Children in England Starting School Without Basic Skills
Primary school teachers in England report that an increasing number of pupils are beginning school without basic skills. According to the Teacher Tapp survey of 1,132 teachers, 85 percent said at least one of their reception pupils needed help with toilet training, while 33 percent said five or more pupils were in this situation. In addition, 92 percent of respondents reported observing a significant decline in speech and language abilities among new starters over the past two years.
At St Mary’s Church of England Primary School in Stoke, speech therapist Liz Parkes emphasized that children spending more time in front of screens is limiting their communication skills. Parkes noted that through one-to-one interventions, students’ language development is supported and that by Year 2, these deficiencies are largely reduced.
The Department for Education aims for 75 percent of children leaving reception by 2028 to reach a good level of development. The ministry also announced an investment of £1.5 billion to strengthen early years services. However, teachers stated that they spend an average of 2.5 hours a day helping children who have not yet met developmental milestones, leaving less time for teaching.