'33% of Children in Gillingham and Rainham below reading standards' say Local Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are calling for an extra £10 billion to go towards education catch up funding - including £5 billion to be put directly into the hands of parents as a catch up voucher for every child - as backed at the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference.

New figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed 33% of 11 year old children have a reading age below 11. The research reveals almost 167,960 11 year olds across the country and 417 in Gillingham and Rainham as being below the standard reading age.

The shocking figures were published recently by the Department for Education in response to a Parliamentary Question tabled by Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson.

The latest figures held by the Department are from 2019 as testing was suspended over the pandemic. This means that the numbers are likely even higher after children have faced consistent disruption to their education over the last two years.

Liberal Democrats in Gillingham and Rainham have urged the Department for Education to:

• Fund the full £15 billion catch up programme put forward by their own Education Recovery Commissioner

• Publish any new data they have from during the pandemic.

• Commission an urgent review into reading ages across the country.

The party said that the recent figures were just the "tip of the iceberg" with thousands of children hit hard by lost learning during the pandemic.

The research comes as the Liberal Democrats are calling for an extra £10 billion to go towards catch up, including £5 billion to be put directly into the hands of parents as a catch up voucher for every child. The policy was backed by the Liberal Democrats at their Spring Conference. The voucher could be used to empower parents to help improve their child's reading age outside of school.

Responding to these figures, Medway Liberal Democrat Spokesperson Alan Wells said: "These figures reveal a reading crisis in our schools and they're just the tip of the iceberg. The Government must get a grip of this issue by commissioning an urgent review into reading ages for pupils.

"The pandemic has had a huge effect on our children, and with reading ages already below standards for many before the crisis, the case now could be terrible for thousands of children across the country.

"Parents, teachers and pupils have not had a fair deal throughout this pandemic. No child should leave primary school unable to read at the standard level for their age - they need a chance to catch up.

"The Liberal Democrats would invest an extra £10 billion to tackle lost learning, including £5 billion going directly to parents and commission a review into our children's reading crisis."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. Parliamentary Question by Munira Wilson MP

2. Policy Details

Catch-Up Vouchers worth £200 a year for 3 years, given directly to parents for all 8.3 million children in state-funded schools.

Double vouchers (worth £400/yr) for disadvantaged children (those eligible for the Pupil Premium) and those with special educational needs.

Triple vouchers (worth £600/yr) for:

• Pupils with special educational needs who are also eligible for Free School Meals

• Looked-after and previously looked-after children

For parents to spend on approved tutors or classes however they choose - through the school or outside of it. Any vouchers not spent over the year go to the child's school for their benefit.

Schools would be encouraged to offer extra catch-up tutoring and classes, funded through vouchers, and teachers encouraged to discuss with parents what would most benefit their children.