Local authority gaps

 

When considering local authority gaps, we compare the attainment of disadvantaged pupils locally to the attainment of non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. Using this methodology, gaps in the attainment of disadvantaged students across different local authorities are substantial. The difference between the smallest and largest gap is 11.5 months at age 5, 14.5 months at age 11, and 24.5 months at age 16. The interactive maps below display 2023 disadvantage gaps at the local authority level, together with changes in the gap since 2019, the last pre-pandemic year.

Looking across phases, Hackney and Birmingham are the only two local authorities where the size of the gap has decreased compared to 2019 for every phase of education. Lincolnshire, Wokingham, Cambridgeshire, Kingston upon Thames, and the Isle of Wight stand out as areas where the gap has decreased in three out of four phases of education. Lewisham is unusual in having some of the biggest improvements in the gap in key stage 4 and in 16-19 education, whilst also having some of the largest declines for early years and key stage 2. Conversely gaps in Calderdale, Stoke-on-Trent, and Halton narrowed in the earlier phases and widened in the latter phases.

Early years foundation stage

Nationally the disadvantage gap among pupils aged five was 4.6 months in 2023, an increase of 0.4 months since 2019.

The smallest gaps were in the London boroughs of Hackney, with disadvantage pupils 1.1 months behind their peers, and Waltham Forest, where the gap was 1.3 months. Of the twenty local authorities with the smallest gaps, fifteen were London boroughs. Conversely, Rutland stood out for having the largest disadvantage gap, at 12.6 months, followed by Bath and North East Somerset, where the gap was 7.6 months.

Looking at changes since 2019, Rutland was also the local authority which saw the biggest increase (+7.9 months) in the gap compared to 2019. A little over one in four local authorities saw their gap decrease compared to the pre-pandemic level. Halton (-2 months), Nottinghamshire (-1.4 months), and Stoke-on-Trent (-1.3 months) had the biggest decreases in the disadvantage gap.

Primary school

Nationally the disadvantage gap at the end of primary school was 10.3 months in 2023, a whole month increase since 2019.

Of the 15 local authorities with the smallest disadvantage gaps in 2023, Redcar and Cleveland was the only area that was not in London. Newham had the smallest gap, at just one month, followed by Hammersmith and Fulham (1.9 months), Kensington and Chelsea (2.1 months) and Tower Hamlets (2.8 months). These areas also had smaller gaps for their age 11 pupils than their age 5 pupils.

The only London borough with a gap (10.5 months) above the national average (10.3 months) was Bromley. As in early years, Bath and North East Somerset had one of the three largest gaps at the end of primary school, at 14.0 months. West Berkshire and Central Bedfordshire were the only local authorities where the gap was larger, at 15.6 months and 14.1 months respectively. Bedford, East Sussex, and Reading are the three local authorities where the gap widens the most between ages 5 and 11.

Looking at changes over the period 2019 to 2023, slightly more than one in five local authorities saw their disadvantage gap decrease compared to the pre-pandemic level. Hackney, Bedford, and Dudley have all seen their gap reduce by at least two months (-2.4 months, -2.3 months, and -2 months respectively). At the other extreme, the London boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Harrow saw the largest increases in the gap compared with 2019 (+6 months and +5 months respectively).

Secondary school

Nationally the disadvantage gap at the end of secondary school was 19.2 months in 2023, an increase of over a month since 2019.

Again, the smallest gaps were in London. All 25 local authorities with the smallest GCSE disadvantage gap in 2023 were London boroughs, and all London boroughs had a gap below the national average. Kensington and Chelsea had the smallest gap (3.4 months) followed by Tower Hamlets (4.4 months) and Redbridge (4.5 months). Four of the six local authorities with the largest gaps in 2023 were in the North West: Blackpool (27.9 months), Knowsley (27.2 months), Sefton (25.9 months) and St. Helens (25.5 months). The other two were Portsmouth (26.5 months) and West Berkshire (25.9 months) completing this list.

The local authorities with the greatest improvement since 2019 were Merton (-6.6 months), Kensington and Chelsea (-4.0 months), Kingston upon Thames (-2.9 months), Lewisham (-2.6 months), and Redcar and Cleveland (-2.6 months), making four out of these five London boroughs. As in early years, Rutland was once again the local authority which saw the largest increase (+11.9 months) in the gap since 2019, followed by York (+6 months) and Medway (+5.3 months). Westminster, where the gap grew from 0.5 months in 2019 to 5.2 months in 2023 (+4.7 months) represents a notable exception to the gap narrowing observed in most London boroughs.

Westminster, Redbridge, Ealing, and Kingston upon Thames all had gap increases of under one month between the ages of 11 and 16. At the other end, Blackpool (+18.3 months) and Knowsley (+16.2 months) had the largest increases in gaps between these ages.

16-19 education

Nationally the disadvantage gap at the end of 16-19 education in 2023 was 3.2 grades—unchanged since 2019.

As for earlier phases, London boroughs tend to have amongst the smallest 16-19 disadvantage gaps in the country. Many, such as Thurrock and Southwark (-1.8 grades), Sutton (-1.6 grades), Ealing (-1.2 grades) and Islington (-1.1 grades), have negative gaps meaning that disadvantage students in these LAs have higher attainment than the average non-disadvantaged student nationally. Of the 20 LAs with the narrowest (or negative) 16-19 disadvantage gaps around the country, 16 were London boroughs. There is a less clear pattern to the LAs with the widest 16-19 disadvantage gaps. The five local authorities with the widest gaps were Hartlepool (5.5 grades), Torbay (5.4 grades), Portsmouth (5.3 grades), Derby (5.2 grades) and Bedford (5.2 grades).

Compared to 2019, the local authorities that saw their 16-19 disadvantage gaps widen the most were Windsor and Maidenhead (+1.8 grades), Sunderland and Doncaster (both +1.6 grades) and Oldham (+1.4 grades). The local authorities that saw their 16-19 disadvantage gaps improve the most were Thurrock (6 grade improvement), Havering (3.9 grade improvement) and Knowsley (3.8 grade improvement).