Boys from poorer families struggle with basic literacy and numeracy

Nearly three-quarters are failing reach a basic level in skills including reading, writing and maths, according to a report published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

The statistics show how many five-year-olds reached specific early learning "goals" after their reception year at primary school, based on teachers' observations in areas such as social skills, literacy and numeracy.

The figures reveal that 28.4 per cent of boys on Free School Meals (FSM) – a measure of poverty – cannot write their own name by the age of five, compared with one in six FSM girls.

Just 14.8 per cent of richer boys (those not on FSM) failed to achieve this target.

Nearly one in five (18.1 per cent) poor boys could not do simple adding up by the age of five, while for poor girls, that figure was 13.4 per cent. But more than 90 per cent of boys not on FSM could do simple arithmetic.

The figures reveal that 2.4 per cent of boys and 1.1 per cent of girls from poorer backgrounds could not dress themselves.

Overall, some 73.8 per cent of poor boys did not make a good level of development in all of the 13 areas assessed, compared with 56.9 per cent of poor girls.

This year 42.8 per cent of all boys made a good level of progress, against 60.9 per cent of all girls – a gap that is widening.

Children's Minister Dawn Primarolo said the results show that progress is being made.

But she added: "We are not complacent and I know that more work needs to be done to make sure that all children, regardless of background, gender, ethnicity or where they live, receive a strong grounding in the basics.

"That's why we are continuing to target children who may be struggling with personalised support and early intervention."