Science attainments for children aged 6 to 7 (key stage 1)

Published 4 May 2018

Last updated 14 May 2019 - see all updates

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Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• overall, 83% of pupils finishing year 2 in 2016/17 met the expected standard for science
• Chinese pupils were most likely to meet the expected standard and Gypsy/Roma pupils were least likely to do so, at 89% and 38% respectively
• across all ethnic groups, a higher percentage of girls than boys met the expected standard
• the biggest attainment gap between boys and girls, at 9 percentage points, was found among Traveller of Irish Heritage pupils
• within every ethnic group, pupils not eligible for free school meals (FSM) were more likely to meet the expected standard than those who were eligible, except for Gypsy/Roma pupils

Things you need to know

In 2016/17, there were 653,945 pupils at the end of year 2, and ethnicity was known for 646,520 (99%) of them.

75% were White, 11% were Asian, 6% were Black, 6% were Mixed, 2% were from the Other ethnic group, and 0.5% were Chinese.

The 2015/16 key stage 1 assessments were the first to assess the new, more challenging national curriculum. The expected standard was also raised to be higher than the old level 2. As a result, figures for 2015/16 and 2016/17 are not comparable to those for earlier years.

Teacher assessments for year 2 pupils studying the national curriculum are collected and reported by the Department for Education (DfE), but test results for those pupils are not collected.

School level data is not published for key stage 1.

Results for the Isles of Scilly and the City of London, which have only one school each, have been excluded from local authority breakdowns.

The Department for Education (DfE) has also excluded, or ‘suppressed’, very small numbers (for example, values of 1 or 2, a percentage based on 1 or 2 pupils who achieved, or 0, 1 or 2 pupils who did not achieve a particular standard).

This is because, where the size of the ethnic group population is small enough that an individual’s identity could be revealed, information is suppressed to preserve confidentiality. This is consistent with DfE’s statistical policy statement on confidentiality (PDF opens in a new window or tab) (PDF).

Pupil numbers for key stage 1 vary between measures of attainment for different subjects. This is because pupils who don't have a valid teacher assessment for a particular subject are excluded from the total. For more about valid teacher assessments, see the Methodology section.

What the data measures

This data measures the science attainment of children at the end of key stage 1 (year 2) when pupils are aged 6 to 7 years.

The data covers the academic year 2016/17 (September 2016 to July 2017). Data for the academic year 2015/16 is available in the download file.

To reach the expected standard, pupils must have been assessed by a teacher as 'working at the expected standard'. There is no higher standard for science.

The ethnic categories used in this data

This data uses categories from the Department for Education’s school census, which is 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 has been added to the Asian/Asian British group but is not reported separately
• Chinese pupils have been assigned a separate category

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

The categories in the school census are as follows:

White:

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

Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups:

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

Asian/Asian British:

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

Black/African/Caribbean/Black British:

• Black African
• Black Caribbean
• Other Black background

Chinese

Other ethnic group

Information is provided for both detailed and broad ethnic groups where possible and when the data is available.

The 6 broad categories used are as follows:

• Asian/Asian British
• Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
• Chinese
• Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
• White
• Other ethnic group

However, local authority data is only provided for 5 broad ethnic groups. Information about the specific ethnic categories is excluded to preserve confidentiality and ensure individuals cannot be identified. Information about the Other ethnic group is not given because DfE does not publish data for this group at the local authority level.

The 5 broad categories are as follows:

• Asian/Asian British
• Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
• Chinese
• Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
• White

2. By ethnicity

• Location: England
• Time period: 2016/17
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in science by ethnicity

Ethnicity	Expected standard
All	83
Asian	81
Bangladeshi	79
Indian	88
Pakistani	77
Asian other	83
Black	80
Black African	81
Black Caribbean	79
Black other	79
Chinese	89
Mixed	84
Mixed White/Asian	86
Mixed White/Black African	84
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	81
Mixed other	84
White	83
White British	84
White Irish	84
White Irish Traveller	46
White Gypsy/Roma	38
White other	78
Other	75

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Science attainments for children aged 6 to 7 (key stage 1) By ethnicity Summary

The data shows that:

