Borough's pupils fall short in key subjects

Councillor Amanda Chadderton

MORE than half of Oldham pupils failed to reach new, tougher standards in reading, writing and maths when they left primary school in the summer.

The borough's performance is one of the worst in the country and the second lowest in the North-West, and includes particularly poor reading results.

This year's crop of 11-year-olds was the first set new tests since the introduction of the "more challenging" national curriculum in 2014.

But teachers and parents branded the reading test too difficult and said that it had left some children in tears. Local authority figures released by the Department for Education show 45 per cent of Oldham pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, compared with 53 per cent nationally, ranking it 11th worst in England.

Only Liverpool's figure of 44 per cent was lower in the North-West while neighbouring Rochdale achieved 51 per cent.

Just 58 per cent of Oldham pupils reached the expected standard in the reading test, the tenth worst performance nationally, 71 per cent in spelling, punctuation and grammar and 67 per cent in maths.

The national figures were 66 per cent, 72 per cent and 70 per cent.

In teacher assessments, 73 per cent of Oldham pupils achieved the standard in reading (80 per cent nationally), 66 per cent (74 per cent) in writing, 72 per cent (78 per cent) in maths and 73 per cent (81 per cent) in science.

Test

The government said that large differences in test and teacher assessment scores could be because pupils were unfamiliar with the tests, and therefore did not do as well. They also said that figures could not be compared to last year because of the changes.

Previously, pupils were also told they had achieved a certain level, with level 4 the expected standard. This year, children were given a scaled score between 80 and 120, where 100 was that expected.

The average scaled for reading was 101 in Oldham and 103 for England.

But Oldham matched the national figures of 104 for spelling, punctuation and grammar and 103 for maths.

Individual school figures are expected to be published in December, with schools warned that they could be turned into academies if less than 65 per cent of pupils do not achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, or do not make sufficient progress in the subjects.

Councillor Amanda Chadderton, Oldham's cabinet member for education and early years, said: “This year has seen significant changes to the curriculum and how results are measured at Key Stage 2.

“These have been a particular challenge to schools in Oldham and have led to some disappointing outcomes, especially in literacy.

“Pupils sitting Key Stage 2 tests this year were the first to be taught and assessed under a new national curriculum and the national expected standard has been raised.

“That means we cannot compare this year’s results to previous years, but we will take stock of what this means for Oldham and how we can move forward.

“We retain confidence in the primary sector and through the Oldham Education and Skills Commission significant positive changes are already being made. We are committed to delivering an education system that works for everyone.”