Half of all children are “not ready to start school”, YouGov survey suggests
By Rachel Lawler
Half of all children starting Reception are “not ready to start school” according to a new teacher .
88% of teachers and teaching assistants said that they were having to spend additional time with those not reaching their developmental milestones, leaving them less time for the rest of the children in their class.
"Majority" of children
Working in partnership with early years organisation Kindred2, YouGov surveyed almost 1,000 school teachers and conducted one-to-one interviews about their experiences in 2021.
Some teachers told researchers that “the majority” of their pupils were now developmentally far behind expectations for their age group. Examples included children not being toilet trained, struggling to socialise and express themselves and being unable to understand basic instructions.
Teacher concerns
One teacher said: “We always have a significantly high proportion of children who are not school ready, about 50%. This year it’s probably 80-90%.”
A teaching assistant said: “In my school we have found our younger children are lacking in social skills in particular. Children are finding sharing, peer relationships and even interactions with adults extremely difficult.”
Kindred2 has called for a "rethink" childcare and teaching for children in the early years and hopes to start a "national conversation" about the results of the survey.
New early years focus
Felicity Gillespie, director at Kindred2, said: “The YouGov survey suggesting half our children are starting their school journey at such a disadvantage is shocking, particularly as we know what an impact being behind at this point has on