EDUCATION bosses at an authority with among the best GCSE and A level results in the country have launched a drive to improve teaching at primary schools after pupils preparing for secondary schools failed to meet national expected standards.

North Yorkshire County Council has launched a programme of work including developing maths hubs and examining teaching methods after 11-year-old pupils scored less than the England average in reading, writing and maths for the last two years.

The greatest area of concern for education bosses at the authority is in maths, where in 2017 only 71.4 per cent of pupils achieved the expected level, compared to 74.9 per cent across England.

Paul Brennan, the authority’s assistant director of education and skills, told the Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee that there were several possible reasons why children preparing to attend secondary schools in the country were behind in the core subjects.

Mr Brennan said the Key Stage 2 pupils attainment did not appear to be related to the academic ability of the children over the past few years.

He said: “Some people have questioned whether it’s because in North Yorkshire we have a lot of small schools. Our very smallest schools do struggle to get the attainment of other schools, but when you look at the very small schools it is only a very small number of children, so it shouldn’t have a detrimental effect across the whole of the county.

“If a school has a large amount of disadvantaged children it will focus a lot of energy on them. If a school has only one of two disadvantaged children, sometimes they will get lost in that mix. In North Yorkshire you have got a small number of disadvantaged children who are spread out.

“Across North Yorkshire our primary schools pride themselves on a broad and balanced curriculum. They see themselves as preparing for life rather than chasing attainment in English and maths.

“One of the criticisms is that across North Yorkshire we have been quite harsh in our moderation (of Key Stage Two exams) and that is what brings the results down.”

The programme of work includes risk assessing schools and targeting support around leadership and teaching methods where it is most needed to raise achievement. Other moves include establishing a focus on maths, through the development of maths hubs which encourage problem-solving, the use of hands-on materials and group work. The authority is also seeking to secure grant funding through the national Strategic School Improvement Fund to make changes at schools most in need of improvement.