Support call as 'in need' pupils struggle in schools

Figures from the Department for Education figures show just 10 of 75 children (13%) who are in council care or subject to a child protection plan met the required key stage two standard in the subjects in the 2021-22 academic year.

The figure for all pupils in the borough was 59%.

The data also shows that the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children in key stage one grew during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the most vulnerable pupils have been "most heavily affected” by the pandemic and called for greater financial and social support.

The proportion of ‘children in need’ in England reaching the expected standard for reading and writing fell by 21% and 28% respectively from 2018-19 to 2021-22, while levels for all pupils in the same subjects fell by 11% and 17%.

It was a similar story for maths and science, with the percentage of vulnerable pupils meeting the expected grade falling by 20% and 13% respectively – compared to 11% and 6% for all pupils.

The ASCL special needs specialist, Margaret Mulholland, said: "As we return to more settled conditions, there must be focused on support for disadvantaged children.

"The pupil premium must be weighted more heavily in favour of persistently disadvantaged pupils.”

She added: "Greater financial and social support is needed to reduce the effects of deprivation that are having a direct impact on their learning."

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "At the heart of the Government’s agenda is an ambition to drive up standards, quality, and outcomes for all pupils. Our record speaks for itself with 88% of schools now Ofsted rated good or outstanding, compared to 68% in 2010."We know that the pandemic had an impact on pupils learning, which is why we’ve made available almost £5bn in education recovery initiatives, through which nearly three million tutoring courses have started.”They added: "We are also supporting the most disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils through pupil premium funding, which will increase to £2.9bn in 2023-24.”