Despite the Government’s social mobility agenda, disadvantaged 4-5 year olds in England are on average 4.6 months behind their better off peers, similar to the level in 2013. The gap at primary school actually increased for the first time since 2007 to over nine months.
This leads to a gap in attainment of 18 months at GCSE age. The EPI found last year that it would take 500 years to close the disadvantage gap at GCSE based on the current rate of progress.
The report also found the proportion of children who are in persistent poverty (defined as those on free school meals for over 80 per cent of the time) have double the learning gap of children who are only on free school meals for 20 per cent of the time (nearly 23 months as opposed to 11 months).
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