Ensuring that all children are reading well by the age of 11 would make a game-changing contribution to creating a fairer country. As Ready to Read explains, this can only be achieved if there is commitment to boosting the early language skills of the poo

At every stage of schooling, Northern Ireland’s poorest children are likely to do worse and make less progress than their better-off classmates; and the gap is widening. This stark educational achievement gap represents a huge cost to Northern Ireland. It