Reading results for 6 to 7 year olds

Published 29 July 2019

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Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• in 2017/18, 75% of pupils met the expected standard in reading in year 2 (at 6 or 7 years old) and 26% of pupils met the higher standard in reading
• pupils from the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups were the most likely out of all ethnic groups to meet the expected standard
• pupils from the Chinese ethnic group were also most likely to meet the higher standard
• White Irish Traveller pupils were least likely to meet the expected standard
• White Irish Traveller pupils were also least likely to meet the higher standard, along with White Gypsy/Roma pupils
• in every ethnic group, a higher percentage of girls than boys met the expected and higher standards
• in every ethnic group except White Gypsy/Roma, pupils eligible for free school meals were less likely to meet the expected standard than other pupils

Things you need to know

In 2017/18, 664,979 pupils were assessed for reading in year 2 (when they are 6 or 7 years old).

Ethnicity was known for 99% of pupils. The broad ethnic breakdown was as follows:

• 75% of pupils were White
• 11% were Asian
• 6% had Mixed ethnicity
• 5% were Black
• 0.5% were Chinese
• 2% were from the Other ethnic group

School-level data is not published for key stage 1 subjects.

The Isles of Scilly and the City of London have only one school each. Their results are not included in local authority breakdowns.

Download the data to see percentages for 2015/16 and 2016/17.

This data only includes pupils in state-funded schools.

At the end of year 2, teachers assess pupils in reading, writing, maths and science. Pupils also take tests in reading and maths.

This data only includes teacher assessments, as schools don’t submit test data to the Department of Education.

What the data measures

This data measures the reading attainment of pupils at the end of key stage 1 (year 2), when they are 6 to 7 years old.

Teachers assess each pupil against the following standards:

• expected standard – pupils are 'working at the expected standard' or 'working at greater depth within the expected standard'
• higher standard – pupils are 'working at a greater depth within the expected standard'

The ethnic categories used in this data

This data uses categories from the Department for Education’s school census. These groupings are broadly based on the 2001 national Census, with 3 exceptions:

• Traveller of Irish Heritage and Gypsy/Roma children have been separated into 2 categories
• Sri Lankan is included in the Asian/Asian British group but is not reported separately
• Chinese pupils have been assigned a separate category from Asian

These changes were made after consultations with local authorities and lobby groups.

Data is reported for broad and detailed ethnic categories. These are

Asian/Asian British:

• Indian
• Pakistani
• Bangladeshi
• Sri Lankan
• Other Asian background

Black/African/Caribbean/Black British:

• Black African
• Black Caribbean
• Black Other

Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups:

• White and Black Caribbean
• White and Black African
• White and Asian
• Other Mixed background

White:

• White British
• White Irish
• Traveller of Irish Heritage
• Gypsy/Roma
• Other White

Chinese

Other ethnic group

2. By ethnicity

• Location: England
• Time period: 2017/18
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2018

Percentage of pupils meeting the expected and higher standards in reading by ethnicity

Ethnicity	Expected Standard	Higher Standard
All	75	26
Asian	78	25
Bangladeshi	77	23
Indian	84	33
Pakistani	73	19
Asian other	79	27
Black	77	24
Black African	78	25
Black Caribbean	73	20
Black other	75	22
Chinese	84	38
Mixed	77	28
Mixed White/Asian	81	34
Mixed White/Black African	78	27
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	72	20
Mixed other	78	29
White	75	26
White British	76	27
White Irish	77	32
Gypsy/Roma	29	3
Irish Traveller	31	3
White other	71	21
Other	69	18
Unknown	58	19

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Reading results for 6 to 7 year olds By ethnicity Summary

The data shows that:

• in 2017/18, 75% of pupils met the expected standard in reading in year 2 (at 6 or 7 years old), and 26% met the higher standard
• 84% of pupils from the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups met the expected standard (the highest percentages of any ethnic group)
• 38% of Chinese pupils met the higher standard (the highest percentage of any ethnic group)
• 29% of White Gypsy/Roma pupils met the expected standard (the lowest percentage of any ethnic group)
• 3% of White Gypsy/Roma and White Irish Traveller pupils met the higher standard (the lowest percentages of any ethnic group)
• 76% of White British pupils met the expected standard and 27% met the higher standard

