North East continues to outperform at Key Stage 2
This week saw the release of Key Stage 2 attainment data for the 2023/24 academic year. The results this year highlight the amazing support schools in our region deliver to North East pupils as they continue to deal with the impact of lost learning during the pandemic.
In 2023/24, 61% of North East pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths. This is the second highest in the country, a position the North East has consistently achieved since 2015/16. These results have been despite a backdrop of rising rates of disadvantage in our region, and the continued challenges emerging as the cohort of pupils impacted by the pandemic moves through the education system.
Alongside these results regionally, there have also been positive improvements nationally. While the disadvantage gap index remains above pre-pandemic levels (when it was 2.91), it has marginally reduced from 3.21 in 2023 to 3.12 in 2024. The percentage of SEN students is also improving across England, with 21% of all SEN students meeting the expected standards, nearly returning to the 2018/19 figure of 22%.
However, these figures show the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the longer-term perennial issues that face the North East’s school communities. All regions remain below the pre-pandemic levels. Before the pandemic the gap between London and the North East was already widening, and this has widened further from 4% in 2018/19 to 6% in 2023/24.
The graph below shows the results for England, London, and the North East, since 2015/16. There is no data available for 2019/20 and 2020/21.
Despite the positive results, exams and assessments continue to map the impact of the covid pandemic, with current ‘catch-up’ and education recovery policies failing to meet the rising needs of pupils in our region. More importantly, we must recognise that ‘recovery’ and a return to 2019 is simply not enough.
These results follow on from the GCSE and A Level results released over the Summer, which similarly map the exacerbated perennial challenges faced by North East schools. In 2023/24, 31.2% of students in our region were eligible for free school meals, compared with 21% in 2018/19 and 24.6% nationally.
North East schools have also had to contend with significant rises in students with profound special educational needs. This has put incredible pressure on schools and those services that support children and young people, with the SEND system working significantly above capacity.
Policies to address these inequalities have too often been ‘one-size-fits-all’. The North East saw lower rates of engagement with the National Tutoring Programme, while London had the highest in 2023/24 (51% in the North East compared with 68.1% in London).
Despite these challenges, 65.2% of GCSE students in the North East received a grade 4 or above, and 17.8% received a 7 or above. 23.9% of A Level students in the North East received an A or A* grade, and 7.8% achieved an A*
The disadvantage gap, as well as the gap in attainment between SEN students and their peers, was already a key concern for North East schools before the pandemic. As more pupils enter primary schools with profound needs, schools in our region need a long-term strategic plan and vision for the education system, which builds up capacity and strategic infrastructure around our schools.