Published by the Department for Education today (24 November), the results for 2021-22 show that 49.1 per cent of children eligible for free school meals achieved a good level of development under the EYFS, compared to 68.8 per cent of those not eligible for the benefit – a difference of 19.6 percentage points.
The figures are drawn from teacher assessments of children’s development at the end of the EYFS – the summer term of Reception year. Children are judged against 17 early learning goals (ELGs) across seven areas of learning.
Action for Children said that the statistics reveal a ‘stark and alarming gap in school readiness between disadvantaged five-year-olds and their peers.’
This is the first publication of EYFS profile results since the curriculum was reformed in September 2021. As part of the reforms, the EYFS profile was ‘significantly revised’, which the Department for Education says means that the latest outcomes cannot be directly compared with previous years’. It is also the first release of the figures since 2018/10 due to Covid-19 that meant data collections were cancelled.
Key findings from the 2021-22 EYFS profile results reveal:
- 65.2 per cent of children had a good level of development.
- 64.4 per cent of children at the expected level across all early learning goals (ELGs).
- A higher percentage of girls than boys were at the expected level of development across all the ELGs and areas of learning. Over 7 in 10 girls had a good level of development compared to fewer than 6 in 10 boys.
- On average, children were at the expected level in 14.1 out of the 17 early learning goals.
- The physical development area of learning had the highest percentage of children at the expected level of development (85 per cent), and the literacy area of learning had the lowest (68 per cent).
- A higher percentage of autumn-born children had a good level of development than summer-born children, and a higher percentage of children not known to be eligible for free school meals had a good level of development than children eligible to receive them. For both characteristics, the difference was almost 20 percentage points.
- Of those with any special educational need, the percentage of children with SEN support with a good level of development was over six times that of children with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (22.9 per cent compared with 3.6 per cent).
- Outer London had the highest percentage of children with a good level of development (68 per cent), while the North-West of England had the lowest (62 per cent).
'The Government must act urgently to ensure that all pre-school children and their families can access the support they need.'
Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, commented, ‘These results reveal a stark and alarming gap in school readiness between disadvantaged five-year-old children and their peers.
‘The Government must act urgently to ensure that all pre-school children and their families, in all areas, can access the support they need. We welcome the Government’s recent commitments to Family Hubs and Start for Life services. But today’s figures show that that there is still a long way to go to improve outcomes for all children. This will not be possible without long-term, sustained investment.’
Early Education said it was clear that more needs to be done to create more ‘equitable outcomes.’
Chief executive Beatrice Merrick explained, ‘The latest EYFSP data is the first in three years. It’s also the first with the new ELGs, so it doesn’t allow us to make comparisons about the impact of the pandemic on children. However, what remains clear is that there are still significant differences in children’s EYFSP scores based on their gender, SEND, age, ethnicity and socio-economic background. We clearly have to do much more to create more equitable outcomes through looking at the inclusiveness of our provision and the quality of education. This is why it is absolutely paramount that Government invests more in the early years sector to raise quality across the board, and to allow for support to be targeted at those children who will benefit from it the most.’
- The EYFS profile results are available here