Thousands of five-year-olds can't write name after a year at school... despite £12bn spent on nursery education

Fourteen per cent of five-year-olds - almost 80,000 - are unable to scribble 'mum', 'dad' or their first name from memory.

Some 11 per cent have trouble sounding out the alphabet, and four in ten cannot write a simple shopping list or letter to Father Christmas, according to assessments of pupils' progress at the end of their reception year at primary school.

One in seven primary school students struggle to write their own name after a year in school, official figures show

Overall, just half of the 556,000 children at this stage were judged to have reached a 'good level of development'.

The figures, which come from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, apply to pupils in both state and private sectors. While the five-year-olds' progress was judged to be better than last year, it was still down on 2005 in most areas.

Officials have blamed tougher assessment arrangements for the decline in results since 2005 but the Tories have warned that performance is 'slipping back'.

Ministers have also missed a 2008 target for 53 per cent of children in state-maintained schools and nurseries to meet the expected level of development.

Boys remain behind girls in all developmental areas, especially in writing, where girls are 18 points ahead.

The results mean that a majority of pupils are beginning Year 1 this month lacking key skills.

Under the Government's system of assessments for five-year-olds, children are judged to have reached a 'good level' if they can show they are attentive in class; know the importance of school rules; take turns in conversation; guess at the meaning of simple sentences; write a letter to Father Christmas; blend sounds together to say simple words; and respect others.

Teachers are meant to observe children as they work and play and then record their progress.

Yesterday's results will intensify calls for the current developmental goals in writing to be scaled back because they are too tough for young children.

One of the goals is for five-year-olds to write simple sentences using basic punctuation.

Just a quarter of youngsters met the standard this year.

Childcare experts have warned that a new 'nappy curriculum' being introduced this month - a statutory learning framework for children from birth to five - will put teachers under greater pressure than ever to push youngsters towards such goals.

Children will be forced into formal lessons too soon, they say.

Ministers have asked an inquiry into the primary curriculum to consider the complaints when it reports back next year.

Yesterday's assessments also showed a persistent gap in attainment between the richest and poorest youngsters.

Children from more affluent areas are already well ahead of pupils in the most deprived parts of the country before they

even start school, and the gulf shows little sign of narrowing.

Among five-year-olds in the most deprived 30 per cent of areas in the country, only 38 per cent achieved a good level of development.

This compares with 54 per cent in all other areas - a gap of 16 points. While this is down from 17 points last year, ministers missed a target aimed at reducing the gap to 12 points.

Children's minister Beverley Hughes said the results showed 'continued improvements'.

'But there is more to do to ensure that all children achieve their potential, especially the most disadvantaged.'

Why teenagers are maths dunces

Teens are drilled to pass exams, rather than learn crucial maths concepts

Half of schools are failing to teach maths properly, an Ofsted report warns today.

The education watchdog said that this means millions of teenagers are finishing compulsory education with a poor grasp of the subject.

Teachers are increasingly drilling pupils to pass exams instead of encouraging them to understand crucial maths concepts, the report adds.

Ofsted's damning conclusion was that rising exam results owe little or nothing to better teaching or a deeper understanding among pupils.

They have instead been inflated by 'teaching to the test'. Inspectors-also highlighted a growing-culture of dependence on quick-fix 'booster' classes for pupils on the borderline between grade thresholds.

Exam bodies were also criticised for designing national exams which test maths skills in bite-size chunks.

Ofsted's verdict is embarrassing for ministers who have attempted to make political capital out of rising results.

Schools Minister Jim Knight said: 'There is no reason why testing should result in a narrow focus or uninspiring lessons.

This year's new secondary curriculum will help bring mathematics to life.'