Children who have poor language skills at an early age are more likely to have problems with academic subjects in the later part of their primary school learning process, a new study has discovered.

According to the research carried out by Save the Children, children who struggled with language when they started school at the age of five will have significant problems when it comes to maths at age 11. 

As many as 21 per cent of this group fail to reach national standards for success in maths by the time they leave primary school and move on to secondary school, the study suggests. 

The Institute of Education analysed the progress of 5,000 children using data from the Millennium Cohort Study and the National Pupil Database in England, and found that overall, 23 per cent of pupils with language problems at age five did not meet national standards in their Sats, as a whole by the age of 11. 

And it said that this problem is one that affects all pupils, regardless of background, with people from all family types suffering if they were not achieving the correct language skills for their age at the start of their primary education. 

Gareth Jenkins, from Save the Children, says the research demonstrates for the first time that there is a real need to ensure pupils are able to communicate properly when they are at an early age, as this skill is directly linked to their success as they reach an older age. 

"The most important thing we could do is to see every nursery led by an early years graduate teacher, because the research is really clear that this helps improve the quality of the activities, and the poorest children in particular benefit from that extra care," he said.