Third of disadvantaged white pupils in England leave primary school without being able to read properly

Pupils who leave primary school without adequate reading fluency struggle to keep up at secondary, which can lead to disengagement and absence. Photograph: ferrantraite/Getty View image in fullscreen Pupils who leave primary school without adequate reading fluency struggle to keep up at secondary, which can lead to disengagement and absence. Photograph: ferrantraite/Getty Third of disadvantaged white pupils in England leave primary school without being able to read properly Exclusive: Analysis finds lower reading fluency than children from other ethnic backgrounds and richer peers A third of disadvantaged white pupils in England leave their primary school unable to read well enough to access the secondary curriculum, leading to disengagement and school absence, according to new research. The findings were published days after an independent inquiry into white working-class educational outcomes concluded the current education system was “not set up to serve white working-class children and families”. The landmark inquiry, which was commissioned by a schools academy trust and backed by the Department for Education, was launched to investigate why white working-class educational performance persistently lags behind other large demographic groups. This latest analysis by Fischer Family Trust ( FFT ) provides yet more evidence of the gap, showing that white disadvantaged pupils have lower reading fluency throughout primary than their wealthier peers and disadvantaged pupils from other ethnic backgrounds. The research found that by the end of year 6, before transition to secondary school, 33% of white disadvantaged pupils are reading below 90 words correct per minute (WCPM), the accepted benchmark for secure reading fluency, compared with one in five (20%) non-disadvantaged pupils. The concern is that without adequate reading fluency pupils find it difficult to keep up with the curriculum at secondary school and quickly become disengaged, often leading to school absence. The findings were drawn from the results of more than a million FFT reading fluency assessments involving 231,000 pupils in 1,570 schools between September 2023 and June 2026. For the assessment, pupils are required to read a short passage appropriate to their reading ability for a minute. According to FFT, pupils who are reading below 90 WCPM in year 6 typically have a reading fluency comparable to the average year 3 pupil. Paul Charman, the managing director of FFT, said the most striking finding was not that white disadvantaged pupils had lower reading fluency, but that the gap between them and their non-disadvantaged peers did not decrease at all during the time they spent at primary school. “A third of white disadvantaged pupils are leaving primary school without secure reading fluency,” he said. “This should concern anyone interested in improving educational outcomes and narrowing disadvantage gaps. “Reading fluency is fundamental to success in school. When pupils can read accura