Revealed: tampering of exam papers at Hackney primary schools

Investigated: De Beauvoir Primary on Tottenham Road

Hackney primary schools are to be issued new guidance on exam protocol after independent investigations at two schools found that SATs papers were left unattended and tampered with, the Hackney Citizen can reveal.

Southwold and De Beauvoir primary schools separately requested Hackney Council’s education department, Hackney Learning Trust, to investigate further after a number of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum (SAT) papers taken last year were annulled by the Standards and Testing Agency, which ruled they had been subject to “maladministration”.

The affected students received a ‘0’ score and the Year Six pupils’ evaluations were based entirely on moderated teacher assessments, as reported by the Citizen.

Separate investigation reports for the schools seen by the Citizen reveal that exam papers were left unattended and accessible by a number of people after being handed in.

Procedures ‘not thorough’

In both cases the investigator was unable to determine culpability, but concluded that “the procedures for collecting, alphabetising and sealing the papers were not thorough.”

Both schools reported changes to staff in the past year, but not strictly as a result of maladministration.

At Southwold Primary School the papers were compromised “after they left the classroom and were likely to have been altered when they were in the Head of School’s office” according to the investigation report.

Investigator Angela Scattergood, Hackney Learning Trust’s Head of Early Years, reported an “unnecessary delay in collating and bagging the papers” on exam day and that “a number of people could have accessed the storage cupboard in which the papers were stored.”

The day after the exams were taken the Head of School and Deputy Headteachers were among those who had access to the cupboard where the exam papers were stored.

At De Beauvoir Primary School, Scattergood reported two windows of opportunity when the papers taken in two classrooms, known as Diamond and Sapphire, could have been altered when “the papers were left unattended and a number of people could have had access to them.”

Both reports recommend having named person accountability in the administration of future SATs, including a designated governor to oversee the process.

Increased scrutiny

The schools have been warned that they will be subject to increased scrutiny by Ofsted and the Standards and Testing Agency as a result of the investigations.

“We’re going to have a lot of people observing this year at Southwold and we are fine with that. We don’t want there to be any question mark over the validity of the result” said Joanna De Guia, Chair of Governors at the school.

Lynn Altass, Chair of the governing body at De Beauvoir, said: “De Beauvoir Primary School governing body has discussed the report and is happy with the report’s recommendations. The school now (since September 2014) has a new senior leadership team. This team has prioritised implementation of the report’s recommendations.”

New guidance

The Hackney Learning Trust has said that it will offer new guidance to all schools as a result of the investigations.

A spokesperson said it will be “using the learning from these events to offer advice to all schools in regards to administering the SATs process.”