More children than ever in Croydon are starting school ready to thrive, as new figures show the borough is continuing to outperform the national average.

Provisional Early Years Foundation Stage results for 2025/26 show that 74.1% of Croydon’s children reached a Good Level of Development by the end of their reception year, up from 70.4% the year before. Croydon’s most recent figures already show the borough as sitting above the national average of 68.3%.

This excellent progress reflects the dedication of early years staff, schools, nurseries and families across Croydon whose work is helping more children arrive at school ready to learn.

A Good Level of Development means a child has reached the expected standard in the areas that set them up for school and later life, including communication and language, early literacy, maths, and personal and social development.

The results come as the Council rolls out its Best Start in Life Plan for 2026 to 2031, which brings parenting support and home learning help together through a network of family hubs across Croydon. The plan puts particular focus on children who currently fall behind their peers, and on the areas that practitioners see most often, including speech, language and communication.

It also follows last year’s launch of the new and improved speech and language therapy service for young children in the borough, which is now delivered by specialist providers in their schools. Croydon children aged three to five are also benefitting from Croydon Libraries Ready Road programme – an Early Years initiative helping children build the skills and confidence they need to start school.

Executive Mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry, said: “This is really encouraging news, and the credit belongs to Croydon’s early years practitioners and above all our families. Giving every child the best possible start is one of the most important things we do as a borough.

“These are early figures and we will have the full national picture later in the year, but the direction is clear and it is the right one. Our Best Start in Life plan is about working alongside families through our family hubs, spotting where a child needs a bit more help earlier, and making sure the support is there in every part of Croydon. That is how we keep this progress going.

“We are not complacent. There are still children who need more support to reach their potential, and that is exactly what the plan is built to deliver over the coming years.”