Over 70 schools in region fail to hit standards in maths and English

MORE than 70 schools in the West Midlands have fallen below the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, official figures reveal.

The schools failed the ‘floor standard’ set down by the Government in its assessment of this year’s Sats.

Schools are considered to be under-performing if fewer than 65 per cent of pupils taking the national curriculum tests reach the standard or fail to make sufficient progress in the three key areas.

Across the Midlands five per cent of schools fell below the standard, compared with one per cent of schools in London.

The report said: “London has the lowest proportion of schools below the floor, the South West and the Midlands have the highest percentage of schools below the floor.”

Children eligible for free school meals are also less likely to succeed, with 43 per cent achieving expected standards compared with 64 per cent of all other pupils.

Overall, nine per cent achieved a high standard across all three years, according to the data.

A spokeswoman for Birmingham City Council said there was a downward trend in the number of schools failing to hit targets in the city.

She added: “We are also by far the largest local authority, so the number must be placed in the context of 300 plus primary schools in our area.

“We continue to work with Birmingham Education Partnership as we continue to improve standards for all our children and young people.”

Schools standards minister Nick Gibb hailed an overall rise in the number of primary school pupils meeting the expected standard in the three areas.

Across England, 61 per cent of around 600,000 11-year-olds who sat this year’s Sats achieved the Government-expected standard, according to the Department for Education (DfE).

This compares with 53 per cent in 2016, the first year of major changes to assessments.

Mr Gibb said the results showed “teachers and pupils have responded well to the new, more rigorous curriculum”.