Phonics results from the 188 primary free schools in
England are 4 percentage points higher than in
council-run schools.
KS1 assessment and phonics screening checks released
today show nationally 82% of year 1 pupils are meeting
the expected standard in phonics while 75% of year 2
pupils reach the expected standard in reading, 69% in
writing, 76% in maths and 82% in science in their Key
Stage 1 assessments.
The statistics show:
- 82% of pupils met the expected standards in phonics
– up from 58% in 2012
- This figure rises to 87% in mainstream free schools
- 75% of year 2 pupils reach the expected standard in
reading, 69% in writing, 76% in maths and 82% in
science
- For mainstream free schools these figures rise to
79% in reading, 73% in writing, 79% in maths and 85% in
science
- Girls outperform boys in both phonics and Key Stage
1 assessments
- London is the best performing area in the country
in both phonics and Key Stage 1 assessments
School Standards Minister said:
If children are to achieve their full potential it’s
vital that they are given firm foundations to build
on – and that’s what these statistics show is
happening. It’s particularly pleasing to see free
schools doing so well, illustrating the important
role they play in the system.
Mastering phonics, which provides a solid foundation
for reading, along with basic numeracy and literacy,
means these pupils will be able go on to apply these
skills in more and more advanced ways.
It’s because of the hard work of teachers and our
keen focus on raising standards at the earliest
stages of education that we’ve been able to see these
results.
Free schools, introduced in 2010, are funded by the
government but aren’t run by the local council. They
have more control over how they do things.
Phonics provides pupils with the building blocks they
need to read fluently and confidently, as well as
aiding future learning and giving them the tools they
need to express themselves. Other countries are looking
to emulate the success of this approach, with policy
makers in Australia currently piloting this screening
check.
The government has invested in programmes to help raise
standards in our primary schools. In 2018 we launched a
£26.3m English Hubs programme. We have appointed 34
primary schools who will support nearly 3000 schools to
improve their teaching of reading through systematic
synthetic phonics, early language development, and
reading for pleasure. This is on top of £41 million to
follow the same approach to teaching maths as
world-leading countries through the Shanghai Mastery
for Maths programme. This is on top of wider changes
to the primary assessment system which will reduce
unnecessary workload for teachers so they can focus on
what really matters in the classroom.
