According to recent statistics, performance in the phonics screening check- one of the government’s key measures of success at primary school- is now at its lowest ever level since 2014, while writing attainment dropped more than 10 percentage points.

The findings  will suggest that the impact Covid-19 had on really young children is now becoming very apparent among the youngest of pupils.

Department for Education data shows the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the year 1 phonics screening check fell from 82 per cent three years ago to 75 per cent this year. It is the first fall since the check was introduced in 2012.

The proportion of pupils meeting the standard by the end of year 2 also fell, from 91 to 87 per cent, though this figure also fell slightly in 2019.

In teacher assessments for year 2 pupils, the proportion meeting the expected standard dropped from 75 to 67 per cent in reading, 69 to 58 per cent in writing and 76 to 68 per cent in maths.

The data also calls special attention to the need for parents to take extra time out to support their children’s reading and writing from a very young age.  Research suggests that although many parents support the reading and writing of their young children, a lot more parents are failing to provide the adequate level of support to their children. A number of parents also don’t have the skills to sufficiently help their very young children develop their reading and writing skills at an early age because they simply don’t know where to start, and largely consider it the responsibility of schools to do in later years.

The foundational development of children are important to their academic progress throughout their schooling years, making their progress during  each stage very important. Children of every age group are expected to be at a minimum level of attainment to indicate  proper educational development in their learning.

The latest drop in reading and writing levels comes after key stage 2 results for year 6 pupils published earlier this year also showed a drop in attainment in most disciplines. This year saw the first primary tests held since 2019 after they were cancelled because of Covid in 2020 and 2021.

The proportion of non-disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in year 1 fell from 84 to 80 per cent. Whereas attainment among disavantaged pupils dropped from 71 to 62 per cent.

Poorer pupils also saw sharper drops in reading (11 percentage points), writing (14 percentage points) and maths (10 percentage points) than their better-off peers.

In comparison, non-disadvantaged pupils saw their performance fall 6 percentage points in reading, 10 percentage points in writing and 6 percentage points in maths.

Lower-prior-attaining pupils fare worse at KS2

The proportion of pupils meeting expected reading standards at the end of key stage 2 has also  fallen among those with low prior attainment since Covid hit – but held up among higher-attaining pupils.

Previous data has shown an improvement in standards between 2019 and 2022 in KS2 SATs, whereas it dropped in writing and maths.

Among pupils who met the phonics standard in year 1 in 2017, 85 per cent went on to meet expected standards in the KS2 reading test. This was the same proportion as in 2019, despite Covid disruption to education.

But among pupils who only met phonics standards a year later in year 2, the proportion meeting expected reading standards in year 6 SATs dropped 6 percentage points on 2019 levels to 56 per cent.

Among those who did not meet phonics standards at all, the figure dropped 5 percentage points to 18 per cent.

In writing, the proportion meeting expected standards in year 6 dropped for all pupils compared to pre-pandemic – but by a more significant margin for those with lower prior attainment.

Among those who had met phonics standards in year 1, the proportion reaching expected standards at the end of KS2 fell 10 percentage points to 81 per cent.

For those meeting them a year later in year 2, it fell 24 percentage points to 38 per cent. For those who did not meet phonics standards, it more than halved – down 12 percentage points to 11 per cent.