Phonics results rise but KS1 writing is behind other subjects

The Department for Education has released statistics on the phonics check and KS1 assessments. They show that 81 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in phonics, up from 77 per cent in 2015.

Pupils’ writing standards, however, are falling behind reading and maths.

Sixty-five per cent of pupils reached the standard in writing this year, compared to 73 per cent in maths and 74 per cent in reading. What's more, the proportion of pupils considered to be working ‘at greater depth’ was almost half that in writing (13 per cent) as it was in reading (24 per cent).

The government stresses however that this is the first assessment since the more challenging curriculum was brought in two years ago, and therefore results cannot be directly compared with previous years.