According to updated figures for 2018, 57 per cent of pupils on Free School Meals achieved a good level of development at the end of the EYFS, compared to 74 per cent for all other pupils.
In 2017, 56 per cent of pupils achieved a good level of development compared to 73 per cent of all other pupils.
However, unrounded figures show that the good level of development gap has widened slightly from 17.3 per cent in 2018, up from 17.0 per cent in 2017.
In 2018, for children eligible for free school meals just 55 per cent achieved at least the expected standard in all 17 Early Learning Goals (ELGs), compared to 73 per cent of all other children. This compares with 54 per cent of children on FSM and 71 per cent of all other children in 2017.
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