• overall, 83% of pupils met the expected standard in science in 2016/17
• 89% of Chinese pupils met the expected standard (the highest percentage of any ethnic group)
• 38% of Gypsy/Roma pupils met the expected standard (the lowest percentage of any ethnic group)
• 84% of White British pupils met the expected standard

3. By ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals

• Location: England
• Time period: 2016/17
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

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

Ethnicity	FSM	Non-FSM
	%	%
All	69	85
Asian	73	82
Bangladeshi	74	80
Indian	79	88
Pakistani	71	78
Asian other	76	84
Black	74	82
Black African	75	83
Black Caribbean	72	82
Black other	73	81
Chinese	83	90
Mixed	73	86
Mixed White/Asian	71	89
Mixed White/Black African	77	85
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	72	84
Mixed other	73	86
White	67	86
White British	68	87
White Irish	57	88
White Irish Traveller	42	51
White Gypsy/Roma	41	37
White other	68	79
Other	69	77

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Science attainments for children aged 6 to 7 (key stage 1) By ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals Summary

Eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is used as an indicator of deprivation by the Department for Education. For more about who qualifies for FSM, see the Methodology section.

The data shows that:

• in 2016/17, there were 92,319 pupils eligible for free school meals in year 2 (14% of all pupils)
• overall, 69% of FSM-eligible pupils met the expected standard in science, compared with 85% who were not eligible (making these the national averages)
• 68% of FSM-eligible White British pupils met the expected standard, compared with 87% of those not eligible (a gap of 19 percentage points)
• FSM-eligible pupils were less likely to meet the expected standard than those not eligible in every ethnic group except Gypsy/Roma, where 41% of FSM-eligible pupils met the expected standard, compared with 37% not eligible (a gap of 4 percentage points)
• 83% of Chinese FSM-eligible pupils met the expected standard (the highest percentage of any FSM-eligible ethnic group)
• 41% of Gypsy/Roma FSM-eligible pupils met the expected standard (the lowest percentage of any FSM-eligible ethnic group)
• the largest gap in attainment between FSM-eligible pupils and those not eligible was found in the White Irish group, where 57% and 88% met the standard respectively (a gap of 31 percentage points)

4. By ethnicity and area

• Location: England
• Time period: 2016/17
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard for science by ethnicity and area

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

^* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Science attainments for children aged 6 to 7 (key stage 1) By ethnicity and area Summary

Except for the information for White pupils, the statistics quoted for attainment by ethnicity and local authority are based on small numbers of pupils and are highly variable over time.

The data shows that:

• in 2016/17, 100% of Asian pupils met the expected standard in science in Herefordshire in the West Midlands and Rutland in the East Midlands, compared with 65% in Darlington in the North East (a gap of 35 percentage points)
• 100% of Black pupils met the expected standard in North East Lincolnshire in Yorkshire and the Humber, in Shropshire in the West Midlands, and in Poole in the South West, compared with 60% in South Tyneside in the North East (a gap of 40 percentage points)
• 100% of Chinese pupils met the expected standard in 30 out of the 75 local authorities where data for Chinese pupils is available, compared with 62% in Kirklees in Yorkshire and the Humber (a gap of 38 percentage points)
• 100% of pupils of Mixed ethnicity met the expected standard in Rutland in the East Midlands, compared with 67% in Middlesbrough in the North East and Knowsley in the North West (a gap of 33 percentage points)
• 92% of White pupils met the expected standard in Richmond Upon Thames in London and Wokingham in the South East, compared with 75% in Leicester and Nottingham in the East Midlands, Liverpool in the North West and Enfield in London (a gap of 17 percentage points)

5. By ethnicity and gender

• Location: England
• Time period: 2016/17
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard for science by ethnicity and gender

Ethnicity	Boys	Girls
	%	%
All	80	85
Asian	78	84
Bangladeshi	76	83
Indian	86	90
Pakistani	74	80
Asian other	80	86
Black	77	84
Black African	77	85
Black Caribbean	76	83
Black other	75	82
Chinese	87	91
Mixed	81	87
Mixed White/Asian	84	89
Mixed White/Black African	80	87
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	78	84
Mixed other	81	87
White	81	86
White British	82	86
White Irish	83	84
White Irish Traveller	42	51
White Gypsy/Roma	36	41
White other	75	81
Other	73	78

