Nursery World - Gap grows between 'rich' and 'poor' in phonics check

The latest results of the phonics screening check show the gap has grown between poorer pupils and their better-off peers.

The results also show a levelling out with just a 1 percentage point increase overall in children reaching the expected standard on the 2016 figure.

The statistics show that 81 per cent of children met the expected standard at the end of year 1 in 2017.

However, for pupils on Free School Meals (FSM), the gap has increased slightly by 1 percentage point compared to 2016, after a narrowing of the gap in both 2016 and 2015 of 1 percentage point. In 2017, 68 per cent of children eligible for FSM met the expected standard, compared to 84 per cent of other pupils.

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