In your opinion, what proportion of pupils join your school
below the level of school-readiness you would expect?
Percentage of pupils below
school-readiness
None
1 - 10 %
2%
14%
11 - 20 %
21 - 30 %
Percentage of
schools where
this is the case
18%
16%
31 - 40 %
41 - 50 %
Over 50%
11%
10%
30%
Below expectations
More than nine in 10 (98%) school leaders say that a proportion
of pupils join their school below the level of school-readiness they
expect, and three in 10 (30%) say that more than half of pupils are
below expected levels when they arrive.
This is more widespread in the primary phase, where nearly a third
(31%) of school leaders say that more than half of new pupils are not
school-ready. In secondary schools, the proportion of pupils below
the level expected is more commonly between one per cent and 20%,
but one in 10 (10%) leaders still finds that more than half of each new
intake isn’t ready for secondary education.
While it’s common across the country for more than half of new pupil
intakes to be below the level expected – affecting at least 20% of
schools in each region – it is most widespread in northern regions. The
north east, north west and Yorkshire and Humberside have the highest
proportion of schools (between 34% and 39%) where more than
half of pupils join below the level of readiness school leaders expect.
London, however, is close behind, with 32% of schools taking in new
cohorts where more than half of pupils aren’t ‘school ready’.
We are having more and more children entering
our early years stage with delayed speech and a
lack of school readiness. I feel much of this is down
to challenging family circumstances alongside the
rise of mobile phones and other mobile technology,
which means parents are more often to be seen on
the phone than talking to their children.”
School leader
16
State of Education Survey 2016 | www.thekeysupport.com
Find further comment at www.thekeysupport.com/blog