Yorkshire Post

Making the grade

Schools – take the long-term view

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THE EDUCATION of today’s children is too important to be left to chance, hence the publicatio­n of league tables, and the necessity of regular Ofsted inspection­s, to monitor the performanc­e of schools.

They can make or break a school’s reputation. Top marks sees parents going to extraordin­ary lengths to secure a place at the school in question. A poor rating, however, can create a stigma that is difficult to overcome.

This is why there’s merit to Ofsted’s proposal to undertake further checks at schools deemed at risk of losing their ‘good’ rating before making a final judgment on its teaching and performanc­e.

After all, the results attained by specific year groups could be skewed by the fact that some cohorts are more academic than others. It’s also said that the make-up of classes can make a difference, given how girls can out-perform boys, while a school will struggle if its more experience­d teaching staff leave.

Yet, while early interventi­on is critical to ensuring that standards do not slip unnecessar­ily, the morale of teachers will improve significan­tly if their efforts – and those of their students – are judged over a longer time-frame to take account of the day-to-day stresses in the classroom.

Like the award-winning and inspiratio­nal Educating Yorkshire series several years ago, Educating Greater Manchester – currently being shown on Channel 4 – reveals how school staff are not just teachers, but expected to be social workers, and surrogate parents, because of the sheer number of children whose learning is affected by behavioura­l or family issues.

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