Key Stage 2 disadvantage gap has narrowed yet remains wider than pre-pandemic levels, new research reveals

The government has released data today exploring attainment in SATs assessments taken by pupils at the end of Year 6 at Key Stage 2.

The statistics cover the attainment of Year 6 pupils who took assessments in summer 2024. These pupils experienced disruption to their learning during the pandemic, particularly at the end of Year 2 and in Year 3.

In individual subjects, attainment increased in reading, writing and science compared to 2023. Attainment remained the same in maths and grammar, punctuation and spelling.  74 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in reading, up from 73 per cent in 2023. 72 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in writing, up from 71 per cent last year.

Meanwhile, 81 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in science, up from 80 per cent in 2023.

In all of reading, writing and maths (combined), 61 per cent of pupils met the expected standard, up from 60 per cent in 2023.  

Girls continue to outperform boys at the expected standard in all subjects except maths, where boys outperformed girls by one percentage point, according to the data.

The government also reported in its data that the disadvantage gap index is down from 3.21 in 2023 to 3.12 in 2024. The 2024 disadvantage statistics are provisional and do not include pupils in the care of a local authority unless they were eligible for free school meals during the last six years or ceased to be looked-after in the last year.

The disadvantage gap index had reduced between 2011 and 2018 – indicating that the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers was becoming smaller – before remaining at a similar level between 2018 and 2019 and increasing in 2022 to the highest level since 2012.

In reading, writing and maths (combined), 45 per cent of disadvantaged pupils met the expected standard in 2024 compared to 67 per cent of other pupils, both increasing by one percentage point since 2023, keeping the gap at 22 percentage points.

In 2024, three per cent of disadvantaged pupils met the higher standard in reading, writing and maths (combined), while 10 per cent of other pupils met the higher standard. Both figures are unchanged since 2023.

Attainment in reading has increased compared to 2023 for both groups. Attainment in writing increased for non-disadvantaged pupils but remained at the same level as 2023 for disadvantaged pupils, whilst attainment in maths remained the same for both groups. Only in reading is attainment at or above levels seen before the pandemic (equal for disadvantaged pupils, with an increase of one percentage point for non-disadvantaged pupils).

Responding to today’s data, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “The KS2 data published today shows a positive reduction in the disadvantage gap index to 3.12 in 2024, but it is still higher than before the pandemic. The gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils remains significant with 45 per cent of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined in 2024 compared to 67 per cent of other pupils.

“These disparities have been impacted by the pandemic, cost-of-living crisis, and a decade of cuts to school funding and community support. When families are struggling with insecure housing, and facing impossible budgeting decisions around eating and heating, this inevitably affects children’s ability to attend school and focus and thrive in class.

“This isn’t just an issue for education, and while welcome, the government’s promise to tackle child poverty must deliver tangible results, and more must also be done to ensure social care and mental health services are equipped to support children and families facing challenges.

“The government’s curriculum and assessment review must also ask some hard questions about the nature and purpose of Year 6 SATs and other statutory tests, which distort the curriculum and pile pressure on pupils and teachers.

“School leaders overwhelmingly tell us that these tests are simply an accountability tool used to judge and compare school performance – and not even a reliable one at that.  These tests don’t inform future teaching and learning, support children’s progress, or aid their transition to secondary school.”

The government reported that in 2024, 21 per cent of pupils at the end of Key Stage 2 had a special educational need (SEN). Pupils with SEN either have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or receive SEN support. In 2024, 5 per cent of all pupils had an EHCP and 16 per cent were on SEN support.

In 2024, 21 per cent of pupils with SEN met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (combined), up from 20 per cent in 2023. Of those pupils on SEN support, 26 per cent met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (combined), up from 24 per cent in 2023, while 9 per cent of those pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan met the standard, up from 8 per cent in 2023.

Louis Hodge, associate director for school system and performance at the Education Policy Institute (EPI) also responded to the data, saying: “Headline attainment results for primary school pupils show whilst there have been some small improvements in reading and writing since last year, maths attainment has stagnated, and overall results are still below pre-pandemic levels.”

 “The data published today paints a particularly worrying picture for social mobility in England, as some of the country’s most vulnerable children continue to be considerably behind their peers.”

 “According to the government’s own data, whilst the disadvantage gap has closed since last year, it is still around the same level as it was in 2014. With the gap only closing a third of the way back to its pre-pandemic level, illustrating the lasting impacts the pandemic had on younger cohorts of primary-school pupils.

 “Pupils with special educational needs appear to have recovered more strongly post-pandemic. The same per cent of pupils on EHC plans, and a greater fraction of pupils with SEN support achieved the expected standard across all subjects (reading, writing and maths) this year compared to in the year prior to the pandemic. This should be interpreted with some caution though as makeup of these pupil groups has changed and grown over the same period.”