Weaker headteachers to be sent to 'leadership school'

Up to 5,000 primary school headteachers will be going back to the classroom next year to learn how to improve their teachers' performance.

The move is one of several by the Government intended to improve literacy and numeracy after test results for 11-year-olds fell short of ministerial targets. A report by Ofsted, the Government's education standards watchdog, last week put part of the blame on weak leadership, saying one in 10 heads was delivering literacy and numeracy strategies poorly.

David Hopkins, head of the Standards and Effectiveness Unit at the Department for Education and Skills, said: "A lot of training in the past has focused on management and administration skills. We now want to develop a programme which looks at issues like leadership and how to get the best out of your staff."

The move coincides with the publication today of the Government's primary school performance tables, which list the national curriculum test results of 11-year-olds in more than 16,000 schools. The figures show a slight improvement on last year, with the percentage of pupils achieving the required standard in maths going up by 2 points to 73 per cent. In English, the figure remained stagnant at 75 per cent, although there has been a 3-point drop in measures of reading over the past two years while writing has risen by 3 pointst. In science, the percentage slipped by 1 point to 86 per cent.

Standards have slipped at 63 out of 150 local education authorities and fall short of the target of 80 per cent reaching the English standard and 75 per cent in maths demanded by ministers.

Stephen Twigg, the minister with responsibility for primary education, vowed yesterday that the Government would reach its 2002 target next year, and reaffirmed a more ambitious target of 85 per cent in both subjects for 2004.

He said that teachers, heads and pupils deserved praise for achieving the best ever results in primary school tests for 11-year-olds. Mr Twigg said, however, that there were too many schools where weak leadership was hampering progress. "The performance tables show large variations in performance between schools – we are resolute that all pupils should benefit from improved standards."

The leadership courses will be devised by the new National College for School Leadership, Nottingham.

Other measures include setting up 1,000 Easter schools next year for pupils who are likely to reach the required standard with extra coaching, and booster classes for boys in their last two years at primary school to improve their writing skills. Boys lag 11 points behind girls in the writing test.

There is also to be extra training in "guided reading" sessions whereby teachers take up to six pupils of similar ability aside and listen to them read out loud. Inspectors said that many of these sessions were poor.

* Many teachers were quitting as examiners for next year's GCSEs and A-levels because they felt their work was not recognised, Mike Tomlinson, a former chief inspector of schools, told the Commons Select Committee on Education yesterday. He said examining needed to be better paid to avoid shortages next year.

The most improved primary - St Barnabas' Church of England school

An inner-city primary school is celebrating a 400 per cent increase in its test results today after starting lessons for parents to help them to improve their children's academic performance.

St Barnabas' Church of England primary school, serving 220 pupils in Openshaw, Manchester, is the most improved school in the country, according to primary school performance tables.

Four years ago only one in five pupils at the school reached the required standard in national curriculum tests for 11-year-olds in maths, English and science. Now only one in five does not.

According to the headteacher, Sue Eastwood, one of the secrets of its new-found success has been providing a series of courses for parents. "We run adult courses in a range of things – anything from teaching parenting skills to literacy, numeracy, and computing," she said.

"Basically, it's anything that will support parents. It's all about changing their attitude to learning and helping them support their children."

The result has been a four-fold increase in the average point score per child in national curriculum tests, from 64 points in 1998 to 264 this year.

The score is calculated by adding the percentage of pupils reaching the required standard in the three tests: science, maths and English.

This year the school nearly achieved a perfect score in its science test with 96 per cent achieving the required standard. In maths, it was 88 per cent. The lowest score, 80 per cent, was in English. The school's improvement is not confined to test results – truancy has also fallen. Its attendance rate this year is 94 per cent, compared with 89 per cent in 2000.

One of the first things introduced to turn the school around was a code to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Five years ago, St Barnabas' was put on the list of failing schools held by Ofsted, the Government's education standards watchdog.

Ms Eastwood said the decision to subject the school to special measures had been beneficial. "The concentration of effort that followed meant that we achieved the improvements within two years – whereas it would have taken five if we had been left alone."