Children from poor areas still way behind others

Children under five in the poorest areas of the country are achieving significantly less than their more affluent counterparts.

An annual assessment of children in their first year of school, carried out by the government, has shown that the gap between rich and poor is not closing.

Forty percent of under-fives couldn’t write their own name or sound out simple words such as ‘dog’.

The assessments looked at development in areas including maths, communication, language and literacy, and personal, social and emotional development.

Girls outperformed boys in every category, and by as much as 17 percent in writing tests.

A 15 percent difference was found between standards of children living in the 30 percent most deprived areas of Britain.

This marks no change from last year’s results and falls far short of government targets.

Children and Families Minister, Beverley Hughes said: “It is disappointing that the gap between these children has not narrowed.

“Both we and local authorities must focus our efforts on improving the life chances of children who are the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.”