Southend school pupils 'fail to meet expected standards'

Data from the Department for Education has revealed that only 60 per cent of key stage pupils in Southend met the expected standard in 2023-24.

This is a decrease from 62 per cent the year before and down from 68 per cent in 2018-19, before the pandemic.

Laurie Burton, councillor responsible for children and learning, and also a maths teacher, admitted that the biggest challenge faced in tackling this issue is keeping up attendance.

Figures highlighted that in the 2019-20 autumn term, 13.1 per cent of pupils missed at least 10 per cent of school sessions. However, last year, this jumped to 19.5 per cent, a near-50 per cent rise in the number of children persistently absent.

Mr Burton said: “In Southend we want every young person to have the best start in life. Having good English and maths skills is essential to students progressing further in their education and work.

“As a maths teacher myself I recognise the importance of basic numeracy in the early years.

“It is frustrating results still aren’t up to pre-Covid levels, and as a council we work closely with schools to help them maximise their pupils’ maths and English skills.

“The biggest challenge is often attendance, as pupils can’t learn if they are not present.

“We are providing extra support to schools to get students attending, as well as sanctions for parents who don’t send their kids to school with no good reason.

“My message to families is that missing a bit of school can have huge impacts, so it’s vital to encourage students to attend fully.”

Across England, 61 per cent of pupils in key stage two were up to the requirements, slightly up from 60 per cent the previous year.

However, attainment remained below pre-pandemic levels, when 65 per cent met the standard.

In Southend, 42 per cent of disadvantaged pupils met the required standard – down from 52 per cent five years ago.