3. By ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals

• Location: England
• Time period: 2017/18
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2018

Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading by ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals

Ethnicity	FSM	Non-FSM
	%	%
All	60	78
Asian	69	79
Bangladeshi	73	77
Indian	75	84
Pakistani	67	74
Asian other	68	80
Black	71	78
Black African	73	79
Black Caribbean	67	76
Black other	68	76
Chinese	72	85
Mixed	66	80
Mixed White/Asian	67	84
Mixed White/Black African	69	80
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	62	76
Mixed other	67	80
White	57	78
White British	57	79
White Irish	50	81
Gypsy/Roma	31	29
Irish Traveller	26	37
White other	60	71
Other	60	71
Unknown	58	58

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Reading results for 6 to 7 year olds By ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals Summary

The Department for Education uses eligibility for free school meals (FSM) as an indicator of deprivation.

This data shows that:

• in 2017/18, 60% of FSM-eligible pupils met the expected standard in reading, compared with 78% of non-FSM pupils (a gap of 18 percentage points)
• in every ethnic group except for White Gypsy/Roma, FSM-eligible pupils were less likely to meet the expected standard than non-FSM pupils
• among White Gypsy/Roma pupils, 31% of FSM-eligible pupils met the expected standard compared with 29% of non-FSM pupils
• White Irish pupils had the biggest attainment gap between FSM-eligible and non-FSM pupils, at 31 percentage points
• among FSM-eligible pupils, those from the Indian ethnic group were most likely out of all ethnic groups to meet the expected standard (at 75%)
• 57% of FSM-eligible White British pupils met the expected standard, compared with 79% of White British non-FSM pupils (a gap of 22 percentage points)

4. By ethnicity and area

• Location: England
• Time period: 2017/18
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2018

Percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading by ethnicity and area