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Science attainments for children aged 6 to 7 (key stage 1) By ethnicity and gender Summary

The data shows that:

• 85% of girls met the expected standard in science in 2016/17, compared with 80% of boys; girls were more likely to meet the expected standard than boys in every ethnic group
• Chinese girls were most likely group of pupils to meet the expected standard, at 91%
• Gypsy/Roma boys were the least likely group of pupils to meet the expected standard, at 36%
• among White British pupils, 86% of girls met the expected standard, compared with 82% of boys (a gap of 5 percentage points)
• the biggest attainment gap between girls and boys was found among Traveller of Irish Heritage pupils, where 51% of girls met the expected standard, compared with 42% of boys (a gap of 9 percentage points)

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

• Location: England
• Time period: 2016/17
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

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

	Boys		Girls
Ethnicity	Boys FSM	Boys Non-FSM	Girls FSM	Girls Non-FSM
All	66	83	72	87
Asian	71	79	76	86
Bangladeshi	71	77	77	84
Indian	78	86	80	91
Pakistani	69	75	73	81
Asian other	74	81	78	87
Black	70	79	79	86
Black African	71	79	80	86
Black Caribbean	67	78	78	85
Black other	69	77	76	84
Chinese	78	88	89	92
Mixed	69	84	77	89
Mixed White/Asian	66	87	77	91
Mixed White/Black African	74	82	80	89
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	68	81	76	87
Mixed other	68	84	78	89
White	64	84	71	88
White British	64	85	71	89
White Irish	54	88	59	89
White Irish Traveller	40	45	45	58
White Gypsy/Roma	37	36	46	39
White other	64	76	72	82
Other	68	74	71	80

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Science attainments for children aged 6 to 7 (key stage 1) By ethnicity, gender and eligibility for free school meals Summary

Eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is used as an indicator of deprivation by the Department for Education. For more about who qualifies for FSM, see the Methodology section.

The data shows that:

• in 2016/17, there were 92,319 pupils eligible for free school meals in year 2 (14% of all pupils)
• overall, 72% of FSM-eligible girls met the expected standard in science, compared with 66% of FSM-eligible boys
• 89% of FSM-eligible Chinese girls met the expected standard (the highest percentage of any group of FSM-eligible children)
• 37% of FSM-eligible Gypsy/Roma boys met the expected standard (the lowest percentage of any group of FSM-eligible children)
• among White British pupils eligible for free school meals, 64% of boys met the expected standard, compared with 71% of girls
• the biggest attainment gap between FSM-eligible girls and boys, at 11 percentage points, was found among Mixed White and Asian pupils (77% of girls met the expected standard, compared with 66% of boys), Black Caribbean pupils (78% of girls met the expected standard, compared with 67% of boys) and Chinese pupils (89% of girls met the expected standard, compared with 78% of boys)

7. By ethnicity, area and gender

• Location: England
• Time period: 2016/17
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard for science by ethnicity, gender and area

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

^* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Science attainments for children aged 6 to 7 (key stage 1) By ethnicity, area and gender Summary

Except for the information for White pupils, the statistics quoted for attainment by ethnicity and local authority are based on small numbers of pupils and are highly variable over time.

The data shows that:

• overall, in 2016/17, girls were more likely than boys to meet the expected standard for science in every local authority except Rutland in North East Lincolnshire and Kensington and Chelsea, where the attainment was the same
• for Asian pupils, the largest attainment gap was in Torbay in the South West, where 100% of girls met the expected standard, compared with 63% of boys
• for Black pupils, the biggest attainment gap was in Leicestershire in the East Midlands, where 91% of girls met the expected standard, compared with 64% of boys
• for pupils of Mixed ethnicity, the biggest attainment gap was in Peterborough in the East of England, where 92% of girls met the expected standard, compared with 70% of boys
• for White pupils, the biggest attainment gap was in Slough in the South East, where 84% of girls met the expected standard, compared with 72% of boys
• comparisons of Chinese pupils are not possible because of the small number of local authorities with data available for this group

8. Methodology

The key stage 1 dataset is compiled using information matched together from 2 data sources:

• key stage 1 teacher assessment results
• school census records

Key stage 1 results received from local authorities are combined with pupil characteristics from the school census. Records are matched using identifiers such as surname, forename, date of birth, unique pupil number, gender and postcode. This successfully matches around 98% of results.

