Headteacher abolishes school reports because they make pupils insecure and are filled with 'politician-like' phrases

A headteacher has abolished school reports, saying they only serve to cause insecurities among pupils and cause unnecessary stress to teachers, who often fill them with “politician-like” phrases.

Dr Julian Murphy, head of Our Lady’s Convent School in Loughborough, scrapped traditional school reports at the start of this academic year, saying they were too “emotive” and often failed to be honest.

The new system is a short series of targets and grades, focusing on the pupils’ approach to learning rather than their “effort levels”, which he said is more beneficial for children at the school, who are aged from three up to 18.

The head also banned the use of “inspirational” messages and posters with phrases such as “You can do anything” in his school, claiming they put too much pressure on young people.

Explaining why he scrapped school reports, Dr Murphy told The Independent: “Effort grades are very very emotive. Pupils – definitely girls – see it as a judgement on themselves.

“And very few teachers seem to be able to admit it, but they are very busy people and some of them – let’s say PE or maths teachers – find writing 200-word long reports is quite challenging.

“Inevitably, 30 or 40 years ago reports were incredibly blunt – often witty but often quite insulting. But nowadays we live in a very different culture, and I think teachers are quite nervous of being honest, in case its not taken well.

“So they end up using almost politician’s speak, reeling off the same phrases such as ‘very lively and enthusiastic in lessons’, which of course actually means they don’t behave well in class.

“The new system also produces a more effective report for parents, who are often busy people and don’t want to be trying to translate things.”

Dr Murphy said that rather than having posters up around the school of famous high achievers, the focus is on the pupils and what they can realistically achieve as individuals.

“When you’re an ordinary kid with all the natural worries you have, and you don’t feel like a super hero, its not necessarily that helpful to be bombarded with examples of human achievement,” he said.

“Pupils also become immune to it. Lets not keep nagging them to change; let’s change our systems and look at what we do and how we can little by little help them to be more effective.

“So we’re trying to be more precise and practical and bring that into everything we do. Small practical steps is what children need.”

Since Dr Murphy became headteacher a year ago, he has been “rolling back” some of what he describes as “damaging” ideas about independent learning that developed in the nineties and early 21st century with the arrival of the internet.

He explained that when the internet came about there was a sense that children should be told to carry out “independent research” online, with very little teacher intervention.

“This has been an absolute disaster. It completely takes away the human aspect of teaching, where a teacher is sharing their knowledge with their pupils,” he said.

But the headteacher said he was “optimistic” about where education in the UK is heading, saying that while decades ago teachers were conversely “too authoritarian and did too much talking”, a happy medium was now emerging.

“We’re now arriving at a healthier balance, and starting to seriously and properly use research and evidence,” Dr Murphy added.