The Conversation – Edward Melhuish 
How is it that in a country as prosperous as Australia, one in five children are developmentally at risk by the time they start school? What’s more, the problem is twice as great for disadvantaged groups. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds have a greater risk of poor health, social, emotional, cognitive and language problems that affect their educational progress, literacy, numeracy, and long-term social skills, employment prospects, health, adjustment and criminality. This can have lifelong impact – the 2012 OECD report reveals that 20% of Australians do not have good basic literacy skills. (more)