Yorkshire's primary schools face biggest national challenge to meet levelling up target for pupils

The Government’s Levelling Up White Paper has set the target for nine out of 10 pupils across the country to be at that standard by 2030 – but the current figure is 65 per cent.

Yorkshire has the joint lowest percentage with the East Midlands of just 63 per cent, with Rotherham the worst-performer in the region at 59 per cent.

Even the best-performing locations – York and Hull – only reached 68 per cent.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned the “scale of the challenge is enormous” if the Government is to hit its target. The research institute’s analysis said: “Overall, in 2019 65 per cent of pupils leaving primary school met expectations in reading, writing and maths.

“On a regional basis, pupils in London performed best, while those in Yorkshire and the East Midlands have the most ground to make up.”

It added: “But the gaps between most local areas are dwarfed by the gap between pupils’ current performance and the Government’s ambition. In 2019, just 21 of 151 English local authorities had more than 70 per cent of their primary school leavers meeting expectations.

"Just two – Richmond upon Thames and the City of London – broke 80 per cent. Unfortunately, it is not at all clear that the Levelling Up White Paper delivers plans and funding to match the scale of this challenge.

“Without a significant injection of new funding, the fact remains that school spending per pupil will remain below its 2009-10 high point until 2024-25.”

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The White Paper sets out plans for “eliminating illiteracy and innumeracy” and intends to create 55 Education Investment Areas –including seven in Yorkshire. The plans include retention payments for top teachers and the creation of ‘elite’ sixth forms.

Rotherham is among the locations, along with Bradford, Doncaster, Kirklees, Leeds, North Yorkshire and Wakefield.

Rotherham councillor Victoria Cusworth, cabinet member for children and young people, said it was hard to assess how achievable the White Paper’s aims are.

She said: “The levelling-up targets for education are certainly challenging but we’re still awaiting the full detail about what resources, support and policies will be in place, so it’s difficult to judge how achievable they are. Whilst we still await that detail and have time to assess what it will mean in practice, we welcome the additional focus on improving educational attainment for children in Rotherham.

“It should be acknowledged the barriers facing us to make significant, lasting improvements to educational attainment go beyond the classroom and are linked to the wider issues facing communities like ours, which have a legacy of industrial decline and neglect, compounded more recently by austerity and the pandemic.”

Make work experience part of levelling up drive

Work experience for students should be included in the Government’s levelling up drive, a social mobility charity has urged.

Speakers for Schools said increasing the number of work experience placements delivered virtually can meet the Government’s objective of spreading opportunity more fairly.

Employers were urged to offer more placements “virtually” amid evidence it would allow young people in all parts of the UK to access it.

Speakers for Schools said it has resources in place to engage with one million young people a year by 2023 but is calling for 1,500 businesses to get involved.

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