Geography	All	Asian	Black	Chinese	Mixed	White	Other
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Barking and Dagenham	75	79	81	78	77	69	67
Barnet	79	81	78	91	82	79	74
Barnsley	72	73	63	50	72	72	78
Bath and North East Somerset	78	94	40	67	73	78	58
Bedford	73	71	87	90	71	73	46
Bexley	81	86	86	92	81	78	85
Birmingham	73	75	73	81	74	71	69
Blackburn with Darwen	75	76	85	90	81	74	66
Blackpool	73	78	50	67	81	73	55
Bolton	73	76	62	67	83	73	64
Bournemouth	78	81	95	80	77	78	65
Bracknell Forest	78	83	79	73	83	77	77
Bradford	71	74	65	100	73	70	59
Brent	75	79	76	71	80	74	68
Brighton and Hove	74	68	75	79	78	75	46
Bristol, City of	73	71	64	86	73	75	62
Bromley	81	88	75	85	82	81	73
Buckinghamshire	79	77	78	93	80	80	77
Bury	73	68	74	81	70	75	62
Calderdale	71	69	76	100	69	72	50
Cambridgeshire	74	80	64	92	79	74	75
Camden	77	76	75	80	79	79	71
Central Bedfordshire	79	80	80	75	79	80	70
Cheshire East	77	79	81	70	80	77	71
Cheshire West and Chester	74	76	76	88	77	74	58
City of London
Cornwall	72	78	100	69	76	72	65
County Durham	76	80	56	73	75	77	56
Coventry	72	78	73	75	73	70	61
Croydon	77	81	79	91	77	76	68
Cumbria	75	80	75	73	79	75	79
Darlington	76	83	90	75	84	76	50
Derby	72	73	83	83	78	71	67
Derbyshire	76	81	70	86	76	76	56
Devon	75	81	64	83	75	75	59
Doncaster	72	74	74	80	75	72	61
Dorset	76	78	50	100	80	76	75
Dudley	74	73	74	70	75	75	65
Ealing	75	79	71	84	78	79	67
East Riding of Yorkshire	76	86	40	67	84	76	55
East Sussex	77	82	71	76	81	77	65
Enfield	73	81	74	79	82	69	75
Essex	77	83	82	80	79	76	77
Gateshead	78	91	86	83	80	78	54
Gloucestershire	75	79	73	100	80	75	59
Greenwich	79	85	83	93	79	74	74
Hackney	81	87	81	89	81	80	79
Halton	73	50	100	N/A*	83	73	33
Hammersmith and Fulham	80	85	74	100	80	82	76
Hampshire	81	83	78	94	83	81	80
Haringey	77	84	81	69	83	75	67
Harrow	79	83	77	87	80	74	65
Hartlepool	75	79	100	80	72	76	63
Havering	77	85	79	94	76	76	74
Herefordshire, County of	79	75	100	100	86	79	46
Hertfordshire	78	83	78	92	78	78	79
Hillingdon	76	81	76	91	78	73	72
Hounslow	80	85	76	88	85	78	77
Isle of Wight	70	89	0	100	69	70	0
Isles of Scilly
Islington	76	80	70	100	75	78	71
Kensington and Chelsea	81	83	76	60	85	83	74
Kent	78	85	86	82	83	77	71
Kingston upon Hull, City of	72	84	66	100	70	72	65
Kingston upon Thames	80	79	74	92	82	81	74
Kirklees	72	72	70	80	68	73	67
Knowsley	71	87	82	100	71	71	70
Lambeth	79	83	78	86	81	80	76
Lancashire	75	73	79	79	75	75	63
Leeds	69	68	66	81	68	70	67
Leicester	70	76	72	74	71	64	71
Leicestershire	75	79	79	84	75	75	84
Lewisham	78	78	75	80	79	81	72
Lincolnshire	72	88	85	86	76	72	62
Liverpool	70	74	76	76	70	70	55
Luton	72	74	75	71	76	69	63
Manchester	72	71	77	89	75	72	64
Medway	78	84	87	91	80	76	82
Merton	78	83	80	76	76	77	69
Middlesbrough	68	68	84	50	75	69	39
Milton Keynes	76	83	76	89	81	74	70
Newcastle upon Tyne	76	74	74	82	79	77	72
Newham	80	82	81	80	81	73	82
Norfolk	73	79	72	76	75	73	67
North East Lincolnshire	71	80	71	100	77	71	59
North Lincolnshire	75	90	44	83	90	76	43
North Somerset	76	69	62	80	77	77	33
North Tyneside	78	80	79	100	81	78	60
North Yorkshire	75	79	74	63	78	75	62
Northamptonshire	74	75	73	89	73	74	69
Northumberland	81	86	100	88	86	80	75
Nottingham	69	70	75	85	71	68	62
Nottinghamshire	74	76	78	86	76	74	75
Oldham	69	65	68	63	72	72	47
Oxfordshire	76	77	73	89	78	77	61
Peterborough	68	69	77	71	70	67	70
Plymouth	72	77	65	89	71	72	55
Poole	78	88	73	50	73	78	75
Portsmouth	74	81	77	92	79	73	59
Reading	76	83	72	85	77	75	71
Redbridge	81	86	79	93	81	76	77
Redcar and Cleveland	77	80	50	100	85	77	25
Richmond upon Thames	84	87	74	85	86	84	78
Rochdale	72	70	75	83	69	73	65
Rotherham	73	77	77	54	73	73	57
Rutland	75	75	83	N/A*	92	75	100
Salford	74	80	79	57	76	74	70
Sandwell	71	75	75	74	74	68	57
Sefton	73	68	45	80	72	74	50
Sheffield	72	74	72	80	70	73	66
Shropshire	74	79	88	83	73	74	67
Slough	76	82	72	100	77	69	72
Solihull	77	81	70	91	79	76	78
Somerset	77	80	87	83	79	76	64
South Gloucestershire	79	90	87	92	83	79	60
South Tyneside	77	80	67	86	65	78	72
Southampton	76	78	78	86	78	76	70
Southend-on-Sea	76	69	82	86	79	76	68
Southwark	79	83	78	88	80	80	68
St. Helens	73	82	57	86	78	73	43
Staffordshire	78	76	70	86	81	78	62
Stockport	75	69	74	93	70	76	63
Stockton-on-Tees	77	75	86	57	79	78	50
Stoke-on-Trent	72	72	70	80	80	72	54
Suffolk	73	78	79	100	74	73	75
Sunderland	76	75	95	80	71	76	83
Surrey	79	79	77	86	83	79	75
Sutton	80	89	84	91	77	78	77
Swindon	77	80	92	92	77	77	68
Tameside	73	72	72	75	76	73	70
Telford and Wrekin	76	82	75	100	74	76	50
Thurrock	77	83	84	100	76	75	73
Torbay	73	73	100	100	69	73	38
Tower Hamlets	76	77	83	85	74	74	67
Trafford	78	78	73	81	77	79	73
Wakefield	73	75	73	95	70	73	66
Walsall	73	77	74	71	74	72	60
Waltham Forest	79	83	77	94	80	79	79
Wandsworth	82	78	78	94	80	86	77
Warrington	76	86	83	100	69	76	75
Warwickshire	77	82	80	87	80	77	76
West Berkshire	78	83	82	67	82	78	81
West Sussex	75	76	71	89	76	75	59
Westminster	78	80	79	75	83	81	74
Wigan	75	64	73	75	84	75	57
Wiltshire	75	82	74	89	73	76	67
Windsor and Maidenhead	81	77	85	100	90	81	73
Wirral	73	81	92	84	78	72	64
Wokingham	81	87	89	85	79	80	65
Wolverhampton	74	80	78	77	73	71	68
Worcestershire	75	76	86	64	78	75	73
York	76	80	100	64	77	76	65

^* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Reading results for 6 to 7 year olds By ethnicity and area Summary

The data shows that:

• 86% of White pupils met the expected standard in Wandsworth, compared with 64% in Leicester (a gap of 21 percentage points)
• figures for other ethnic groups are based on small numbers, so reliable generalisations can’t be made

5. By ethnicity and gender

• Location: England
• Time period: 2017/18
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2018

Percentage of pupils meeting the expected and higher standards in reading by ethnicity and gender

	Boys		Girls
Ethnicity	Boys Expected standard	Boys Higher standard	Girls Expected standard	Girls Higher standard
All	71	22	80	29
Asian	73	22	82	28
Bangladeshi	72	20	81	27
Indian	81	29	88	37
Pakistani	67	16	78	22
Asian other	75	24	82	29
Black	72	20	81	28
Black African	74	22	82	29
Black Caribbean	68	15	78	24
Black other	70	19	79	25
Chinese	81	34	87	42
Mixed	73	24	81	31
Mixed White/Asian	78	31	85	37
Mixed White/Black African	74	24	82	31
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	67	16	78	25
Mixed other	75	26	82	32
White	71	23	80	29
White British	72	23	80	30
White Irish	72	30	81	35
Gypsy/Roma	25	2	33	4
Irish Traveller	24	2	37	5
White other	67	19	75	24
Other	65	16	73	21
Unknown	55	17	62	21

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Reading results for 6 to 7 year olds By ethnicity and gender Summary

The data shows that:

• in 2017/18, 80% of girls and 71% of boys met the expected standard in reading, while 29% of girls and 22% of boys met the higher standard
• in every ethnic group, girls were more likely than boys to meet the expected and higher standards
• girls from the Indian ethnic group were most likely to meet the expected standard (with 88% doing so)
• White Irish Traveller boys were least likely to meet the expected standard (24%)
• girls from the Chinese ethnic group were most likely to meet the higher standard (42%)
• White Irish Traveller and White Gypsy/Roma boys were the least likely to meet the higher standard (2%)
• at the expected standard, the smallest gap between girls and boys was in the Chinese ethnic group, where 87% of girls and 81% of boys met the standard
• at the expected standard, the biggest gap between girls and boys was in the White Irish Traveller groups, where 37% of girls and 24% of boys met the standard
• at the higher standard, the smallest gap between girls and boys was in the White Gypsy/Roma group, where 4% of girls and 2% of boys met the standard
• at the higher standard, the biggest gap between girls and boys was in the Mixed White and Black Caribbean group, where 25% of girls and 16% of boys met the standard
• among White British pupils, 80% of girls and 72% of boys met the expected standard, while 30% of girls and 23% of boys met the higher standard

6. By ethnicity, gender and eligibility for free school meals

• Location: England
• Time period: 2017/18
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2018

Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading by ethnicity, gender and eligibility for free school meals

