Teachers threaten to sabotage league tables

Teacher's today set themselves on a collision course with the Government over school league tables.

The most moderate teaching union said it would back members who sabotaged the compilation of the tables.

Members of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) threatened to hold back details of pupils' test results.

This would make it hard for officials to collate the primary and secondary school results on which the tables are based, and which help parents compare the performance of schools in English, maths and science tests for children aged 11 and 14.

The sabotage threat - confirmed at the union's annual conference in Bournemouth - reflects frustration over the Government's refusal to compromise on tests and tables.

Teachers say that tests under the National Curriculum narrow children's education, and that league tables constructed from their results distort the picture of school performance.

ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted warned that pressure from league tables is depriving young children of chances to learn through play.

She said that even four-year-olds were being "force fed" the three Rs. And she suggested that mounting levels of disruptive behaviour in schools could be the result.