Quarter of councils fail to improve early years attainment under EYFS
Kat Baldwyn
Monday, October 4, 2010
Around a quarter of local authorities did not see improvements in children's development or narrow the achievement gap at the end of the Early Years Foundations Stage (EYFS), according to government research.
A study commissioned by the former Department for Children, Schools and Families found that while the performance of five-year-olds at the end of the EYFS had improved across England between 2007 and 2009, 26 per cent of local authorities had seen no progress.
Performance had increased each year since 2006, with the proportion of five-year-olds reaching a good level of development increasing from 45 per cent in 2006 to 52 per cent in 2009. Local authority results ranged from 35 per cent to 60 per cent.
The report said: "Most local authorities made some progress, improving by up to 10 percentage points; 24 made greater progress than this, six were non-movers, and 14 slipped to a lower percentage."
A child is said to have reached a good level of development when they achieve a score of 78 points across 13 assessment scales. Achievements are measured in six areas: personal, social and emotional development; communication, language and literacy; problem solving, reasoning and numeracy; knowledge and understanding of the world; physical development; and creative development.
Nationally, the achievement gap narrowed from 38 per cent in 2006 to 34 per cent in 2009, with local authority results ranging from 25 per cent to 40 per cent. But achievement and inequality are "spread unevenly across England", the report said.
Data collected shows local authorities with higher levels of deprivation "tend to have marginally lower rates of achievement" and "tend to have slightly larger achievement gaps".
Claire Schofield, policy director at the National Day Nurseries Association, said: "The report demonstrates how providers are using the framework year-on-year to deliver improved outcomes for children. However, it is not surprising that children in deprived areas continue to achieve less well. This really demonstrates why it is vital to continue investing in children in their earliest years to support early intervention and set the child on the right path for life."
