Schools ‘gaming’ league tables
SOME secondary schools enter almost every child into an English foreign language GCSE in a bid to “game” league tables, the head of Ofsted has revealed.
Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector of schools in England, warned headteachers against putting their own interests ahead of those of their pupils.
She said schools should not feel “under pressure” to boost their position in league tables by entering children for pointless qualifications simply because “the school down the road is doing it”.
At the launch of Ofsted’s annual report, Ms Spielman cited one school where inspectors noted that every child was required to take a GCSE in sports science, regardless of whether they took an interest in the subject.
Others entered practically all pupils for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) GCSES, despite “nearly all” being native English speakers.
Ministers acted on Ofsted’s calls to close the loophole, and the league tables published last month were the first time that ESOL qualifications did not count towards a school’s performance.
ESOL specimen questions included
one where pupils were asked to describe in up to 150 words a person who “has played an important part in your life”. Another question asks students to write between 70 and 90 words on how they celebrated their last birthday.
Ms Spielman said a “minority” of schools failed children by attempting to boost their reputation at the expense of a well-rounded education. She explained: “In schools, if we see actions that appear to be taken in the school’s own interests, this may be a type of ‘gaming’, by seeking to make things look better than they are. Some actions that schools take may have a beneficial impact on the school’s performance data but be of limited benefit or even at odds with the best interests of pupils.”
Ms Spielman also accused ministers of failing to support primary schools in Birmingham which faced protests from Muslim communities over the introduction of LGBT lessons. She said there was “no swift condemnation” from governments over these protests, and “remarkably little” from politicians.
Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the majority of schools did not “game” the system but urged ministers to overhaul league tables so that headteachers were not presented with false incentives.
“Performance tables currently penalise schools which have more pupils in challenging circumstances, such as those with low prior attainment and special educational needs,” he said. “This is wrong. The system should incentivise inclusivity and performance tables must be reformed.”
A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “We will work with Ofsted, schools, local authorities and others to address the issues this report identifies.”