Teachers and parents criticise Nicky Morgan's crackdown on 'coasting schools'

Education secretary accused of 'muddled' definition as she seeks to shake up 'complacent' schools

Teachers and parents are less than keen on Nicky Morgan’s crackdown on ‘coasting’ schools, suggesting that the Education Secretary’s definition of the word is ‘muddled’ and that the policy is just another excuse to create more of her beloved academies.

Ms Morgan says that hundreds of secondary schools – often in ‘leafy’ areas - where 60 per cent pupils repeatedly fail to gain five good GCSEs should be ‘academised’ and taken outside local authority control.

Primaries where 85 per cent of students don’t come up to scratch will also be considered to be coasting – a definition that Ms Morgan admits would extend to some schools classed as ‘good’ by Ofsted, and even some academies.

But teachers have taken to social media to slam the definition of ‘coasting’ – finally published 45 days after the policy was first announced - and suggested that its reference to “below average” pupil performance amounts to “bad maths”.

Here's the new definition:

The government's definition of 'coasting' might not necessarily be bad maths - if our maths are correct - but the criticisms don't end there.

The measure was also slammed for not taking into account the number of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and with special educational needs, or for minimising 'parental input'.

Henry Stewart, of the Local Schools Network, wrote on the think-tank's website that almost 3,000 schools could be defined as "coasting" - and that "the definition does not include any element of value added", the measure education experts use to weight school results according to the number of poor children they admit.

Others reckon that yet more targets will pile yet more pressure on the profession - and distract school from concentrating on raising standards:

Some critics say Ms Morgan just wants to turn as many schools as possible into academies - through the rather painful sounding process of 'forced academisation'.

"I'm unapologetic about shining a spotlight on complacency and I want the message to go out loud and clear, that education isn't simply about pushing children over an artificial borderline, but instead about stretching every pupil to unlock their potential and give them the opportunity to get on in life."

But Brian Lightman, general secretary of the ASCL head teachers' union, said the new definition of coasting was "muddled and unfair".

The 60pc figure is "arbitrary", Mr Lightman said, given the accepted definition of a failing school is one where 40pc of pupils do not get a good GCSEs.

Announcing the policy on the Today programme, Ms Morgan also said that children who use homophobic insults in school cold be reported under new anti-radicalisation plans. She was called out for supposed hypocrisy, having voted against gay marriage.

Additional reporting by Press Association