	Boys		Girls
Ethnicity	Boys FSM	Boys Non FSM	Girls FSM	Girls Non FSM
All	55	74	66	82
Asian	63	74	75	83
Bangladeshi	67	73	79	82
Indian	69	81	82	88
Pakistani	61	69	72	79
Asian other	63	77	73	84
Black	67	74	75	83
Black African	69	75	77	84
Black Caribbean	62	70	71	81
Black other	64	72	73	81
Chinese	67	82	80	88
Mixed	60	76	71	84
Mixed White/Asian	62	80	73	87
Mixed White/Black African	64	77	74	84
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	55	71	69	81
Mixed other	62	77	72	84
White	52	74	63	82
White British	52	75	63	83
White Irish	43	78	58	85
Gypsy/Roma	25	26	37	32
Irish Traveller	21	28	31	46
White other	56	67	65	76
Other	56	68	65	75

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Reading results for 6 to 7 year olds By ethnicity, gender and eligibility for free school meals Summary

The Department for Education uses eligibility for free school meals (FSM) as an indicator of deprivation.

This data shows that:

• among FSM-eligible pupils, girls from the Indian ethnic group were the most likely to meet the expected standard (at 82%)
• 21% of FSM-eligible White Irish Traveller boys met the expected standard, the lowest percentage out of all groups
• among FSM-eligible pupils, 66% of girls and 55% of boys the expected standard

7. By ethnicity, gender and area

• Location: England
• Time period: 2017/18
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2018

Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading by ethnicity, gender and area

