This report by charitable foundation, Kindred, highlights the scale of the school readiness challenge and sets out perceptions of the scale and impact of children missing their early developmental milestones.
School readiness refers to the full range of developmental measures and milestones, rather than a narrow measure of ‘academic’ attainment. It focused on entry to Reception rather than Year 1 because many parents consider this to be the start of ‘school’.
The report shows that reception teachers found 33% of children were not school ready in September 2024, with 49% of teachers believing the school-readiness problem is worse than in September 2023. In comparison, 90% of parents say their child was ready for school in September 2024. 49% of parents say children aren't school ready because parents don't think it's their job. 54% of teachers say boys are less school ready than girls, and 54% of teachers and 43% of parents point to children's screen time as a major factor.
In the 2024 reception cohort, teachers report that 36% of children struggled to play and share with other children, 34% struggled to listen or respond to simple instruction, and 25% were not toilet trained when they started school.
Other findings in the report include:
- 54% of teachers say boys are less school-ready than girls, compared to just 3% who say girls are less school ready.
- 49% of parents and 45% of teachers say parents do not feel it is their role to ready children for reception.
- 43% of parents and 54% of teachers state that children’s screen time is a major factor in children not being school ready.