107 secondary schools miss targets

Thousands of teenagers are still failing to get good GCSE results after being let down by under-performing schools, new league tables suggest.

Newly published statistics show that 107 secondaries in England did not reach tough Government targets which ministers say are intended to raise standards.

Schools that fail to meet the strict thresholds have been warned they are at risk of closure or being taken over if they do not improve.

The tables also suggest that hundreds of secondaries are failing their poorest pupils. Just a third (33.9%) of teenagers from disadvantaged homes gained at least five C's in their GCSEs last summer, including English and maths, compared to 58.2% of all pupils attending state schools.

And while nearly one in six pupils nationally achieved the Government's new English Baccalaureate, the same was true for only one in 25 poor youngsters, the Department for Education (DfE) said.

To gain the EBacc, pupils must score at least a C in English, maths, science, history or geography and a language at GCSE.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: "We should have high expectations for all children regardless of their circumstances. Today's figures reveal a shocking waste of talent in many schools across the country. All too often, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds aren't given the same opportunities as their peers. But there are great examples of schools achieving the best for their disadvantaged pupils. If they can get it right, then so can all schools.

Statistics show 107 secondaries in England did not reach tough Government targets

"Thanks to the introduction of the EBacc, we are opening up opportunities for all pupils to study the core academic subjects that employers and universities demand. And with the Pupil Premium we are specifically targeting funding at disadvantaged pupils, so that schools have the resources they need to make a difference."

The tables show that overall, 107 secondary schools were below the Government's target in 2011. This means that less than 35% of their pupils got at least five C grades at GCSE, including English and maths, and fewer youngsters made two levels of progress between 11 and 16 than the national average in these two core subjects.

The league tables are based on GCSE, as well as A-level results, for 2011.

School names police probe monks

Seven Roman Catholic monks with links to a top public school have faced police investigation over child sex and pornography offences, the school has admitted.

In a letter to the parents of the 1,500 pupils at the £26,000-per-year Downside School in Somerset, Dom Aidan Bellenger, the Benedictine Abbot of Downside, apologised to parents and named some of the monks who were picked out by a criminal investigation looking at 50 years of confidential school records.

Of the seven monks from Downside, he said four had faced police action and two, against whom allegations "were founded" , had restrictions imposed on their ministry. The seventh was cleared and allowed to return to his monastic life.

The school has already announced a "major review of the school's governance" that would result in "significant changes" after a monk and former teacher at the school, Richard White, was jailed for five years on January 3 for sexually abusing two 12-year-old boys in the late 1980s.

His abuse was known about by monastic and school staff at the time but he evaded criminal charges for more than 20 years.

Richard White, a paedophile monk who abused two boys at a Roman Catholic public school

"We are truly sorry that children and young people have been abused by those whom they should have been able to trust," Dom Bellenger wrote.

"We are committed to doing everything possible to ensure that such things do not happen again.

"We must never underestimate the great damage suffered by the victims of abuse. Their bravery in telling their stories has resulted in radical changes in the way safeguarding is approached. Victims of abuse are in our prayers and the sadness we feel for what they have suffered will be with us always.

"These unhappy events inevitably cast a long shadow, but your chief concern will of course be the welfare, security and happiness of children currently at Downside. Many steps have been taken to ensure that the Downside portrayed in some parts of the media is a thing of the past."

©Press Association

ACTION URGED OVER CYBER BULLYING

A headteacher called on the Government today to take action to deal with the increasing problem of "cyber bullying".

Liberal Democrat Lord Storey, head of a primary school in Liverpool, said it was easy for under-age children to set up accounts on social networking sites and use them without permission from parents and teachers.

He told Government spokeswoman Baroness Garden of Frognal at question time in the House of Lords: "You will be aware of the hugely increasing problem of cyber bullying by and of children and young people, particularly in schools."

And he called on her to meet the online industry, teachers and welfare experts to discuss what further measures could be taken.

Lady Garden said the Government was "committed to tackling bullying on social networking sites" and would be prepared to hold meetings on the issue.

She added: "The Government is pressing the internet industry in the UK and Europe to implement clear and simple processes for dealing with abuse online."


©Press Asssociation

GOVE FACES LEGAL ACTION FROM SCHOOL

Education Secretary Michael Gove is facing legal action from a primary school whose supporters he branded "ideologues" for opposing academy status.

Lawyers representing the governing body of Downhills Primary, Haringey, north London, have sent a statement of claim to the Department for Education, claiming the Education Secretary is attempting to illegally force academy status on the school.

Mr Gove has a fortnight to respond to the claims or risks facing a judicial review into his decision.

Success for the school could stall the Government's plans to roll out the academy programme and make schools independent of local councils.

Downhills governor Roger Sahota told the Observer: "We are saying the secretary of state has acted unlawfully by forcing Downhills to become an academy and that action is premature in advance of the next Ofsted inspection.

"It is quite clear that the attainment records are improving and what they are doing is ideologically or politically motivated."

Headteacher Leslie Church told the newspaper: "I am neither for nor against academies. I think it is right for communities to decide what school they have.

"Therefore, if the drive to change all schools to academy status is something the Government wishes to pursue, I think that is something that should be put before the electorate as a manifesto.

"Outstanding schools are being encouraged into academy status, schools at the bottom end are being forced to become academies, so that leaves schools in the middle and basically my understanding is the financial viability of local authorities is left in the balance."

Mr Gove is facing legal action.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "Haringey's primary schools are the worst performing in inner London. This year, results went backwards - dropping below both the national and London average in English and maths.

"Similar local authorities in London, such as Hackney and Tower Hamlets, outperform them. It is vital that improvements are made quickly, which is why we are looking at academy sponsorship to turn around failing schools. We cannot simply stand by and let schools fail their pupils year after year.

"The department will respond to the school's letter in due course."

In a speech last week at a south-east London academy, Mr Gove said most local authorities were being "co-operative and constructive" but he said some were being "obstructive" in their approach.

The Education Secretary highlighted Haringey Council in his remarks, saying he had been asked "not to challenge" the leadership of the borough's lowest performing schools.

And in his speech he said: "They are more concerned with protecting old ways of working than helping the most disadvantaged children succeed in the future.

"Anyone who cares about social justice must want us to defeat these ideologues and liberate the next generation from a history of failure.

"In one of the most disadvantaged parts of our capital city, poor children have been deprived of the skills they need to succeed."


PA 2012