Nursery World - Gap between disadvantaged children and their peers remains at the end of reception

A breakdown of the EYFS Profile results for 2016/17 reveals that children eligible for free school meals continue to lag behind their peers at the end of the Reception year.

Published today, the figures for England show that while the number of children eligible for free school meals (FSM) achieving a ‘good level of development’ by the end of reception has marginally increased on the previous academic year, an attainment gap remains.

In 2016/17, 56 per cent of children eligible for free school meals (FSM) achieved a ‘good level of development’ by the end of Reception, compared to 73 per cent of children not eligible for FSM.

Children with special educational needs also continue to lag behind their peers, with just 23 per cent achieving a ‘good level of development’ – the same percentage as last year.

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