Almost 80% of toddlers at risk of an educational disadvantage in the 37 biggest cities in the Netherlands are going to pre-school, the Volkskrant reported on Tuesday.

Pre-school education is aimed at children from the age of 2.5 who need language and social skills lessons to keep up with their peers later on in the educational chain. The government puts €95m a year into improving pre-school education in the 37 biggest cities.

The figures come from a report by the education inspectorate which was sent to parliament today.

There are now more pre-school places than disadvantaged children to fill them, the report says. Not every child at risk goes to pre-school because not all parents can be reached. Moreover, places are offered on a voluntary basis.

Daycare

In Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Almere pre-school places are also available for children who are not at risk of an educational disadvantage and who would normally go to daycare where the emphasis is not on formal education.

‘The drive to reach children at risk of an educational disadvantage has been largely successful,’ the paper quotes pre-school education expert professor Paul Leseman as saying. Based on his research Leseman says only a quarter of children who needed help went to pre-school in 2000.

The concept is controversial, however. Research into the subject by professor Ruben Fukkink whose chair is financed partly by crèche parents’ organisation Boink, showed pre-school made no difference and children did not catch up with their peers.

But in a recent report based on a large scale investigation researchers from the University of Utrecht and the Kohnstamm Institute concluded children who attended pre-school have a greater vocabulary and improve their chances at being successful later on.