IMMEDIATE
23 January 2014
Secondary Schools League Tables
Commenting on the performance data for secondary schools in England released by the Government, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said:
‘It is good to hear that Michael Gove acknowledges that schools are performing well and that this is a result of the hard work of teachers. League tables are however the wrong way to look at school achievement as they are based on a narrow definition of pupil performance. They divide schools and demoralise teachers and are not a necessary means to ensuring teaching is good or getting pupil progress right. They also fail to reflect and take account of the work of a school including its character and ethos. Comparisons are therefore open to question.
‘Schools who find themselves failing the Government’s definition of success will inevitably be threatened with forced academy conversion. It really is about time that the Education Secretary stopped this deception that academy status will improve the education of children. It is not the name on the front ofthe school that counts but the teaching, leadership and support that schools are given which make a difference. Schools in less affluent areas need the resources both in and outside of school to ensure that their pupils have as many of the advantages those in more affluent areas have. Cuts to schools and local authority budgets mean that many vital services which support and identify vulnerable children and their families are no longer available to schools and parents.
No one would argue that schools shouldn’t be held accountable. Teachers are responsible professionals proud of their students. The problem with league tables is that it can drive many schools down the route of a box ticking approach to education despite teachers better judgement. The interests of parents and carers, pupils, and schools themselves are best met through a dialogue and relationship between schools and homes and families, rather than through the use of crude and potentially misleading ‘accountability’ measures expressed in terms of performance tables’.
END pr010-2014
For further information contact Caroline Cowie on 0207 380 4706 or 07879480061
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