A “CULTURE of achievement” in Oxfordshire’s schools and nurseries has been praised after two-thirds of early-years pupils made good progress in education.

Three years ago just 48 per cent of five year olds were deemed by the Government to have reached a ‘good level of development’.

But new figures have revealed that by the end of the 2014/15 school year the figure had risen to 66 per cent.

It comes just two weeks after Key Stage One children in the county achieved their best results in reading, writing and maths for five years.

Teachers and education bosses said the early-years improvement was partly down to these better results.

Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for education Melinda Tilley said: “Our kids are doing well at Key Stage One and Key Stage Two so it has a knock-on effect.

“It is partly down to the Get Oxfordshire Reading campaign which was funded by the county council and backed by the Oxford Mail.

“It was a huge thing and it has helped develop a culture of achievement. Early years is very important to us because it gives children a good start in life.”

Early-years assessment covers children until they are five.

Each child’s progress is reviewed when they are aged between two and three by an early years practitioner or health visitor and their reception teacher then assesses them when they are five.

In order to reach a ‘good level of development’ a child must have reached the expected level in areas such as communication and language, maths, literacy and physical development.

In 2013, 37 per cent of children at Cutteslowe Primary School had reached that level, but this year 62 per cent hit the benchmark.

Headteacher Jon Gray said: “It has been down to an investment in early years education.

“It has been an investment in our staff, making sure they can give the kids what they need, and an investment in our facilities in early years.

“It has a knock-on effect – our kids are more ready for education.

“We have a part in our Ofsted report which says our children are ready for Key Stage One. It is about making sure they can cope with the curriculum.

“We have lots of hands-on activities, making sure our children are learning for the right reasons.”

In Oxfordshire, as across the rest of the country, more girls achieved development targets than boys – 75 per cent compared to 59 per cent.

Mr Gray said: “With the national average at 66 per cent there are lots of children still not meeting that standard.

“We really need to make sure those groups, and schools with lots of pupil premium [less advantaged] children, get there.”

In 2013, the percentage of children achieving a good level of development in Oxfordshire was four per cent below the national average of 52 per cent. But this year’s 66 per cent figure means they are performing just as well as their peers across England.

Lynn Knapp, headteacher at Windmill Primary School, Headington, said good early-years development meant better school results in later years.

She added: “It is about knowing better what we need from the children. We have higher expectations of children coming through and nurseries and schools are working more closely.

“Children do not lose time when they move from nursery to school.

“If kids are doing better at early years they will then do better in Year One and Year Two.

“I think they will perform as well, if not better, than kids in Key Stage One currently are.”