Almost one-in-five boys are unable to write their own name after a year of school, figures show, as they fall behind girls at an early age.
Some 19 per cent of boys aged five struggle to form simple words such as “cat”, “dog” or “mum” at the end of the reception year compared with just 10 per cent of girls.
Figures published today by the Department for Education show that girls perform better in every area of early development, including reading, communicating, basic numeracy, social skills and physical awareness.
According to statistics, four-in-10 boys cannot write a simple shopping list or a letter to Santa, compared with just a fifth of girls.
A quarter of boys also struggle to recite the alphabet by the age of five, while nine per cent cannot count to 10 and almost one-in-20 fail to dress independently or use the toilet by themselves.
The disclosure is made in a Government analysis of English children at the end of the foundation stage – or reception year – before infants move into Year One.
It suggests many boys are unprepared for the demands of full-time school.
Ministers have already pledged to address the concerns by overhauling early education.
Under plans, all two-year-olds will be given a compulsory “progress check” to find out whether they can use basic words, respond to familiar sounds, communicate their needs and play with friends.
A new-style Early Years Foundation Stage framework will also slash the number of targets all children are supposed to hit by the age of five – from the existing 69 to just 17.
The latest statistics – for 2011 – show marginal rise in the number of children achieving existing early learning “goals” but the Government insisted four-in-10 were still struggling.
Sarah Teather, the Children’s Minister, said: “It’s encouraging to see a small improvement from last year. This is a testament to the hard work of early years professionals.
“However, it is not good enough that more than two out of five children start school without the solid foundation they need to succeed and that boys continue to lag behind girls.
“That’s why we are improving the Early Years Foundation Stage and radically slimming down the curriculum so that it is more focused on getting children ready and able to take advantage of the opportunities they will get at school.
“From next September we are cutting down the number of early learning goals children need to reach at age five, with a stronger focus on the key skills that they will need to thrive as they grow up.”
Teach Your Child to Count to 10 with “iCount-to-10″ – Early Learning Game for iPad
Source: Telegraph.co.uk – http://goo.gl/RNiy3
