Basics drive faltering says Ofsted

The impact of the Government's flagship strategies to boost the basics in primary schools is showing worrying signs of faltering, according to Ofsted.

In reports today, one day ahead of league tables showing the performance of every primary school in the country, the watchdog said numeracy and literacy strategies which brought back traditional teaching methods had achieved "substantial improvements" in standards over the past three years.

But this summer's tests for 11-year-olds showed the gains had "not been sustained". Results in English tests showed no overall improvement this year, while in maths, performance slipped slightly backwards. The reports also warned that implementation of the strategies had affected the depth to which pupils were taught other subjects.

Ofsted said this year's "consolidation" of previous improvements in the basics "may not be enough in the future if Government targets for higher standards are to be met".

Then Education Secretary David Blunkett pledged to resign if, by next year, 75 per cent of 11-year-olds had not reached the expected level for their age in maths and 80 per cent in English. Today's reports blamed poor leadership in schools for a decline in the success of the strategies, and failings in teacher training, but also highlighted the impact of staff shortages on the way children are taught.

Inspectors pointed not just to the difficulties in recruiting teachers, but the number of staff teaching maths in particular with only limited knowledge of their subject.

Heads in a number of schools - particularly in London and other big cities - also faced "considerable obstacles that make continued successful implementation of the literacy strategy a greater challenge.

"A high turnover of staff, high levels of teacher absence, a shortage of good supply teachers, too many short-term contracts and serious recruitment difficulties make it much more difficult for these heads to

ensure good teaching and high standards," the reports said.

They acknowledged that the literacy strategy had brought about a "radical change of approach" in schools, but added: "The standstill in the overall test results this year prompts analysis of what still needs to be done."

It was possible, Ofsted said, that teachers had paid too much attention to improving writing standards at the expense of reading.

In maths, Ofsted said the proportion of schools in which the leadership and management of the national strategy was weak had increased from one in eight to one in seven. This "loss of momentum", Ofsted said, was a "worrying trend".

Currently just over half of all maths lessons in primary schools were "good", the report said. The proportion of lessons where teaching was unsatisfactory remained the same at one in 10.

Ofsted warned that further improvements would depend "heavily on improving teachers' subject knowledge".