White five-year-olds in Leicester are the least developed in the country

White five-year-olds in Leicester perform the worst of all children of the same age in the country in terms of their development, statistics show. This is in contrast to their peers of Asian heritage, who perform above the national average.

Children are assessed by their teachers at the end of the academic year in which they turn five. The assessment covers 17 ‘early learning objectives’ grouped into seven teaching areas. They are considered to be at a “good level of development” if they are at the expected standard for 12 objectives in five learning areas.

“Goals” cover: communication and language; personal, social and emotional development; physical development; literacy and numeracy. Leicester came last out of 152 local authority areas for the percentage of five-year-old white children who are considered to have a “good level of development”.

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In the city, 60.3 percent of white youth met the threshold in the latest figures available, compared with 68.6 percent nationally. The gap between local and national figures has widened over the past year.

Meanwhile, pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Leicester are being left behind compared to their classmates. Just one in five SEND youngsters achieved a good level of development in the city last year, compared to an average of 63.6 – around three in five – across all pupils in the city.

Among pupils of Asian origin in Leicester, 68.1% met the threshold, compared to 66.7% nationally.

Girls also continue to outperform boys at that age in the city, with 70.5% and 56.6% respectively reaching the target.

Leicester children on free school meals performed above the national average, with 54% compared to 52% having a good level of development. However, this figure is down from pre-pandemic levels, when it was 61% locally.

Leicester City Council said in a report setting out the figures that the statistics “potentially highlight that there is a longer-term impact of the pandemic”. “These low starting points of children starting formal education at the start of year one mean they have to make very good progress to catch up with their peers,” the report added.

The report also stated that the benchmark of a “good level of development” was considered “useful” in determining whether children in this age group are “school ready”.

The trends appear to be largely reflected when local children sit their SATs in year six and get their GCSE results in year 11. In 2022, the Department for Education has set a target for 90% of all children in the country to meet the expected standards in reading . , writing and maths at the end of year six by 2030. In Leicester last year, only 58% of these pupils met the expected standard. The local authority area was ranked 95th^th of 152 for this stat, down from 82^when in 2022.

Again, Asian children performed the best locally at that level, and white children the worst. Only 51 percent of white children met expectations on the SAT, and the city was ranked 148th out of 152 areas for this group. Local SEND children also performed more poorly than their peers nationally.

Three measurements are taken into account for students of GCSE age.: Attainment eight takes into account the overall average score of up to eight qualifications; Progress Eight is the average progress made by students over eight grades since taking the SAT; and Basics Nine to Five looks at the proportion of students who scored five or above in both English and maths. GCSE grading returned to the pre-pandemic system last year.

The Attainment figure for pupils in Leicester was below the national average at 45.1 compared to 46.4 across the country. Leicester is 90th^th of 152 for this stat, improving from 117^th in 2022.

Fewer pupils in the city achieved a grade five or above in both maths and English last year, at 41.9 per cent, than in 2022, at 44.7 per cent. However, the national average – 45.5 percent – also fell in 2023 and by a greater proportion than locally. For Progress Eight, the city fared better than average and ranked 36th^th from 152 areas.

White children performed worse at GCSE. They had an average score of 36.2 on Attaining eight out of eight subjects, which is lower than a fourth-grade passing score. The city ranked 150th^th out of 152 areas for this statistic. Asian students again came out ahead with an average of 51.2 at level 8. That put that particular cohort 110^th from 152 areas.

Laurence Jones, strategic director for social care and education at Leicester City Council, said: “Although the local authority is not directly responsible for education outcomes, it is important that local councilors understand the picture in the city and so that academies, school governing bodies . and the Department for Education can be challenged where performance is not as good as it could be. It is also important to recognize the excellent progress of learners in most of our schools.

“This report also helps the council identify where we can work more closely with schools and other education providers, particularly where there are vulnerable pupils who would benefit from the support of our children and family services. For example, we are currently focusing on the ‘early help’ we can offer families, implementing family centers that help children get ready for school, providing support for attendance and developing our early help strategy.”