Primary school league tables: one-in-10 schools 'failing'

Data released by the Department for Education shows 1,310 schools fell short of Government benchmarks in the three-Rs this year. Figures suggest that as many as 300,000 children aged five to 11 are now taught at poor performing primaries in England. At least 200 of the very worst schools will be pulled out of local authority control as early as next summer and turned into academies under the leadership of a private sponsor. The Government insisted that hundreds of other struggling schools could be subjected to similar measures in coming years if they fail to improve. Nick Gibb, the Schools Minister, said the Coalition was “taking action to end years of chronic under-performance". Under new rules, all schools are supposed to ensure at least 60 per cent of 11-year-olds reach the standard expected for their age group in both core subjects. They are also expected to satisfy new "pupil progress" measures charting children's rate of improvement between the age of seven and 11. But school-by-school data published by the DfE shows 1,310 out of almost 15,000 mainstream state primaries are falling short of the target. This includes 150 that have been underperforming for at least five years in a row. This suggests around four-in-10 pupils from these schools are starting secondary education struggling to grasp the point of a piece of prose, write extended sentences using commas, recite the 10 times table or add, subtract, multiply and divide in their heads. Mr Gibb said: “The seven years of primary school are key to establishing the buildings blocks of a child’s education, particularly in reading, writing and arithmetic. “Today’s figures reveal on a school-by-school basis the high academic standards achieved by thousands of primary schools in this country. "But 1,310 schools are today shown to be below the floor – and about 150 have been languishing with poor standards for five years in a row. It is these schools that we will pay particular attention to in the year ahead, whether through conversion to a sponsored academy or other measures." According to today’s figures: • Some 74 per cent of pupils achieved the standard expected for their age – Level 4 – in both English and maths this year, up one percentage point in 12 months; • The proportion of bright children exceeding the standard expected of their age group – Level 5 – dropped by three percentage points in English to 29 per cent but increased by one point in maths to 35 per cent; • One in 10 boys leave primary school with the reading age of a seven-year-old or worse; • Only 570 schools – fewer than one-in-20 – ensured all pupils reached the appropriate level in the three-Rs; • Faith schools appeared to outperform others, accounting for more than half of primaries with “perfect” scores, despite only representing a third of schools nationally; • The top performing school was the tiny St Margaret’s Church of England primary in Halstead, Essex, where all pupils reached the higher Level 5 in English and maths – the only one to achieve the feat; • The next best was Oakridge primary in Stafford where 91 per cent of children gained Level 5; • Crays Hill primary in Billericay, Essex – at the centre of a row six years ago when it was overrun by gypsies – was named as the worst school, with no children achieving the basic standard in both English and maths. Under new floor targets set by the Coalition, schools are supposed to ensure 60 per cent of pupils gain Level 4 in the two core subjects. Schools failing to hit the target can escape reprimand if they prove children are making the necessary progress between the age of seven and 11. On average, pupils are supposed to reach Level 2 in assessments taken at seven and proceed to Level 4 by 11. Pupils gaining the lower Level 1 at the age of seven should reach Level 3 at the end of primary school. This is designed to stop schools being punished for having large numbers of pupils from poor backgrounds who start school well behind their classmates. This year’s figures showed 914 primaries lifted themselves above the floor targets after previously failing to hit Government benchmarks. But a further 870 fell below it this year for the first time. According to the DfE, at least a fifth of schools in eight local council areas also failed to achieve the basic standard. They were Derby, Torbay, Plymouth, Wakefield, Blackpool, Herefordshire, Middlesbrough and Norfolk. The best performing authorities were the London boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham and Havering, where no schools were underperforming.