'Teachers helped pupils to cheat'

Hundreds of teachers cheated in last month's Sats school exams by helping pupils answer the questions, it is claimed today.

Some teachers are even alleged to have altered answers after children had handed in their exam papers.

The number of cases of suspected cheating has risen sharply and the government body which supervises exam standards is urging parents to act as whistle-blowers if they suspect malpractice.

New figures from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority show a rise in complaints to 270 last year from 147 in 2000 - after several years in which the number of allegations fell.

The Sats (standard assessment tests) are used to determine each school's place in the performance league tables, which in turn affects funding decisions. John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, told The Guardian there was evidence of cheatingby teachers. "Parents say that it is going on all the time, but we really don't know how widespread it is because only the cases that are reported are investigated."

According to the newspaper, one 11-year-old girl told her grandmother, a former teacher, after the exam: "Miss A explained all the questions first, and if we'd done something wrong she rubbed it out so we could do it better."

The QCA denied last year's figures on reports of irregularities indicated an increase in schools' cheating. The increase did not compare like with like, a spokesman said.

He added: "There is no evidence to suggest that schools are cheating. There is evidence to suggest we have heightened awareness of the issue because we have investigated thoroughly all reports of irregularities."