London - Boys lag behind girls academically by the age of five, a study has found.
Researchers warned that an early gender gap in language and communication skills means many youngsters never catch up.
A quarter of boys from wealthier families have inadequate speech and language skills when they start school, compared with just 15 percent of girls.
Among poorer families the gap is wider – with 42 percent of boys starting school below the basic language level as opposed to 27 percent of girls.
The Read On, Get On campaign, which commissioned the study, said boys are entering school up to 15 months behind their female peers in these crucial skills.
Researchers at the Education Datalab and University College London analysed the National Pupil Database, as well as a study of 19 000 children.
Read On, Get On has called for investment in training nursery staff to help improve language development before children start school.
Campaign chairman Dame Julia Cleverdon said: “Poor children, and poor boys in particular, are being set up to fail because too many haven’t developed the building blocks of learning before they arrive at the school gate for the first time.
“The government has made a strong commitment on literacy by setting clear goals to get all children reading well by the age of 11. What this research tells us is that this target is at risk unless we close the language gap.”
Gareth Jenkins, director of UK poverty at Save the Children, which is involved in the campaign, added: “To change the story for the poorest children, we need urgent investment to boost the skills of early years staff and ensure every nursery is led by an early years teacher.
“Only then can we give every child the foundation they need to read and succeed at school and in life.”
Daily Mail