Wilshaw: Poor children still being failed

In a speech due to be made today, Wilshaw will single out five local authorities in the south east of England for particular criticism on the continuing gap in attainment between pupils eligible for free school meals and their better-off peers.

He said the attainment gap between secondary school pupils who are and those who are not eligible for free school meals in Kent, Surrey, Buckinghamshire, West Berkshire and Reading all exceed the average England-wide gap of 28 per cent, said Wilshaw.

"In Kent it's 34. In Surrey it's 36. In Buckinghamshire it's 39. And, in Reading, it's a whopping 40 percentage points - all far in excess of the national gap," he will say.

He added that the figures highlight the "dashed hopes of too many of the most able disadvantaged children, whose early promise is so often left to wither".

He will also point out that the England-wide free school meal and non-free school meal attainment gap has not moved since 2005, when it was also 28 per cent.

"Our failure to improve significantly the educational chances of the poor disfigures our school system. It scars our other achievements. It stands as a reproach to us all."

The continued used of grammar schools in areas including Kent will also come under fire.

He will also lament the fact that just three per cent of free school meal-eligible children attend selective schools and point to research that shows how grammar schools are far more likely to attract and keep high-quality teachers, often with a degree in the specific subject area they teach.

Earlier this month Kent County Council called on its local grammar schools to improve access for disadvantaged pupils. A council review team found that just 57 per cent of children in receipt of the pupil premium in the county attend the county's grammar schools, compared with 79 per cent of similar ability children who do not receive the funding.