Ready for School: Outcomes
and Impact
Overview
The Ready for School (RFS) programme is a relationship-based early intervention designed to support children and families as they transition into Reception. The programme is delivered to a cohort of children living in a community ranked in the top 20% most deprived nationally according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), meaning that all participating children experience socioeconomic disadvantage.
Led by an experienced early years teacher, the programme combines small group work, home-based and school-based support, and community activities to strengthen communication, social skills, and independence in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage and help for children to develop the skills and confidence needed for a successful start at school.
Alongside this, the programme provides wider family support, working with parents on a range of practical and emotional issues that may affect children’s development. This includes helping families to build routines, access support, and create positive home learning environments. By strengthening parental confidence and engagement, the programme supports families to embed learning into everyday life.
Context and Data Considerations
Outcomes from 2019 to 2021 reflect a period of significant disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, access to early education, childcare, and support services was limited, and opportunities for in-person delivery were reduced.
As a result, data from this period is presented for completeness but is not directly comparable to later cohorts. The analysis therefore focuses on outcomes from 2021 onwards, when programme delivery stabilised and families experienced more consistent support.
Outcomes and Progress Over Time
The Good Level of Development (GLD) rate across the programme shows a clear trajectory of improvement.
From 2019 to 2021, outcomes were significantly below national expectations, with GLD rates of 40% and 30% respectively. From 2021 onwards, there is a marked and sustained improvement, with outcomes ranging between 75% and 100%.
This upward trend demonstrates both programme maturity and increasing effectiveness over time, particularly given the high level of disadvantage within the cohort.
Benchmarking and Comparative Performance
The programme’s post-pandemic performance compares favourably with local and national benchmarks.
GLD Benchmark Comparison (2021–2025)
The most recent national data shows that approximately 68% of children in England achieve a Good Level of Development. Against this benchmark, the Ready for School programme achieves an average of 79%, placing it above national performance and broadly in line with or exceeding both London and local authority averages.
This comparison is particularly significant given that all participating children are drawn from communities experiencing high levels of deprivation. While national and regional benchmarks include children from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, the Ready for School cohort represents a consistently disadvantaged group. Outcomes at this level therefore indicate strong programme impact and suggest that children are being supported to reach levels of development comparable with, or exceeding, their peers.
Current Cohort and Emerging Outcomes
The most recent data, based on teacher assessment, indicates that outcomes remain strong. In the current class cohort, 62% of children are predicted to achieve GLD, while children participating in the Ready for School programme are predicted to achieve 71% GLD.
This difference suggests that children engaged in the programme are continuing to outperform their peers, providing evidence of ongoing added value. The previous cohort achieved 69% GLD, which aligns with the sustained improvement seen in recent years.
Outcomes Across Groups
Analysis by key groups highlights important patterns in programme impact.
Children eligible for Pupil Premium achieve slightly higher GLD rates (61%) than those not eligible (54%), indicating that the programme is effectively supporting children experiencing economic disadvantage.
Children with English as an Additional Language achieve particularly strong outcomes (69%), outperforming non-EAL peers. This suggests that the programme has a positive effect on communication and language development, likely linked to its emphasis on home learning and parental engagement.
Outcomes for children with SEND are significantly lower, reflecting the higher level of need within this group. This is consistent with national trends and highlights an area for further development, particularly in terms of tailored support and alternative measures of progress.
Interpreting Impact
The strength of outcomes since 2021 is particularly significant when considered in context. All participating children live in an area of high deprivation, and many experience overlapping barriers that are known to affect early development.
Despite this, the programme now consistently achieves outcomes that meet or exceed national expectations. This suggests that the approach is successfully addressing barriers to school readiness, particularly through its focus on parental confidence, relationship-based practice, and support for learning in the home environment.
The higher outcomes for children within the programme, compared to the wider cohort, further reinforce the conclusion that the intervention is making a measurable difference.
Conclusion
The Ready for School programme demonstrates a clear pattern of improvement in outcomes over time, with particularly strong performance in the post-pandemic period. Results show that children supported through the programme achieve levels of school readiness that compare favourably with local and national benchmarks, despite living in significantly disadvantaged circumstances.
This evidence indicates that the programme is both effective and increasingly impactful, with strong indications of added value for participating children. Continued development, particularly in relation to SEND outcomes, will further strengthen the evidence base and support ongoing improvement.
Ready for School has also been recognised within independent research exploring effective early years practice, where it is included as an example of delivery contributing to strong outcomes within the local system (www.funding-futures.org/home).