MORE than half of children in Blackburn and Darwen aren’t developing enough educationally when they move from reception to year one, new figures suggest.

Only 39.8 per cent of five-year-olds in the borough reached a ‘good’ level of development, according to statistics from University College London's Institute of Health Equity.

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The figures reveal the Blackburn with Darwen is the sixth worst performing borough in the country, behind areas including Leicester on 27 per cent, Wigan on 37.7 per cent and Middlesborough on 38.2 per cent.

It has also been revealed that 69 per cent of children in schools run by Lancashire County Council achieved ‘good’ development.

Nationally only 52 per cent of five-year-olds in England reached a ‘good’ level of development.

Linda Clegg, Blackburn with Darwen’s director of children’s services, said: “We know only too well the challenges that many local families face and we have put comprehensive measures in place to support children’s early development, from encouragement at pre-birth for parents to talk and sing to their babies, to our quality early education offer for pre-schoolers.

"This year we introduced a new ‘Ready, Steady, School’ programme in our children’s centres to prepare children — and their parents — for school life.

“We have a specialist team that works with providers of early education and all this early years work means that we have virtually closed the gap with the national average in terms of attainment by the time children leave primary school at age 11.”