Quarter of a million children enter secondary school without basic maths and English

As reported by The Guardian, the government is set to fail target of 90% of pupils in England reaching set standard at age 11, research finds

Ministers have set a target of ensuring 90% of children achieve the national curriculum standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of primary education by 2030. However, 275,000 pupils a year are now leaving primary education without the right level of skills.

This comes amid concerns that the impact of the pandemic, and long periods of lost learning, is being felt in classrooms, particularly among children from poorer households. The research states that the attainment gap in education – that between the poorest and most advantaged – is at its widest level for a decade.

Similar recent research by the speech and communication charity I CAN found that skills in speaking had also fallen, with 1.5 million children across the UK suffering from underdeveloped speech and language skills following the pandemic.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “The pandemic had a huge impact on pupils’ learning. Our education recovery programme, backed by £5bn, has delivered nearly 3m tutoring courses. We are investing more than ever before in our schools, including in literacy and numeracy programmes –helping us meet our ambition for 90% of children leaving primary school to reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths by 2030.”