Research suggests many new entrants start school without needed language skills, impacting literacy skills.

Nearly two-thirds of teachers surveyed in the Education Review Office's research say Covid has affected children's language development.

It's alongside more than two-thirds of parents saying their child had some language difficulty before starting school.

Early Childhood Council Chief Executive Simon Laube says language starts with parents.

"Yes, you could always improve oral literacy for the children in ECE, but there's a growing number of children who aren't even going to ECE."

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