Boys lag behind girls in literacy —Survey

Five-year-old boys lag behind girls of the same age in reading, writing and Maths, official statistics suggest. Overall, 60 per cent of five-year-olds in England were considered to be achieving a good level of development – eight percentage points up on last year.

The figures are based on teachers’ assessment of children’s progress at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage last year.

Ministers said too few young children were ready to start school.

Education Minister Sam Gyimah called on nurseries and child minders to do more to improve children’s progress.

More support

“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,” he said.

Ministers say the gap between those from the most disadvantaged areas and the rest is unchanged on last year’s figures, at 12 per cent.

Only 53 per cent of children in the poorest neighbourhoods achieved a good level of development compared with 65 per cent in better-off areas.

The government says it has introduced the Early Years Pupil Premium to give nurseries and childminders additional funding for specialist high quality support for the most disadvantaged children.

“It’s now up to those who support our children to ensure they get the start in life they deserve. Something parents and I both want to see,” said Mr Gyimah.

The statistics, which record teacher assessments of pupils’ academic progress as well as physical development and social skills, showed a marked gender gap.

Teachers assessed 69 per cent of five-year-old girls as achieving a good level of development in 2013 to 2014, compared with 52 per cent of boys.

Just 59 per cent of boys met the expected standard in writing in 2013 to 2014, compared with three-quarters of girls.

In reading, 68 per cent of boys met the standard, compared with 80 per cent of girls.

And in maths, only 22 per cent of girls struggled to count to 20, compared with 29 per cent of boys.

Neil Leitch of the Pre School Learning Alliance criticised Mr Gyimah’s comments.

‘Unfair criticism’

“We are extremely disappointed that the minister has used these results, which show a marked improvement in outcomes across all areas of development, to direct unfair criticism at the early years sector.

“It is true that there is more work to be done to ensure that all children, and particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, are given the best start in life.

“However, the government needs to acknowledge the role that it itself must play in supporting these improvements.”

Mr Leitch said childcare professionals continued to do remarkable work despite inadequate funding.

He said initiatives like the Early Years Pupil Premium would do little to address the challenges “largely because the government refuses to acknowledge the severity of the current problem”.

School absence in England falls, figures show

The number of children missing lessons in England has fallen, government statistics indicate.

Pupils missed 35.7 million days of school in the autumn and spring terms of 2013-14 – down by 4.2 million on the same two terms the previous year.

The government said the fall was partly due to a clampdown on families taking children away on holiday in term-time.

The overall authorised absence rate – time off which is approved by head teachers – fell from 4.3 per cent to 3.5 per cen.

In total, 2.5 million school days in England were lost due to family holidays, both those authorised by the school and those unauthorised. This is down 0.8 million from 3.3 million the year before.

New holiday rules

Government officials suggested that this drop was down to tough new rules on holidays which mean that head teachers can now only grant permission for trips during term time in “exceptional circumstances”.

Before, schools could allow up to 10 days leave a year for family holidays in special circumstances.

The change has been controversial, with critics arguing that some families cannot afford, or are not in a position, to take breaks during the school holidays.

The statistics show a “small increase” in family holidays that have not been approved by the school, suggesting that some parents are deciding to take family trips even though they don not have the school’s approval.

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