The campaign 'Save Nursery Schools' has launched a petition to parliament to try to stop the changes which will see a dramatic fall in our budget and consequent decreases to the quality of the education we can provide, the support we can give all our families which is particularly important for children with SEND, and the inclusivity that state nursery schools provide.

High-quality state nursery schools have a direct positive impact on how well a child develops. The Government's State of the Nation Report 2016 on Social Mobility in Great Britain states:

"Five-year-olds who have had high-quality childcare for two to three years are nearly eight months ahead in their literacy development than their peers who have not.6 The frequency and quality of attending childcare provision has been positively linked to later GCSE grades, as well as to levels of self-regulation, prosocial behaviour and hyperactivity, with the impacts most pronounced among disadvantaged children.7 However, the evidence strongly suggests that early childhood education will only narrow the gaps for poorer children if they attend settings that are of high quality.8 Low-quality childcare may even have a negative effective on outcomes, reinforcing deficits in language or cognitive development."

Please sign and share the petition to parliament at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/171052