SOME Merseyside children start school without knowing their own names because of parental neglect, an MP has warned.

Other "stunning" failings include not being able to understand the word "stop", take off items of clothing, hold a crayon and open a book the right way, Frank Field said.

The Birkenhead MP said the revelations "knocked me sideways" when he carried out an investigation as David Cameron's “poverty adviser”.

The comments came as Mr Field added his voice to growing criticisms of cuts to Sure Start centres, which threaten 250 with closure across the country.

During a Commons debate, he told MPs he asked the headteacher of a "really good school" in Birkenhead to list skills his teachers wished children possessed on their first day.

He said: "There were some stunning replies. The schools would like the children to know their own names, to know the word ‘stop’, because that can hint at danger.

"They would like them to learn to sit still, so they can begin playing properly and by that learn; to learn how to take off certain items of clothing, to learn how to hold a crayon, to know what a book is and how to open it the right way.

“We were still finding children who were highly unprepared for school.”

Although the Labour backbencher attacked the cuts to local authority grants that threaten Sure Start – warning "it would be appalling if that brand name were destroyed" – he also wants the scheme radically altered.

He told MPs: "The vast majority of the expenditure, time, effort and love of Sure Start should go to families who need most help.”