Teachers call on UK govt to suspend league tables for next academic year

The United Kingdom government has not heeded calls from teachers to suspend school performance tables in England for the 2020-21 academic year, prompting headteachers to say this will place too much pressure on staff and pupils whose routine has been disrupted by the novel coronavirus lockdown.

In the latest guidance for the full reopening of schools in September published last week, the government reiterated the suspension of league tables for the 2019-2020 academic year, but made no such promise for next year.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "We are pleased the government has agreed with the need to suspend routine Ofsted inspections for the autumn term, but extremely disappointed there is no commitment to suspending school performance tables next year.

"Schools must be able to focus on supporting the learning and wellbeing of pupils following a time of great disruption, and bearing in mind the possibility of continued partial or full shutdowns in response to outbreaks."

League tables, he said, could be damaging to schools despite best efforts they had made for their pupils.

"Given the very different circumstances schools and pupils are facing, school performance tables are meaningless and counterproductive, and they should be suspended in 2021."

Simon Kidwell, head of Hartford Manor primary in Cheshire and a spokesperson for the National Association of Headteachers, told the Guardian newspaper: "It's really unfair to be using this one measure for all schools when next year we are likely to have schools having different experiences due to local lockdowns, such as the one that has occurred in Leicester. Home learning is a poor substitute for learning in the classroom."

Routine inspections by the Office for Standards in Education, or Ofsted, have been suspended until January and inspectors will instead "visit a sample of schools to discuss how they are managing the return to education of all their pupils".

"These will be collaborative discussions, taking into account the curriculum and remote education expectations set out in this document, and will not result in a judgement," Department of Education guidance said.

Sean Maher, head of Richard Challoner School in Kingston upon Thames, told the Guardian he was worried schools would be pressured to address academic gaps immediately, without being given time to understand what children had been through during lockdown. "We're going to be unpicking things for months about what's happened — where there have been abusive relationships, family fall-outs, mental health issues. I'm also concerned about staff struggling with reintegrating back into the school environment and families feeling financial pressure."

The Department for Education said it will soon announce more details on accountability arrangements for the 2020-21 academic year.