Wigan children's phonics skills remain below pre-pandemic levels

Across England, children have improved their phonics skills in the last year, but they remain worse than before lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.

The Association of School and College Leaders said the improvement was a testament to the "superb work of school staff".

Department for Education figures show 79 per cent of children aged five to seven in key stage one in Wigan met the expected standard in phonics tests, which assess their speaking, reading and pronunciation.

This was up from 75 per cent the year before, but remained below the 80 per cent in 2018-19.

Nationally, 79 per cent of key stage one children met the standard in phonics assessment – up from 75 per cent, but below 82 per cent in 2018-19.

Tiffnie Harris, primary and data specialist at the ASCL, said: "Young children’s early learning was affected by that disruption and it is a testament to the superb work of school staff that results are improving despite the lack of adequate government investment in education recovery.

"However, schools are facing severe challenges because of staff shortages, underfunding and high rates of child poverty, and it is vital that the Government addresses these issues."

The figures show 67 per cent of Wigan children reached the expected standard in reading in 2022-23, in line with the year before.

There was an improvement in writing skills, with 60 per cent meeting the standard last year.

Across England, 68 per cent of key stage one pupils met the standard in reading, up from 67 per cent in 2022. Similarly, 60 per cent met the standard in writing, up from 58 per cent.

However, attainment in both subjects remained below pre-pandemic levels of 75 and 69 per cent.

A Department for Education spokesperson said he was "pleased to see that pupils are continuing to catch up on learning following the pandemic".

They added: "We have made £5 billion available since 2020 for education recovery initiatives, which have supported millions of pupils in need of extra support.

"Our ongoing investment in English and maths curriculum hub programmes will support children to benefit from high-quality teaching in early reading and maths respectively, including through phonics and Teaching for Mastery interventions."