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| School change obscures performance, says heads' leader | School change obscures performance, says heads' leader |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Continuous change has made it impossible to tell how well England's schools are performing, said a head teachers' leader. | |
| Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), was addressing its annual conference in London. | |
| Students' exam grades at 16 "cannot be compared from year to year", he told the union's delegates. | |
| The government said its reforms had been "necessary and urgent". | The government said its reforms had been "necessary and urgent". |
| Comparing grades | Comparing grades |
| Mr Lightman called for a period of "clarity and stability" after rapid reform. | |
| At the moment, understanding how well the system is doing "is a real challenge", said Mr Lightman. | |
| "Hard though it is to believe, I am standing here and stating that we do not know how well our system is performing in terms of attainment in our qualifications for 16-year-olds and may not for some years to come," he added. | |
| Mr Lightman promised that ASCL will continue to work with awarding bodies and officials "to get to a stage very rapidly when teachers, students, parents, employers and the government know exactly what each grade means in terms of learning outcomes and how standards compare between years". | |
| The union is calling for schools to have a greater say in setting the school curriculum and for the government to put more trust in teachers rather than imposing "relentless change from above". | The union is calling for schools to have a greater say in setting the school curriculum and for the government to put more trust in teachers rather than imposing "relentless change from above". |
| Curriculum commission | Curriculum commission |
| In particular the trade union wants the national curriculum to be decided by an independent commission made up of school leaders, governors, teachers, parents, employers and politicians. | In particular the trade union wants the national curriculum to be decided by an independent commission made up of school leaders, governors, teachers, parents, employers and politicians. |
| It wants the curriculum to be reviewed only once every five years. | It wants the curriculum to be reviewed only once every five years. |
| A Department for Education spokeswoman said reform had been needed as children "only get one chance at education". | A Department for Education spokeswoman said reform had been needed as children "only get one chance at education". |
| "We know we have expected a lot from teachers and appreciate the huge efforts that head teachers and schools have made to implement these reforms. | |
| "Together we are transforming education with one million more children now being taught in good or outstanding schools than in 2010. | "Together we are transforming education with one million more children now being taught in good or outstanding schools than in 2010. |
| "The important thing now is to build on this success and maintain a period of stability to allow the reforms to bed in and standards in our schools to continue to improve." | "The important thing now is to build on this success and maintain a period of stability to allow the reforms to bed in and standards in our schools to continue to improve." |