Specialist schools fail in own subject

17 Feb 05
Many schools that have elected to specialise in a particular subject are not performing well in their area of expertise, education watchdog Ofsted said this week.

18 February 2005

Many schools that have elected to specialise in a particular subject are not performing well in their area of expertise, education watchdog Ofsted said this week.

More than half of the 52 specialist schools visited by Ofsted inspectors failed to meet their targets for the percentage of pupils achieving grade C or above in their specialist subjects.

Arts colleges were of particular concern. In 2003, music and drama results in specialist arts schools were below the national average, while general teaching standards for 11-14 year-olds were worse than those in non-specialist schools.

There were also concerns around the management of arts schools, which inspectors said needed to be improved if they were to be brought up to the standard displayed by other specialist schools.

Chief schools inspector David Bell said specialist schools needed to ensure the drive for improvement was maintained.

'The variations in performance between specialist schools must be addressed to ensure that all… are consistently of the same high standard in all areas of teaching and learning,' he said.

Overall, however, Ofsted was satisfied with specialist schools' performance. GCSE results were better and improving more quickly than other schools and the range of options on the curriculum had broadened. Bell said the targeted funding coupled with dynamic leadership and a renewed sense of purpose meant specialist status made a difference.

Schools minister Stephen Twigg said schools were embracing specialist status. 'This report underlines the fact that specialist status drives up standards. Over 57% of pupils in specialist schools got five good GCSEs last year compared to 48% of pupils in non-specialist schools,' he said.

The February 16 report also praised the way specialist schools have begun to interact with the wider community.

Some language schools, for example, offer classes to adults, while one technology school set up a beginners' information technology course for senior citizens, with pupils acting as tutors.

PFfeb2005

Did you enjoy this article?

AddToAny

Top