	All		Asian		Black		Chinese		Mixed		White		Other
Geography	All boys	All girls	Asian boys	Asian girls	Black boys	Black girls	Chinese boys	Chinese girls	Mixed boys	Mixed girls	White boys	White girls	Other boys	Other girls
Barking and Dagenham	70	80	71	86	76	88	67	83	72	83	65	73	72	59
Barnet	76	82	79	84	75	82	84	97	79	86	76	82	73	75
Barnsley	66	78	70	80	50	80	0	100	71	72	66	78	60	100
Bath and North East Somerset	75	81	100	86	33	44	75	50	71	75	75	82	57	60
Bedford	68	77	68	74	85	88	75	100	65	77	68	78	58	38
Bexley	78	83	84	89	82	91	91	94	80	83	76	81	76	94
Birmingham	68	77	70	81	70	76	81	81	69	79	68	75	67	72
Blackburn with Darwen	70	80	69	83	71	95	100	88	73	88	71	77	88	33
Blackpool	70	76	77	79	67	33	50	100	83	81	70	76	25	71
Bolton	68	77	71	81	53	71	63	75	83	83	69	77	57	73
Bournemouth	73	82	79	83	91	100	80	80	73	82	74	82	43	77
Bracknell Forest	72	83	76	94	74	84	50	86	83	84	72	82	50	100
Bradford	67	77	68	81	56	71	100	100	72	74	66	74	48	73
Brent	70	80	74	86	72	81	100	50	73	86	70	78	62	76
Brighton and Hove	70	79	70	66	64	83	80	79	74	82	70	80	52	40
Bristol, City of	70	77	70	71	62	67	85	87	69	77	71	79	60	65
Bromley	79	83	86	89	72	79	80	92	81	83	79	82	64	83
Buckinghamshire	76	83	74	79	72	84	94	92	76	84	76	84	84	67
Bury	70	76	66	70	70	77	67	100	67	73	72	77	59	67
Calderdale	66	77	65	72	70	82	100	100	72	67	66	79	67	33
Cambridgeshire	70	78	77	83	56	76	96	88	77	81	69	78	78	70
Camden	73	81	69	81	71	78	82	78	74	85	77	81	65	77
Central Bedfordshire	76	83	76	86	73	88	78	71	77	81	76	84	64	75
Cheshire East	73	80	78	79	60	91	60	80	81	79	73	81	64	80
Cheshire West and Chester	70	79	69	82	73	83	86	100	75	80	70	79	50	64
City of London
Cornwall	67	77	67	89	N/A*	100	75	60	76	76	67	77	70	60
County Durham	73	81	76	83	47	100	64	80	76	74	73	81	50	64
Coventry	67	77	73	83	69	78	64	90	72	74	65	75	50	69
Croydon	74	81	78	84	75	83	82	100	74	80	73	81	62	76
Cumbria	70	80	92	71	100	67	71	75	74	84	70	80	80	75
Darlington	72	80	78	89	100	83	50	100	62	100	73	80	50	50
Derby	67	76	66	80	81	84	79	100	77	80	67	75	65	70
Derbyshire	71	80	68	93	67	73	93	79	70	82	71	80	58	54
Devon	71	79	69	100	33	88	80	88	77	73	71	79	61	57
Doncaster	67	77	74	75	59	95	67	89	65	85	68	77	38	82
Dorset	72	80	68	89	50	50	100	100	75	84	72	80	71	78
Dudley	70	79	65	82	65	80	75	50	65	83	71	79	74	55
Ealing	72	79	76	82	68	74	88	82	71	84	76	82	63	72
East Riding of Yorkshire	72	80	88	85	0	67	50	100	82	87	72	80	43	62
East Sussex	72	82	82	82	68	76	67	82	77	84	72	82	64	67
Enfield	69	76	79	83	68	80	86	76	80	84	66	72	73	78
Essex	73	81	82	85	74	91	72	91	77	82	73	80	62	91
Gateshead	74	82	86	96	67	90	86	80	77	85	74	82	45	65
Gloucestershire	71	80	78	81	69	76	100	100	76	84	71	80	62	56
Greenwich	75	84	82	89	78	89	91	96	70	87	71	78	75	73
Hackney	77	85	84	90	75	87	91	88	79	83	75	86	81	76
Halton	69	77	50	N/A*	N/A*	100	N/A*	N/A*	78	93	69	77	0	100
Hammersmith and Fulham	77	82	83	86	72	76	100	100	78	83	80	84	69	81
Hampshire	78	84	78	89	73	83	92	96	80	86	78	84	78	82
Haringey	73	81	84	84	77	84	44	94	80	86	72	79	66	69
Harrow	75	82	80	87	72	80	60	100	77	84	71	77	61	68
Hartlepool	71	80	70	83	100	100	50	100	58	85	72	80	75	50
Havering	72	82	79	92	75	83	92	100	68	85	71	80	67	77
Herefordshire, County of	74	84	78	73	100	100	100	N/A*	83	88	73	85	57	33
Hertfordshire	74	82	79	87	75	82	93	92	75	81	74	82	80	78
Hillingdon	71	81	76	86	73	79	67	100	74	84	68	79	69	76
Hounslow	76	84	83	88	70	83	100	83	82	88	73	83	73	81
Isle of Wight	64	76	67	100	0	N/A*	100	N/A*	65	74	64	76	0	N/A*
Isles of Scilly
Islington	71	80	76	83	65	74	100	100	74	77	73	85	68	75
Kensington and Chelsea	77	85	80	85	65	86	60	N/A*	86	84	81	85	64	83
Kent	74	83	81	90	82	90	77	88	79	86	73	82	65	78
Kingston upon Hull, City of	68	76	95	74	75	59	100	100	66	74	68	77	64	67
Kingston upon Thames	76	84	75	84	65	82	79	100	77	86	78	84	73	75
Kirklees	68	77	66	78	72	67	100	57	61	75	69	78	69	65
Knowsley	66	77	89	86	89	75	100	100	57	77	65	77	60	80
Lambeth	75	83	77	90	73	84	83	90	77	85	77	82	76	77
Lancashire	71	79	70	77	70	87	74	86	69	82	71	79	71	52
Leeds	66	73	64	73	64	68	82	79	66	71	67	74	62	72
Leicester	67	74	73	80	68	76	64	88	65	76	61	68	63	79
Leicestershire	71	79	73	85	78	80	75	93	73	76	71	79	78	93
Lewisham	75	81	70	88	71	79	71	88	77	82	79	82	64	81
Lincolnshire	68	77	83	92	75	93	60	100	72	79	68	77	62	64
