Sex, first language, free school meal eligibility, and term of birth
In 2023/24, a higher percentage of girls, autumn-born children, and children not eligible for free school meals had a good level of development when compared to boys, summer-born children, and children eligible for free school meals, respectively.
For all these characteristics, the differences in 2023/24 ranged from 14 to 21 percentage points. The difference between autumn and summer born children narrowed for the second consecutive year, but widened between females and males for the second consecutive year. The difference between children not eligible and eligible for free school meals widened in 2023/24 (compared with a year earlier), which offset the narrowing in 2022/23.
A higher percentage of children with English as their first language had a good level of development in 2023/24 than those with English as an additional language. However, compared with the other characteristics, the difference, which narrowed for the second consecutive year, was smaller.
Figure 6: Percentage of children with a good level of development by child characteristics, 2021/22 to 2023/24
| Characteristic | Characteristic type | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | Female | 71.9 | 74.2 | 75.0 |
| Male | 58.7 | 60.6 | 60.7 | |
| Difference (pp) | 13.2 | 13.6 | 14.3 | |
| First language | English | 67.1 | 69.3 | 69.7 |
| Other than English | 60.1 | 62.4 | 63.5 | |
| Difference (pp) | 7.0 | 6.9 | 6.2 | |
| Free school meals | Not eligible | 69.5 | 71.5 | 72.0 |
| Eligible | 49.1 | 51.6 | 51.5 | |
| Difference (pp) | 20.4 | 19.9 | 20.5 | |
| Term of birth | Autumn-born | 73.8 | 75.4 | 75.6 |
| Summer-born | 57.0 | 59.4 | 60.0 | |
| Difference (pp) | 16.8 | 16.0 | 15.6 |
- ‘pp’ indicates percentage point
Ethnicity
The statistics in this section are based on children with a recorded/known ethnicity. In 2023/24, 3.4% of children assessed under the EYFS Profile had an unclassified/not known ethnicity (up slightly from 3.3% in 2022/23 and 3.0% in 2021/22).
In 2023/24, Chinese children continued to have the highest proportion with a good level of development, whilst travellers of Irish heritage and Gypsy/Roma children continued to have the lowest proportions, with differences of over 40 percentage points.
In 2023/24 (compared with a year earlier), the percentage of children with a good level of development increased across 16 of the 19 ethnic groups (between 0.3 and 2.4 percentage points), which is similar to the pattern in 2022/23, where 17 of the groups increased (between 0.4 and 3.8 percentage points). The three ethnicity groups that fell in 2023/24 were Indian children (down 0.9 percentage points), African children (down 0.8 percentage points), and children from any other black, African, or Caribbean background (down 0.4 percentage points).
Special educational needs (SEN)
SEN support
SEN support means support that is additional to, or different from, the support generally made for other children of the same age in a school. It is provided for pupils who are identified as having a learning difficulty or a disability that requires extra or different help to that normally provided as part of the school’s usual curriculum offer. A pupil on SEN support will not have an education, health and care plan.
Education, health and care (EHC) plans
A local authority may issue an Education, health and care plan for a pupil who needs more support than is available through SEN support. This will follow a statutory assessment process whereby the local authority considers the pupil’s special educational needs and any relevant health and social care needs; sets out long term outcomes; and specifies provision which will deliver additional support to meet those needs.
The percentage of children assessed under the EYFSP who have special educational needs (SEN) has been rising in recent years, representing 10.2% of children assessed in 2021/22, 11.4% in 2022/23 and 12.9% in 2023/24. In addition, among children with SEN, the proportion of children with an EHC plan has also been rising, representing 21.5% of the cohort in 2021/22, 22.1% in 2022/23 and 25.0% in 2023/24.
In 2023/24, the percentage of children that had a good level of development increased for those with SEN support but remained stable for those with an EHC plan. The percentage fell slightly for children with any SEN overall; this is due to a larger proportion of children with SEN having an EHC plan compared to a year earlier.
Figure 8: Percentage of children with a good level of development by special educational need category, 2021/22 to 2023/24
| SEN category | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any SEN | 18.8 | 19.8 | 19.7 |
| SEN support | 22.9 | 24.3 | 24.9 |
| EHC plan | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
Deprivation
Outcomes also vary by levels of income deprivation, which can be measured using the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI), which is based on the child’s residence (for more information see the methodology page). The percentage of children with a good level of development is lowest for those who live in the 10% most deprived areas (decile 1) and rises incrementally to being the highest for those who live in the 10% least deprived areas (decile 10).
In 2023/24 (compared with a year earlier), the percentage of children with a good level of development increased across all IDACI deciles (from 0.3 to 0.7 percentage points), except for the eighth decile which fell slightly (by 0.1 percentage point). This is similar to the pattern seen in 2022/23, where the percentage increased across all IDACI deciles.
The difference between the 10% most deprived areas and the 10% least deprived areas in 2023/24 (18.6 percentage points) was similar to a year earlier (18.5 percentage points) but was down from 2021/22 (20.0 percentage points).
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