Gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children in key stage one grew during the pandemic

The figures show looked-after children, pupils in care and those with a child protection plan lag behind their key stage two classmates.

They also show the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children in key stage one grew during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Association of School and College Leaders said the most vulnerable pupils have been ‘most heavily affected by the disruption of the pandemic’ and called for greater financial and social support.

The latest Department for Education figures show 10 of 75 children in need in key stage two in Portsmouth met the required standard for reading, writing and maths in 2021-22. For all pupils, this was 49%.

Across Hampshire - including Gosport, Fareham and Havant - 109 of 420 (26%) children in need in key stage two met the required standard for reading, writing and maths in 2021-22. This is compared to 60% for all pupils.

Meanwhile, further DfE figures show the gap between children in need and all pupils in key stage one has grown during the pandemic.

The proportion of children in need across England reaching the expected standard for reading and writing fell by 21% and 28% respectively from 2018-19 to 2021-22.

But attainment for all pupils in the same subjects across the same time period fell by 11% and 17%.

It was a similar story for maths and science, with the percentage of vulnerable pupils meeting the expected grade falling by 20% and 13% respectively – compared to 11% and 6% for all pupils.

The DfE figures show of the 75 key stage two children in need in Portsmouth, 23 reached the expected standard for reading, 20 for writing, and 17 for maths. For all pupils, 70% met the expected reading standard, 60% in writing and 64% in maths.

The DfE figures show 46% of key stage two children in need in Hampshire reached the expected standard for reading, 37% for writing and 39% for maths.

For all pupils, 76% met the expected reading standard, 71% in writing and 72% in maths.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘At the heart of the Government’s agenda is an ambition to drive up standards, quality, and outcomes for all pupils. Our record speaks for itself with 88% of schools now Ofsted rated good or outstanding, compared to 68% in 2010.‘We know that the pandemic had an impact on pupils' learning, which is why we’ve made available almost £5 billion in education recovery initiatives, through which nearly three million tutoring courses have started.‘We are also supporting the most disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils through pupil premium funding, which will increase to £2.9 billion in 2023-24 – the highest cash terms rate since this funding began.’