Liverpool	65	75	67	80	71	81	67	84	65	75	65	75	48	63
Luton	65	79	66	80	69	81	67	75	68	83	62	75	54	71
Manchester	67	77	67	76	71	83	91	87	70	82	67	77	62	67
Medway	73	83	77	93	86	88	88	100	75	85	71	82	87	78
Merton	75	82	79	88	76	83	77	75	70	81	75	79	66	73
Middlesbrough	63	73	61	75	76	90	67	0	71	79	64	74	42	36
Milton Keynes	71	81	79	88	73	80	100	75	73	89	69	79	67	73
Newcastle upon Tyne	72	80	67	81	66	80	81	83	76	82	74	80	60	84
Newham	76	83	79	86	76	86	78	82	76	85	70	77	82	81
Norfolk	69	78	76	82	69	74	73	79	73	78	69	78	58	77
North East Lincolnshire	66	77	89	67	50	80	100	100	82	72	66	77	50	71
North Lincolnshire	69	81	84	97	75	20	100	75	89	90	69	82	31	60
North Somerset	73	80	73	65	67	57	67	100	72	81	73	81	0	50
North Tyneside	74	82	78	84	75	83	100	100	76	86	74	82	56	67
North Yorkshire	71	79	79	79	58	91	67	60	74	83	71	79	53	71
Northamptonshire	70	78	72	78	67	80	88	92	71	75	70	78	60	85
Northumberland	76	85	93	78	100	100	100	75	81	92	75	85	71	80
Nottingham	64	74	67	75	73	77	71	100	66	75	63	74	59	67
Nottinghamshire	70	79	74	79	75	81	83	90	71	82	70	79	74	77
Oldham	64	73	59	71	64	70	69	33	66	77	68	76	55	39
Oxfordshire	73	80	74	80	67	77	87	92	73	83	73	81	56	67
Peterborough	62	74	65	74	74	80	67	75	61	79	62	74	63	78
Plymouth	66	79	57	100	64	67	82	100	59	84	67	78	39	71
Poole	75	82	84	91	67	80	100	0	76	70	75	83	75	75
Portsmouth	68	79	79	83	81	74	86	100	74	83	67	79	46	80
Reading	74	77	83	82	67	79	83	86	78	76	73	76	61	85
Redbridge	79	84	83	88	79	80	88	100	77	84	73	78	72	86
Redcar and Cleveland	73	81	67	100	67	0	100	N/A*	91	76	72	81	33	0
Richmond upon Thames	81	87	83	92	79	68	80	90	83	88	82	87	66	100
Rochdale	67	77	64	75	69	81	71	100	64	76	69	78	63	68
Rotherham	69	77	73	81	66	86	50	60	68	80	69	76	46	67
Rutland	70	82	80	67	100	67	N/A*	N/A*	88	100	68	82	N/A*	100
Salford	69	80	71	88	77	83	50	67	70	83	69	80	64	76
Sandwell	67	75	72	78	73	78	67	82	66	81	64	73	51	61
Sefton	68	78	63	75	50	40	67	100	61	87	69	78	45	55
Sheffield	68	76	71	78	65	78	81	79	65	76	69	77	63	70
Shropshire	71	78	79	79	100	80	100	50	65	80	71	78	67	N/A*
Slough	71	82	78	87	62	84	100	100	72	83	63	76	63	82
Solihull	73	81	73	90	63	78	86	100	74	84	73	80	85	70
Somerset	72	81	71	90	83	89	83	83	78	81	72	81	45	82
South Gloucestershire	74	85	85	95	88	87	80	100	75	89	73	85	50	70
South Tyneside	74	81	75	83	67	67	100	83	57	73	74	83	80	63
Southampton	71	82	73	83	75	82	73	100	72	84	71	82	65	74
Southend-on-Sea	72	80	78	62	74	92	100	75	78	81	71	82	64	75
Southwark	74	83	78	87	73	83	87	90	75	86	77	84	65	71
St. Helens	68	78	67	92	60	50	100	80	63	88	69	77	13	83
Staffordshire	74	83	69	84	67	76	81	89	73	89	74	83	50	68
Stockport	72	78	69	70	65	82	100	89	71	68	73	79	60	67
Stockton-on-Tees	73	82	72	80	84	92	40	100	74	84	73	83	50	50
Stoke-on-Trent	67	76	68	76	68	72	77	86	76	85	68	76	50	57
Suffolk	68	78	70	88	80	79	100	100	68	80	69	78	72	79
Sunderland	71	81	71	80	100	92	82	75	60	82	71	82	75	88
Surrey	75	83	75	83	71	83	90	82	79	87	74	83	68	81
Sutton	75	85	85	93	76	93	86	96	73	81	74	83	63	90
Swindon	73	82	72	87	86	98	100	83	73	81	73	81	64	73
Tameside	66	79	69	75	64	81	75	75	71	81	66	80	63	73
Telford and Wrekin	72	80	75	88	69	81	100	100	73	75	73	80	50	N/A*
Thurrock	73	80	81	85	82	86	100	100	70	83	71	79	81	64
Torbay	67	80	71	75	N/A*	100	100	100	59	82	68	80	40	33
Tower Hamlets	72	81	72	82	76	89	78	89	73	75	72	77	66	69
Trafford	75	82	75	82	71	75	70	93	71	82	75	83	78	70
Wakefield	69	77	71	79	74	72	100	86	71	69	68	77	65	67
Walsall	67	78	71	83	67	82	67	73	69	80	67	77	52	67
Waltham Forest	76	83	81	85	71	83	94	94	78	83	75	83	79	78
Wandsworth	79	85	74	84	75	82	83	100	79	82	83	89	80	71
Warrington	71	81	84	89	75	100	100	100	63	74	71	81	73	78
Warwickshire	73	82	77	87	78	82	85	90	75	86	72	82	79	70
West Berkshire	73	83	73	91	91	73	50	100	78	85	73	83	75	83
West Sussex	70	79	70	81	68	75	90	89	70	82	71	79	48	73
Westminster	74	84	76	84	80	77	67	83	79	89	74	90	69	80
Wigan	70	80	75	59	60	84	73	80	76	90	70	81	53	61
Wiltshire	72	79	83	81	65	83	86	100	74	72	72	80	67	67
Windsor and Maidenhead	78	84	76	77	83	88	100	100	83	96	78	85	62	85
Wirral	68	78	76	86	89	100	75	100	74	83	67	78	80	50
Wokingham	78	85	82	91	85	93	83	87	78	80	76	84	63	67
Wolverhampton	69	78	77	84	76	79	75	83	68	77	66	77	62	73
Worcestershire	71	80	69	82	80	92	56	80	73	83	71	80	88	50
York	74	79	75	88	N/A*	100	80	50	77	79	74	79	54	86

^* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Reading results for 6 to 7 year olds By ethnicity, gender and area Summary

This data shows that:

• among White pupils, the biggest gap between girls and boys was in Westminster, where 90% of girls and 74% of boys met the expected standard
• figures for other ethnic groups are based on small numbers, so reliable generalisations can’t be made

8. Methodology

Key stage 1 data is submitted to the Department for Education by local authorities. Data was collected from 16,400 schools.

This data is matched to school census records to identify pupils’ ethnicities and free school meal eligibility.

Some pupils are eligible for free school meals (FSM) if their parents receive a qualifying benefit. We refer to these children as ‘FSM-eligible’. In 2017/18, there were 91,174 FSM-eligible pupils in year 2 (14% of all pupils).

FSM eligibility is used as an indicator of disadvantage. However, not all eligible parents apply for FSM and some families who do not reach the eligibility threshold may still be experiencing deprivation.

We refer to pupils who are not eligible for FSM or where eligibility is unknown as ‘non-FSM’.

Pupils with no valid key stage 1 outcome for a subject are excluded from the calculations for that subject. They do not appear in the number of eligible pupils or in the outcome percentages.

For reading the valid outcomes are:

• below the pre-key stage standard
• foundations for the expected standard
• working towards the expected standard
• working at the expected standard
• working at greater depth within the expected standard
• absent
• disapplied
• maladministration

Suppression rules and disclosure control

Figures for the Isles of Scilly and City of London are suppressed as these local authorities have one school each. The Department for Education (DfE) does not publish school-level information for phonics.

You can also read DfE’s statistical policy statement on confidentiality (PDF opens in a new window or tab) (PDF).

Rounding

Percentages given in charts, tables and downloads are rounded to the nearest whole number.

Related publications

Schools, pupils and their characteristics: June 2018.

Quality and methodology information

9. Data sources

Source

Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2018

Type of data

Administrative data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Department for Education

Publication frequency

Yearly

Purpose of data source

This data provides results for the 2018 key stage 1 national curriculum assessments. The results are used to monitor pupils’ attainment in reading, writing, maths and science.

10. Download the data

Key Stage 1 Reading Local Authorities - Spreadsheet (csv) 533 KB

Key Stage 1 Reading National - Spreadsheet (csv) 73 KB

Publication release date: 29 July 2019

full page history

1. 29 July 2019 Updated with the latest available data (for 2017/18).

From: Department for Education

Previous editions:

1. 14 May 2019
2. 4 March 2018

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