Disadvantaged children continue to fall behind in their development
Joe Lepper
Thursday, December 1, 2011
The majority of early years aged children who are eligible for free school meals are still failing to achieve a good level of development, according to latest Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) figures.
The figures for 2011 show that just 44 per cent of pupils in this group achieved a good level of development in areas such as communication, play and social interaction.
This is 18 per cent below the proportion of pupils who are not eligible for free school meals who attained this level of development.
However, the figures show that the gap is narrowing. Only 40 per cent of pupils who are eligible for free school meals were developing to a good level in 2010 and in 2007 just under 30 per cent of this group achieved this level of development.
Child Poverty Action Group spokesman Tim Nicholls said: "The extension of free childcare to more two years olds is part of what is needed be we also need to look at the situation at home and make sure families have all the resources they need."
The latest figures show that, overall, 59 per cent of all children are achieving a good level of development, compared to 56 per cent in 2010. Girls continue to outperform boys, with 68 per cent reaching this level, compared to only 50 per cent of boys.
The proportion of children from white or mixed race backgrounds achieving a good level of development are above the overall average, while those from black, Asian and Chinese backgrounds are below the average.
