Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the level of the attainment gap between pupils (a) in receipt and (b) not in receipt of free school meals in (i) the City of York local authority area and (ii) the UK.

Assessments on the level of attainment gap between pupils who are eligible for free school meals and those not eligible for free school meals have been made at Key Stage 1 (KS1) and phonics, Key Stage 2 (KS2) and Key Stage 4 (KS4) at local authority and national level in England.

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in phonics decoding, and in English and maths at KS1 and KS2, for the City of York and England is shown in the attached table. The table shows that, in 2019, attainment was lower for pupils eligible for free school meals when compared to all other pupils. This difference was greater in York than it was in England.

The percentage achieving 9-4 and 9-5 in English and mathematics at KS4 is also shown in the attached table. The table shows that, in 2018, attainment was lower for pupils eligible for free school meals when compared to all other pupils. This difference was greater in York than it was in England.