN who start nursery before the age of three achieve more at five years old than youngsters who start later, research has suggested.

A study by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research found a link between the age a child starts their early years education and how well they perform on Foundation Stage Profile (FSP) tests.

In the FSP tests, pupils were assessed in a range of areas at the age of five, including literacy and numeracy as well as social and emotional development.

Researchers looked at test results of almost 8,000 children.