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ATL comment on secondary school league tables
26 January 2012
Adrian Prandle, education policy adviser at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said:
"Children's education would improve far more if the government concentrated on supporting schools which need extra help instead of naming and shaming them. Creating such high stakes league tables is not in the best interests of all pupils.
"Today's secondary league tables highlight what we already know, that schools in deprived areas face tough challenges. These schools need to be given the flexibility to tailor the curriculum so that they can inspire those children who struggle to learn. They do not need politicians pushing a restrictive curriculum and making teaching to the test inevitable.
"We fully support parents having information about their local schools, but they will be no better off if there is too much data for them to sift through."
Notes to editors
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) is an independent, registered trade union and professional association, representing approximately 160,000 teachers, headteachers, lecturers and support staff in maintained and independent nurseries, schools, sixth form, tertiary and further education colleges in the United Kingdom.
ATL exists to help members, as their careers develop, through first rate research, advice, information and legal advice.
ATL is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) and Education International (EI). ATL is not affiliated to any political party and seeks to work constructively with all the main political parties.