The Northumberland Church of England Academy is the second school in the country to adopt a 'cradle to university ' policy by offering childcare for newborns . An academy school is now accepting pupils from birth after launching a 'cradle to university ' scheme to help youngsters get ahead . The Northumberland Church of England Academy ( NCEA ) in Ashington , Northumberland , is only the second school in the country to offer childcare for newborn babies . It was a government initiative first adopted by St Bede Academy in Bolton , Greater Manchester , to help tackle issues in early years , including speech and language acquisition . The scheme , known as childminder agencies ( CMA ) and set up by the Department for Education in September last year , also helps self-employed childminders find work . Childminders will volunteer with the school and in return receiving training and business advice , while parents are offered affordable childminding in a home environment . Headteacher at NCEA , Andrew Day , said : 'We want to be able to do the best for every single child and believe that having children from cradle to university is the best way to do this . 'Up to 50 per cent of our children starting school have speech and language acquisition issues and we hope that this will help address such issues . 'Evidence suggests that educational outcome is set from the age of two for the vast majority of children . 'We are working in partnership with our parents , we want to change the outcomes for our children . ' Mr Day , who oversees a school of more than 2,400 students , added : 'Often our parents come as single parents , with jobs and are busy . We need to take the pressure and burden off them . 'It 's not about patronising people , it 's about giving them an extra layer of support . The Northumberland Church of England Academy ( pictured ) has launched the government and Ofsted-approved scheme , known as childminder agencies or CMA to help children with their transition to nursery . 'They will be cared for by childminders in a home environment , but we will work with parents and childminders to ensure that each child can be the best that they can be . ' CMA is self-funded by the school , which then charges childminders a fee when they register and also to the parents who use their services . The academy , which caters for pupils up to the age of 19 , has a centre for children with profound and severe learning difficulties . It also recently opened three new early years centres offering 120 free nursery places for eligible two-year-olds . Clare Lishman , the academy 's director of early years , said : 'This is an exciting expansion to our early years provision . 'Research shows that it is the quality of the provision , whether it is in a nursery setting or with a childminder , that delivers the best long term benefits for a child 's development . 'Rapid development takes place between the ages zero and three and investing in early years provision is vital to equip children with the skills they need to start their education . Childminders will volunteer with the school and in return receiving training and business advice , while parents are offered affordable childminding in a home environment . 'Childminders who join the agency will receive lots of support from the academy and be part of the early years provision in the school . ' The Ofsted-approved scheme was first piloted in the summer 2013 with 20 organisations nationwide , including primary schools , nurseries and councils . St Bede Academy was the only school to continue the trial at the end of last year . Headteacher , Jack Hatch , said at the time : 'Achieving our goal of being the first CMA to be registered in the UK means a lot to our childcare organisation . 'It should help to provide more of our families with excellent-quality affordable childcare and give even more flexibility than we can offer at the present time . '
the Church of England Academy offers childcare to children . It is only second largest in country to do so after St Bede Academy , Bolton . Government scheme helps prevent autism early including speech acquisition . It helps childminders find work and training by teaching at school . Also provides an affordable , flexible childcare in a home environment .