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1. Main facts and figures
- 71% of 4 to 5 year olds met the expected standard in development by the end of the 2018 to 2019 school year
- 76% of pupils from the Chinese ethnic group met the expected standard (the highest percentage out of the 6 aggregated ethnic groups)
- 78% of pupils from the Indian ethnic group met the standard (the highest percentage out of all 18 ethnic groups)
- in every ethnic group, pupils eligible for free school meals were less likely to meet the standard than non-eligible pupils
- in every ethnic group, girls were more likely to meet the expected standard than boys
- among Asian pupils, girls were more likely than boys to meet the expected standard in 134 out of 146 local authorities where data was available
- among Black pupils, girls were more likely than boys to meet the expected standard in 122 out of 130 local authorities where data was available
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data measures the percentage of pupils who met the expected standard in development at the end of the early years foundation stage (reception year) in England.
Teachers assess their pupils at the end of the school year in which the children turn 5 years old.
Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Not included in the data
Data for some pupils is not included, for example if they:
- are continuing in early years foundation stage beyond the year in which they turn 5 years old
- have recently arrived from abroad and so the school cannot carry out an accurate assessment
- have spent a long time away from school, for example because of illness
- have an exemption from the Secretary of State for Education
The ethnic groups used in the data
The data uses categories from the Department for Education’s (DfE) school census. This is based on the 16 ethnic groups used in the 2001 Census, with 2 exceptions:
- there are separate categories for Traveller of Irish Heritage, and Gypsy and Roma pupils
- the Chinese ethnic group has its own category, rather than being in the Asian ethnic group
Data by local authority is shown for 5 aggregated ethnic groups:
- Asian
- Black
- Chinese
- Mixed
- White
This means estimates are shown for these groups as a whole. This is because the number of people surveyed was too small to make any reliable conclusions about individual ethnic groups. The Other ethnic group is not included in data analysed by local authority because DfE does not publish this data.
The ethnicity was not known for 4% of pupils.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document (PDF opens in a new window or tab) for this data.
3. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | % | All pupils |
|---|---|---|
| All | 71 | 638,946 |
| Asian | 69 | 69,185 |
| Bangladeshi | 67 | 10,212 |
| Indian | 78 | 20,363 |
| Pakistani | 64 | 27,141 |
| Asian other | 69 | 11,469 |
| Black | 68 | 31,136 |
| Black African | 68 | 21,432 |
| Black Caribbean | 68 | 5,270 |
| Black other | 66 | 4,434 |
| Chinese | 76 | 3,002 |
| Mixed | 72 | 41,685 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 75 | 10,305 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 71 | 5,777 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 69 | 9,814 |
| Mixed other | 73 | 15,789 |
| White | 72 | 459,403 |
| White British | 73 | 409,675 |
| White Irish | 74 | 1,551 |
| Gypsy/Roma | 34 | 2,151 |
| Irish Traveller | 39 | 665 |
| White other | 66 | 45,361 |
| Other | 63 | 12,048 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
4. Data sources
Source
Early years foundation stage profile results: 2018 to 2019
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Department for Education
Note on corrections or updates
A revised version of the data, which added breakdowns for pupil characteristics, has been used. The original publication was released on 17/10/2019.
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The early years foundation stage profile aims to:
- support pupils' transition to key stage 1 (which they take from 5 to 7 years old)
- help teachers to plan an effective, responsive and appropriate curriculum for all pupils
- inform parents and carers about their child’s development against early learning goals
5. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, time, time type, ethnicity, gender, FSM eligible, percentage value, denominator
This file contains the following: measure, time, time_type, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Geography, Geography_type, Geography_code, Geography_code_type, Gender, Gender_type, Value, Denominator, Value, Note