Guernsey free pre-school funded from 'benefit cut'

About 120 children due to attend school in the next school year are not attending a pre-school, according to States figures

An announced cut in child benefit will help pay for the introduction of 15 hours a week of free pre-school education.

From January 2017 children in Guernsey and Alderney will be entitled to pre-school provision for 38 weeks.

Family Allowance, which is currently £15.90 per child per week, will be reduced by £2.40 from January 2017.

All three and four-year-olds in England are already entitled to the equivalent of 15 free hours a week.

The States will also provide £1.456m in 2017, £1.451m in 2018 and £1.264m from 2019 to pay for the free hours, which can be provided by States-run or private pre-schools.

Education Minister Robert Sillars said during debate: "We can finally address this oversight in public service delivery and give our young people the best start to their lives, our children deserve this investment."

Afterwards he said it was good the island was "starting to catch up" with the rest of the world, but it was still behind.

The chancellor pledged £1bn in the Spending Review for a rise up to 30 hours a week of free term-time pre school childcare in England from 2017.