Poorer pupils' test results lag

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Children from poor homes show much weaker attainment at the end of primary school than their peers, figures show.

Last year's Key Stage 2 "Sats" shows a gap of 22 percentage points in English, 20 in maths and 15 in science when comparing results of children on free school meals and those who are not.

Only 56% of boys on free meals reached the level expected for their age in English, against 80% of the better-off.

Lib Dems said the gap was "shameful". The government said it was narrowing.

Schools Minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry said the figures showed that children on free school meals (FSM) had doubled the rate at which they were closing the gap with their peers since the 2007 results.

"We are determined that no child should fall behind at school, whatever their circumstances or background," she said.

"We are working hard to accelerate this rate of progress through programmes such as Every Child Counts, which has seen pupils make a year's progress in just three months when given intensive support and Every Child a Reader which ensures early intervention and provide targeted support to children in danger of falling behind."

But Lib Dem spokesman David Laws said: "We have an education system which is failing to equip over a third of the most disadvantaged 11-year-olds with basic skills before they begin secondary school.

"Too few children are currently benefiting from catch-up programmes.

"Ministers need to introduce a 'pupil premium', raising the school funding of the poorest children to private school levels so that they can all receive the extra support that they need."