THE reading skills of the poorest pupils in Essex are worse than before the pandemic and nearly a fifth below the overall rate for all pupils. 

Department for Education figures show 64 per cent of children eligible for free school meals in Essex reached the required standard in a national phonics check -  which is held at the end of Year One - at the end of the 2023-24 school year.

This was higher than in 2022-23, when 62 per cent met the standard, but down on pre-pandemic levels in 2018-19, when it was 67 per cent.

The English average for those eligible for free school meals eligibility this year was 68 per cent – up from 66 per cent the year before.

The annual checks were not conducted in 2020 and 2021, but 70 per cent met the standard when they were taken in 2018-19.

Across all pupils in Essex, 81 per cent met the required phonics standard but this shows children eligible for free school meals lagged well behind.

The total Essex average is slightly above the national average and the East of England average which are both 80 per cent.

A spokesman for Essex County Council said: “We are pleased to see an increase in the number of pupils reaching their phonics standards from the previous year.

“We hope to see a continued rise towards levels seen before the pandemic and the disruption it brought to learning."

The spokesman added: “The phonics screening check is designed to see whether pupils have learnt phonic decoding to a good standard.

"This helps identify pupils who might need extra support to improve their decoding skills.

“The phonics screening check consists of 20 real words and 20 pseudo-words, which pupils read aloud to the administrator.

“Pupils who do not meet the expected standard at the end of Year 1 are considered for a retake in Year 2, and schools are expected to maintain a programme of support for these pupils.”

The National Association of Headteachers has called for the checks to be made optional to reduce the number of "high-stakes tests" children take.

General secretary Paul Whiteman said: "The reality is that this test tells teachers little that they won’t already know through the assessments they make of pupils’ progress every day."