Boys are almost twice as likely as girls to have fallen behind by the time they begin school - putting their chances of being successful in life at risk, a study says.

The Save the Children report says that in the last decade nearly a million boys in England were lagging behind in language and communication skills when they started school at age five.

Overall, 25% of boys were found to be struggling to follow simple instructions or speak a full sentence in 2014/15, compared to 14% of their female classmates.

The report says girls are out-performing boys in every area of the country, with the biggest gender gap in St Helens, Merseyside, where boys start primary school 17.3 percentage points behind their female classmates in language and communication.

At the other end of the scale, in Richmond, southwest London, the gap is 5.4 percentage points.


Unless action is taken to ensure all youngsters have access to good quality early education, almost a million more young boys could be left behind in the next 10 years, the children's charity warns.

The study says: "The gender gap is well-documented.

"It has hardly changed for five-year-olds over the past decade, despite a dramatic improvement in overall results.

"The difference in outcomes for boys and girls is having a devastating impact; nearly a million boys have fallen behind with their early language skills since 2006.

"That is nearly a million five-year-olds who may struggle with skills like explaining what they think and how they feel, and engaging with the adults and children around them."

Poor language skills also prevents young children from being able to express themselves and engage in the world around them, while in the long term it can affect their earnings, literacy skills and mental health as adults, the study argues.

It calls for the Government to help develop a well-qualified workforce, with an early years teacher in every nursery.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "We are making a significant investment in the early years sector and the number of qualified staff is rising with more trained graduates in the workforce and a record number of providers rated Good or Outstanding.

"This investment is paying off, latest figures show more than 80% of children are reaching the expected communication and language skills by age five, but we will continue working with the sector until every child gets the high-quality education they deserve."