Children from poorer homes lag a year behind

The children of poor families are academically a year behind their better-off classmates by the time they start school, a report revealed today.

It shows how five-year-olds from troubled or impoverished families have a poorer vocabulary because they have not been read bedtime stories or taken to museums and libraries.

The report, by the Sutton Trust, found that many children never catch up and become stuck in a cycle of under-achievement.

Researchers tracked the performance of more than 12,000 five-year-olds.

It found that the poorest fifth were almost a year behind pupils from middle-income families and 16 months behind those from rich backgrounds.