Why are more primary schools under the spotlight for exam cheating?

If pupils do not perform well, it is teachers who will be held to account, while for heads, their job could even be on the line. In this context, says Eleanor Busby, it is unsurprising that staff are ‘over-aiding’ pupils

Do exams at primary level help or hinder? (Getty)

A series of high-profile primary schools have hit the headlines over the past year for cheating during statutory exams – and in many cases, pupils’ results have been annulled following investigations by officials.

Now it has emerged that these cases are part of a growing trend where more and more primary schools are being examined over alleged “maladministration” of the national curriculum tests.

So what is happening? Why are teachers in primary schools resorting to apparently desperate measures? And how are young children being affected by a narrow focus on Sats in some schools?