Poorest children trailing richer classmates in language skills

The report from the Sutton Trust describes the educational inequalities that exist between the richest and poorest youngsters and the impact of parenting and a child’s home environment on their vocabulary.

The study’s findings show that by the age of five, youngsters from the poorest fifth of homes are already 11.1 months behind those from middle income homes in vocabulary tests.

And it reveals that reading and library visits are essential for young children – with youngsters who are read to daily and taken to libraries regularly more advanced in their language skills than those who are not.

The study, by Jane Waldfogel, professor of social work and public affairs at Colombia University, and visiting professor at the London School of Economics, and Elizabeth Washbrook, research associate at the Centre for Market and Public Organisation at Bristol University, analysed the information of 12,644 British five-year-olds tracked through a survey in 2006 and 2007.

It reveals that just under half – 45 per cent – of children from the poorest fifth of families were read to daily at the age of three, compared to almost eight in 10 – 78 per cent – of children from the richest fifth of families.

More than a third of children – 37 per cent – from the poorest families have parents without a single GCSE at grade C or above between them, while only one in 12 of the poorest families had a degree-educated parent, compared to four in five of the richest.

And nearly half of youngsters – 47 per cent – from the poorest families were born to mothers aged under 25.

The study found that a child at age five with a degree-educated parent is three and a half months ahead of a similar child with parents who do not have a GCSE at grade C or above.

Children at age five whose mothers were aged 25-29 when they were born had a vocabulary three and a half months more advanced than similar youngsters born to teenage mothers, the report adds.

Almost half of the attainment gap between the poorest and middle income families can be explained by parenting styles, and home environment – factors such as reading and trips to museums and galleries.

Good parenting behaviour, such as reading daily to children or making sure they have regular bedtimes can have a positive impact on youngsters’ vocabulary skills, regardless of their background, the study found.

Comparing children with the same family income, parental style and home environment, those who were read to every day at the age of three had a vocabulary at age five nearly two months ahead of those who were not read to.

And children who were taken to libraries monthly between the ages of three and five were two and a half months ahead of equivalent children at the age of five who did not make such trips.

The Trust sets out five priorities for early years education to help close this gap, including specialist outreach programmes to improve contact with vulnerable families and for children’s centres to offer parenting programmes.

Government funding to extend the free nursery education entitlement for three and four-year-olds should be redirected to provide 25 hours of nursery education to the 15 per cent most disadvantaged families, it adds.

Sutton Trust chairman Sir Peter Lampl, said: “It is a tragic indictment on modern society that our children’s future life prospects depend so much on their family background, not their individual talents.

“These findings are at once both shocking and encouraging – revealing the stark educational disadvantage experienced by children from poorer homes.”