“The Liberal Democrats would give schools the extra money they need to cut class sizes and give individual attention to children who are struggling,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Schools Secretary.

Commenting on Government figures showing that almost a third of poor boys cannot write their own name after a year at primary school, David Laws said:

“These depressing figures reveal that the gap between poorer children and the better-off is clear when they are only five years old.

“Labour’s shameful failure to give children from disadvantaged backgrounds extra support means that this gap grows wider as children grow older.

“The Liberal Democrats would give schools the extra money they need to cut class sizes and give individual attention to children who are struggling.”