Inquiry into widening education gap as poorer youngsters fall behind

SUB-STANDARD HOUSING and a lack of proper nutrition are among the poverty factors fuelling a widening educational achievement gap in Leeds, a new inquiry has been told.

Leeds Council has commissioned the cross-party investigation into the links between child poverty and falling numeracy and literacy standards in the Yorkshire’s biggest city.

It follows revelations that thousands of disadvantaged youngsters in Leeds are languishing behind their peers in basic numeracy and literacy.

Youngsters from poorer families are eight per cent behind the national target for reading, writing and maths at age 11.

The first session of the scrutiny inquiry heard that almost one in every four Leeds schoolchildren is living in poverty, with around 33,500 youngsters – almost a third of the total primary school cohort – eligible for free school meals.

Andrew Eastwood, head of learning improvement at Leeds Council, said the stark statistics showed there were “real challenges” to deal with in narrowing the gap.

But he stressed: “Rather than trying to tackle a global issue, or an issue across Leeds, we very much work with the schools to identify the gaps or the difficulties within their school so we can evaluate the ways forward.

“Because to know about the data is not the way to tackle the effects in order to make a difference.

“This is not about an excuse culture for why we have not succeeded, it’s about creating a real bank of understanding so that we can make a real difference to those children.”