UK to miss primary school targets after Covid sparks slump in key subjects
![275,000 11-year-olds a year are moving on to secondary education without command of basic subjects (Image: PA)](/upload/news/2023/02/11/4203.jpg)
Ministers are set to miss primary school targets in English and maths after Covid triggered a slump in standards for key subjects.
Ministers want 90% of 11-year olds to meet expected standards in reading, writing and maths by 2030 - up from 53% seven years ago.
But research by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) found levels have gone into reverse - slipping back to only slightly above grades recorded in 2015/16.
The slump means that some 275,000 11-year-olds a year are moving on to secondary education without command of basic subjects, 50,000 more than in 2019.
Alice Wilcock, the CSJ’s Head of Education, said: “The Prime Minister has made clear his commitment to improving educational standards, stating that education is the closest thing to a silver bullet for making people’s lives better.
![Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade qhiquqikdihkinv](/upload/news/2023/02/01/1_m.jpg)
“If we want to improve life chances and set the country on a path to economic growth, this must start with getting the foundations right in primary school.”
![UK to miss primary school targets after Covid sparks slump in key subjects](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article29193068.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_BRITAIN-POLITICS-EDUCATION-SCHOOL.jpg)
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “The pandemic had a huge impact on pupils learning. Our education recovery programme, backed by £5billion, has delivered nearly three million tutoring courses.
"We are investing more than ever before in our schools, including in literacy and numeracy programmes - helping us meet our ambition for 90% of children leaving primary school to reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths by 2030.”
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