BRADFORD has moved up the national rankings for reading, writing and maths in primary schools by 13 places – but the district still lags behind the national averages.

A new report into education standards in the district shows that while, in many areas, Bradford schools have improved on previous years’ results, the improvements are “not sufficient enough” to close the gap on the rest of the country.

An interim report into results of the 2016/17 academic year will go before Bradford Council’s Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee next week. Final figures and trends will not be available until early 2018. Due to major changes to GCSE and A levels, only primary school results are included in this report.

Among the most promising figures for Bradford are the Key Stage 2 results, which show how children perform at the end of primary school.

The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in all of reading, writing and mathematics at this age has improved from 47 per cent in 2016 to 56 per cent in 2017.

It means for these three subjects combined, the district is ranked in 126th position out of 152 Local Authorities nationally - 13 places higher than 2016.

In terms of Key Stage 2 Reading results, Bradford is in 137th position out of the 152 Local Authorities nationally, 11 places higher than 2016. For maths results, Bradford is in 110th position, 15 places higher.

However when it comes to writing, Bradford has fallen 25 places, and is now in 106th position out of the 152 Local Authorities.

In Early Years, pupils achieving a good level of development rose from 66 per cent last year to 68 per cent this year. But at the same time, the national average rose from 69 per cent to 71 per cent.

In phonics, the number of Year 1 children in Bradford achieving the expected standard rose from 79 per cent to 80 per cent, closing the gap with the national average to one per cent.

The report, by Judith Kirk, Deputy Director for Education, Employment & Skills, said: “Results generally indicate that the proportion of pupils who achieve the expected standard across the range of subjects and age groups within the Primary Phase continues to rise. The rate of improvement in some measures are slightly better than the national. However, these improvements are often not sufficient enough to substantially reduce the gaps that exist with national averages. Improvements in the proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard at the end of Key Stage 2, however, are particularly notable.

“The key issues for primary schools in the district remain the need to continue to raise attainment and accelerate progress in all subject areas across both key stages.”

The committee meets in City Hall at 4.30pm on Wednesday.