Schools: Standards

(asked on 6th September 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to discourage schools from "gaming" performance table results by entering pupils for inappropriate qualifications.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Agnew of Oulton
This question was answered on 17th September 2018

The department is clear that schools should support pupils to take the qualifications that are in their individual best interests so that each pupil has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

The methodology and presentation of secondary school performance measures is kept under review, and the department routinely monitor patterns in entries and results. If there is evidence that individual schools have misused qualification entries in order to improve their results in performance tables, which Ofsted strongly discourages, we will not hesitate to take appropriate action in response. For example, the department removed the European Computer Driving Licence from performance tables, as this was used by some schools to boost their Progress 8 scores.

The department will review non-GCSE qualifications available for pupils aged 14-16 and will publish a consultation in due course.

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