Key stage 1 assessment results are not published at school level. The coverage of the local authority and regional statistics is for state-funded mainstream schools only in England. This includes schools and academies but excludes hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.

The information is collected from 16,369 schools (approximately 654,000 pupils).

Pupils are included in the figures for free school meals (FSM) if their families have claimed eligibility for FSM at the time of the annual spring school census. This FSM definition includes all who were eligible to receive FSM, not only those who actually received FSM. Pupils not eligible for FSM or unclassified pupils are described as ‘non-FSM’ or ‘all other pupils’.

Parents are able to claim FSM if they receive a qualifying benefit.

FSM is used as an indicator of disadvantage, but when drawing conclusions, it should be remembered that not all eligible parents apply for FSM. Families who don’t quite reach the eligibility threshold for FSM may still be suffering deprivation.

Any pupils who do not have a valid key stage 1 outcome for a subject are excluded from the calculations for that subject and do not appear in the number of eligible pupils or in the outcome percentages. For reading, writing and mathematics, 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

For science, the valid outcomes are:

• has not met the expected standard
• working at the expected standard
• absent
• disapplied

Pupils with an outcome of ‘absent’ or ‘disapplied’ are included to ensure complete coverage of the cohort.

Suppression rules and disclosure control

Values of 1 or 2 or a percentage based on 1 or 2 pupils who achieved, or did not achieve, a particular standard are suppressed. Some additional figures may be suppressed to prevent the possibility of a suppressed figure being revealed. This suppression is consistent with DfE’s statistical policy statement on confidentiality (PDF opens in a new window or tab) (PDF) .

Figures for the Isles of Scilly and City of London are suppressed in DfE’s key stage 2 provisional Statistical First Release as these local authorities have a single school and DfE do not publish school-level information in the performance tables at the time of the provisional release. These figures are unsuppressed in the revised release as school-level figures are already published in the performance tables.

Regional eligible pupil figures are rounded to the nearest 10 so that it is not possible to derive figures for these local authorities by summing the figures for the other local authorities in the region.

In the school-level data, any figures relating to a cohort of 5 pupils or fewer are suppressed. This applies to sub-groups of pupils as well as the whole cohort. For example, if there were five boys and three girls in a school, DfE would not publish attainment for boys or girls separately but would publish attainment for all pupils as this is based on 8 pupils. The Code of Practice for Official Statistics requires DfE to take reasonable steps to ensure that their published or disseminated statistics protect confidentiality.

For more information about DfE’s disclosure control procedures for its statistical releases please see 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. For this reason some figures may not exactly match those published by the Department for Education.

Related publications

Schools, pupils and their characteristics: June 2017

Quality and methodology information

9. Data sources

Source

Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

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 2017 phonics screening checks and key stage 1 national curriculum assessments for pupils in schools in England. The results are used to monitor pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing, science and mathematics.

10. Download the data

Expected standard in science for children aged 6 to 7 (key stage 1) - national - Spreadsheet (csv) 58 KB

This file contains the following variables: Measure, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_Type, Time, Time_Type, Geography (England), Geography_Code, Gender, FSM, Value, Value_Type, Denominator

Expected standard in Science for children aged 6 to 7 - Local Authority - Spreadsheet (csv) 577 KB

This file contains the following variables: Measure, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_Type, Time, Time_Type, Region, Local_Authority, Local_Authority_Code, Gender, Value, Value_Type, Denominator

Publication release date: 4 May 2018

Updated: 14 May 2019

full page history

1. 14 May 2019 Some headings have been changed. No data or commentary has been updated.
2. 1 August 2018 fixed formatting issue in the section 'The ethnic categories used in this data'
3. 4 May 2018 updated with new data for 2016/17

From: Department for Education

Previous edition:

1. 5 March 2018

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