The government has called on nurseries and other early years child care providers to do more to equip youngsters with the skills needed to give them the best start in life.

Education minister Sam Gyimah said that toddlers need to benefit from quality education ahead of starting primary school because recent figures published by the Department for Education show that "too few" children are ready for academic life.

This data shows, for example, that the attainment gap between children from disadvantaged families and those from wealthier backgrounds remains high, despite various efforts to address the longstanding problem.

All that said, the DfE noted that overall figures remain positive – 60 per cent of children aged five are "making good progress" against the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP).

This is designed to ensure that all youngsters are "ready for school and life in modern Britain" and achieves this through various academic measurements. These include their ability to count to ten, whether or not they can write their own name and the way in which they interact and play with other children.

Mr Gyimah said that boosting the accessibility of high-quality, affordable and flexible early years provision forms an important part of the government's wider plan for boosting the standard of education in the UK.

"We know the first few years of a child’s life can be make or break in terms of how well they go on to do at school and beyond," the MP continued.

"The statistics published today clearly show that some progress is being made but more must be done to ensure children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, are put on the right path.

"Parents need to be confident that while their children are out of their care they’re not only safe, happy and having fun but at the same time developing important skills like playing confidently with their friends, speaking, and understanding words, letters and numbers."

Liz Bayram, chief executive of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years, championed the government's recognition of the importance of pre-school education.

She said that all children – particularly those from poorer backgrounds – ought to have access to exceptional "playful learning". The reference to playful is important, the expert continued, because it has been shown that toddlers benefit the most from the kind of education that is fun.

"We also welcome his [Mr Gyimah] acknowledgment that helping young children to develop essential social and emotional skills such as talking, listening to and playing with others is as important as understanding letters and numbers," Ms Bayram added.

"Childcare professionals share his goal that more needs to be done to close the attainment gap for disadvantaged children. Year on year, Ofsted grades demonstrate the sector’s capacity to continuously improve. We are looking forward to working with the Department for Education and other sector organisations to ensure all providers are supported to further improve."

Commenting on the news, Nicola Amies, director of early years at Bright Horizons Family Solutions, said that she was pleased to hear that the government has acknowledged more needs to be done to boost the quality of early years education.

She said that a lot can be achieved if all stakeholders in the sector come together and share best practice – there are, for example, many providers out there whose expertise, skill and talent in delivering quality experiences for children ahead of school are to be commended.

"We understand the value of continuous quality improvement with strong, inspirational leadership that embeds a culture of critical reflection and ongoing professional development for staff, and that sets high expectations for children’s experiences and progress," she went on to say.

"Collaborative working across the sector can make a significant impact on the journey we are all on to give young children the best foundations for success in life."