Still no improvement in 2,000 state schools, but education system is better

More than 2,000 state schools are failing to improve and giving "cause for concern", the chief schools inspector David Bell said yesterday. Their performance, coupled with a class divide stopping thousands of youngsters from poor homes going to university, prompted him to demand a government U-turn on secondary school reforms.

More than 2,000 state schools are failing to improve and giving "cause for concern", the chief schools inspector David Bell said yesterday. Their performance, coupled with a class divide stopping thousands of youngsters from poor homes going to university, prompted him to demand a government U-turn on secondary school reforms.

Mr Bell urged the Prime Minister and Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Education, to change their minds on pledges to keep GCSEs and A-levels, and support radical reform of exams to improve standards.

In Ofsted's annual report, the education standards watchdog revealed one in 10 of the 10,000 schools highlighted showed the level of change since previous inspections to be either "unsatisfactory, poor or very poor". Mr Bell said he believed the 10 per cent rate could be applied to the state education sector of 24,000 schools.

"Over the past three years, 10 per cent of secondary and 9 per cent of primary schools inspected have demonstrated a level of change that has been judged unsatisfactory, poor or very poor," his report said. "This remains an issue of significant concern." Mr Bell said his two main worries were the class divide in educational performance and the gap in results between schools serving identical communities.

Nearly 60 per cent of people were from non-professional backgrounds, yet only 18 per cent of this group went to university compared to 53 per cent from better-off homes. "I was the first from my family to attend university," he said. "I find it troubling that more than 25 years later many of our least-advantaged young people still believe higher qualifications are beyond their reach."

On the gap in performance, he said two schools serving an identical area could include one that was failing and a second considered outstanding. The only way forward, he said, was the kind of radical reform of secondary schooling advocated by his predecessor, Sir Mike Tomlinson, who - in a government inquiry - had backed replacing the existing GCSE and A-level system with a new diploma. But Tony Blair and Ms Kelly, who will respond to the Tomlinson proposals in a White Paper this month, have indicated they want to keep the two exams.

Asked if they should think again, Mr Bell replied: "Yes is the answer. There's probably something symbolic about GCSEs and A-levels. It is important that the symbol of change is seen across the system. If we don't say this is a sea-change for the education system as a whole, then we're going to miss an important opportunity to devise an education system which will meet the needs of all our young people."

Ms Kelly has made clear she will stand by her pledge to keep the two exams. Sir Mike had said they could be incorporated into his new diploma and their names retained. Compulsory tests in basic skills and a 4,000-word extended essay to stretch thinking skills could then be added, Sir Mike said. Downing Street is understood to be worried about a backlash from the Conservatives if they scrap the exams, the opposition campaigning to retain A-levels as the "gold standard" of the education system before the General Election expected in May.

Of the 1,000 schools identified in the report as failing to improve, about 300 failed their inspection, and 300 or so have "serious weaknesses", failing in some areas of the curriculum, and the rest show no improvement. The report also revealed the overall number of schools declared failing has increased in the passed year from 160 to 213. But Mr Bell made it clear this was because he had "raised the barrier" and it did not reflect a reduction in standards overall. "As the performance of schools has improved over the years, it is only right that we have higher expectations," he said. "Not to do so would be to condemn youngsters to a standard of education that might have been acceptable 10 years ago but is clearly no longer so."

Mr Bell made it clear that, overall, England had an improving education system. The biggest stride forward had been made in provision for the under-fives where there were now 1.5 million childcare places available, a rise of 15 per cent since March, 2003. "Almost all childcare is at least satisfactory and more is being judged good," Mr Bell added. Exam results were also improving, with more than 50 per cent of young people achieving five A* to C grade passes at GCSE.

The chief inspector attacked traditionalists who claimed improved results meant exams had become easier. "Such people, while paying lip service to having an education system that meets the needs of all, are interested only in those at the top end of the academic scale and see any change in the curriculum and qualifications as a further example of 'dumbing down'," he said. "I have no truck with this body of opinion."

But teaching standards had slipped from last year, with the number of schools where teaching was only satisfactory at best rising to just over a quarter from an all-time low in 2003. In primary schools, there was still evidence of a two-tier curriculum with the quality of teaching in the three Rs significantly higher than in other subjects.

On behaviour, the number of schools recorded as good had fallen from 75 per cent five years ago to 66 per cent in 2004 and the number considered unsatisfactory had risen from 6 per cent to 9 per cent.

Mr Bell agreed that some of the poor behaviour could be attributed to poor teaching, but added: "Teachers will comment they are not always getting the support and co-operation from parents they should.We know quite a lot of young children lead disorganised and quite dishevelled lives which makes it more likely they will misbehave."

He said that the 1,000 schools would be reinspected within 12 months, adding: "The message to them is that we'll be back sooner."

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "Many youngsters are held back by a poverty of expectation within their families. Heads cannot crack the problem of poor behaviour and indifference to the value of education unless they have strong support from all the parents."