Quarter of toddlers in Blackburn falling behind in communication
Blackburn with Darwen is ranked among the worst areas in England
Almost one in four toddlers in Blackburn with Darwen are not reaching the expected standard for communication skills, with the borough ranking among the worst areas in England.
New figures show just 76.7 per cent of children in Blackburn with Darwen met the expected standard for communication skills at the age of two-and-a-half, compared with 88.6 per cent nationally and 85.1 per cent across the North West.
The borough ranked 135th out of 143 local authorities with valid data, making it the ninth worst-performing area in England.
While this data shows the scale of the challenge facing early years services, separate education data shows that something unexpected happens to the communication skills of the borough’s youngest residents as they enter formal education.
By the end of Reception, however, their performance is much closer to the national average, with 70.1 per cent of Blackburn children meeting the higher expected standard in communication, language and literacy, compared with 73.5 per cent nationally.
The figures suggest that while Blackburn children start well behind their peers elsewhere in the country, much of the gap narrows by the age of five.
The figures show communication is the area in which the borough’s toddlers perform particularly poorly compared with their peers.
While communication skills stood at 76.7 per cent, 96.6 per cent of children reached the expected standard for gross motor skills, 88.7 per cent for fine motor skills, 88.2 per cent for problem solving and 87.5 per cent for personal and social development.
Despite the poor toddler communication results, Blackburn’s overall school readiness has improved in recent years.
"We want every child to have the best possible start"
The proportion of children achieving a good level of development by the end of Reception rose from 63.1 per cent in 2021/22 to 69.2 per cent in the latest year, bringing the borough broadly into line with the North West average of 69.5 per cent.
Councillor Julie Gunn, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s executive member for children, young people and education, said:
“We want every child in Blackburn with Darwen to have the best possible start in life and the opportunity to develop the communication skills they need to thrive.
“We recognise that some children require additional support with speech, language and communication, and we are committed to ensuring that families can access the right help at the earliest opportunity.
“Through our Family Hubs, early years settings, schools, and health partners, we work collaboratively to identify needs early and provide targeted support. Local monitoring demonstrates positive progress, and we remain committed to continuously improving outcomes for children and families.”
Cllr Gunn said the council had a partnership approach involving Family Hubs, schools, health visiting services, SEND teams and speech and language specialists to ensure children receive support as early as possible.
The council said families concerned about their child’s speech, language or communication development can access support through Blackburn with Darwen’s Family Hubs, where specialist staff provide advice, guidance and early intervention services.
Screening programmes, specialist inclusion practitioners and the Early Years SEND Team are also available to help identify and support children who may need extra help before they start school.