Teachers’ fury over shaming of schools

Jun 12 2008 by Paul James, The Journal

TEACHERS last night launched a savage attack on Government plans to close down schools it deems to be under- performing on GCSE marks.

All 20 of the North East schools named and shamed in the new National Challenge programme have passed Ofsted inspections and none are under special measures to improve.

And the two that are under notice to improve by inspectors, both in Sunderland, are already being replaced by new academies.

The schools grouped into the new category of National Challenge status are those where fewer than 30% of children achieve five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C, including maths and English.

If that target isn’t achieved by 2011, the Government initiative could see the 638 secondary schools in England either closed down, merged with top-performing grammar schools or replaced with privately-backed academies.

Local authorities have now been given a 50-day deadline to come up with a rescue plan for each of the schools on the Government’s hit list.

Last night one Newcastle head dismissed the “arbitrary” 30% target, which does not take into account the schools’ catchment areas.

Union leaders said the new targets set by the Government, for schools deemed to be good by Ofsted, made the inspectors’ views meaningless.

By 2020, the Government wants at least 90% of schools to achieve the equivalent of five higher level GCSEs by the age of 19.

Children’s Minister Ed Balls has announced that he would double the £200m previously announced in the Budget to help the schools identified.

Steve Gater, headteacher of Walker Technology College, which was deemed by Ofsted to be a good school at its last inspection, said he anticipated hitting the 30% target in the next two years.

He said: “We’re predicting we’ll be hitting the threshold either this year or next year. But it’s a meaningless, arbitrary figure. Let’s have a look at judging schools on what they do compared to the scale of the challenge they have.

“We haven’t got failing schools in Newcastle. We have highly successful schools that are doing their job in a difficult context to schools in other areas.”

Of the 20 North East schools that fall below the 30% threshold, seven had a good rating – the second highest available – at their last Ofsted inspection. All the others were classed as satisfactory, except for Sunderland’s Hylton Red House and Pennywell schools that will reopen as academies in 2009.

Two of the County Durham schools, Gilesgate Sports College and Moorside College in Consett, are subject to consultations on becoming academies.

Yesterday Howard Brown, Sunderland secretary of the National Union of Teachers, who teaches at Hetton School, said: “We want rounded citizens coming out of school to the best of their potential, but the 30% target means schools will go back to the routine of teaching to the exam.

“The Government, without looking at individual schools, have said, ‘We’ll have a benchmark that is the same for everybody’. If they’re going to do that, they might as well scrap Ofsted because it means what they say is now meaningless. It beggars belief.”

Closure threat possible

IF a school is unable to improve its exam results, the Government has said it could encourage local authorities to close the school and replace it with a National Challenge Trust.

This would involve new partnerships led by a successful school and a business or university partner.

Councils must set out, by the end of the school summer term, individual action plans for how they will transform results in each National Challenge school from now until 2011.

Improvement plans put forward by the Government include more one-to-one tuition and study support in English and maths, and extra support from experts for weak English and maths departments.

Sir Mike Tomlinson will chair a new National Challenge panel of expert advisers to support low-attaining schools.

Each National Challenge school will be allocated a National Challenge adviser, who will work with the school leadership to develop a tailored package of support.