Chapter 10: Education - Equality and Human Rights Commission

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Chapter 10: Education
Overview
By the age of five, girls’ development is more advanced in 11 of 13
assessment scales on the Early Years Foundation Stage profile in
social and emotional as well as cognitive areas of development. The gap
is greatest in writing, in which nearly three-quarters (72%) of girls but only just
over half (53%) of boys, reach the expected level.
The role of socio-economic factors in this indicator is an important
issue in passing on disadvantage or advantage from generation to
generation. Only 35% of pupils known to be eligible for FSMs achieved a good
level of development compared to over half (55%) of pupils not eligible for FSM.
Being from certain ethnic groups is associated with disadvantage in
this indicator. A higher proportion of pupils from Asian, Indian, Irish, Mixed
White and White British ethnic backgrounds achieved a good level of development
when compared to all pupils, but pupils from Black and Pakistani ethnic groups
did not perform so well.
Chapter 10
What we know about the overall situation
In 2008/09, 52% of children achieved a good level of development at age 5,
compared to 49% in 2007/08 and 46% in 2006/07.
What we know about the situation for different groups
Gender
Girls outperformed boys on this measure. In 11 of the 13 scales of the Early
Years Foundation Stage profile girls scored higher; boys outperformed girls in
the categories of problem solving, reasoning and numeracy (calculating) and in
knowledge and understanding of the world. 3
3
Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) 2010a. Early Years
Foundation Stage Profile Achievement by Pupil Characteristics, England
2008/09. Statistical First Release 03/10. Available at:http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/
rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000911/SFR03_2010v2.pdf Accessed 4/08/2010.