Early Years Foundation Stage data puts girls ahead of boys
Girls do better than boys in the first two years of school, according to combined Government statistics on the Foundation Stage Profile and Key Stage 1 that have been published for the first time.
The DCSF figures for 2007-08 for the Foundation Stage profile are combined with Key Stage 1 data to show children's achievement according to ethnicity, English as a first language, free school meals, special educational needs and gender. The data covers 555,176 four- and five-year-olds at the end of the Foundation Stage.
In the FSP, children who achieve a score of 78 points or more across the 13 assessment scales are deemed to be reaching a good level of development.
When girls are compared with boys, a good level of development was achieved by 58 per cent of girls and 41 per cent of boys.
Girls outperformed boys in nearly all ethnic groups in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1.
Fifty-six per cent of children from mixed white and Asian families achieved a good level of development at the end of the Foundation Stage, seven percentage points above the national average. Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils achieved below the national average for the FSP.
The gap in achievement between children from poorer families and their peers is striking. Just 31 per cent of children eligible for free school meals reached a good level of development, compared with 52 per cent of children who do not take free school meals.
This is the second year that schools and early years settings have been under a statutory obligation to send full data on every child's Foundation Stage Profile scores to local authorities.
Further information: 'Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England 2007/08' is at www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000822/index.shtml
