SATS cheating - by the Head!

That would go against the guidance.

Me neither. And how many have no idea of exactly how strict the rules are.

No, they cannot during SATs. Absolutely against the very strict rules and protocol.

I think you should and could forget the idea that you’ve been out in any kind of difficult position and are facing some kind of moral quandary. Absolutely nothing bad will happen if you just ignore this and stop caring - I think you might look back in a few years time and wonder what madness overtook you if you go down the reporting route. People do things that are against ‘the rules’ all the time, it’s not your job to correct this. Feels on the same level to me as people who reported next door’s lonely Grandma coming round during Covid coz it wasn’t allowed. Sats are a total joke for all concerned anyway. This thread is quite mad.

As a HT who follows the guidance to the letter, I find this so frustrating as our grades are then judged against those who cheat.
But, it won’t hugely impact your child. Morally it needs reporting but I’d also fully understand if you didn’t want to.

I can’t believe so many are saying the head’s behaviour wasn’t a big deal!

My ds did his maths gcse alone... With his phone. Head of year gave him it back....

Do you mean that for every four children there was an teacher? In a 3 form entry school that would require 23 members of staff, which is obviously not possible for most schools.

Sets change all the time, it will soon become obvious if they’re in the wrong set.

Of course it should be reported. It depresses me enormously that so many problem don’t think that cheating is a problem.

They are used at my school.

I really wouldn't recommend that. You'd be looking at a selection from complete stonewalling, aggressive defence/denial/accusations of blackmail, malice and insanity, emotive pleas about 'but it's for the children', 'you'd destroy this school and the hardworking, dedicated teachers and TAs, as they'd lose their jobs' and 'you'd destroy me'. And, if you decide to ignore this and go to the Head, don't breathe a single word of the TA friend's comments - she'll be straight up for dismissal in retaliation/an attempt to get rid of a threat/accusations of being the one who actually cheated and therefore potentially not being able to ever get another job in a school.

When it comes down to it, cheating in SATs is for the benefit of the Head. It harms the children whether they have unmet SEND, a potential to attain highly at GCSE or absolutely normal, average ability, as they are not getting the mark that represents their true level. It hides inadequate management and teaching. It negatively affects their secondary schools. It also provides leverage for the Head to enjoy considerable financial advance from payrises and future job opportunities. If unreported, it furthers a position of entitlement and untouchability, which could also be replicated in how they deal with staff and pupils alike in terms of employment law, SEND law, financial regulations and health and safety. It breaches the Nolan principles for behaviour in Public Life. And, most importantly, it's wrong.

The PP who says it's nothing because they're an independent school Head would feel differently if it were their entrance tests being altered, whether so that children who didn't meet their requirements for entry obtained places or whether that cheating made a child eligible for a bursary/scholarship at the expense of another child whose assessment was completed fairly and honestly.

If this is in any way a real post - and there's no actual reason to suppose it isn't, as there are cases every year in every area and type of school from the leafiest suburb to the inner city - then the only appropriate and safe way to proceed is to report it externally. There would then be an investigation that doesn't put vulnerable, low paid staff at risk of repercussions (somebody on a temporary, year to year contract at less than NMW over the year due to being TTO and desperate to keep employment is in a very weak position compared to a confident Pillar of the Community who can decide unilaterally to not renew their contract for the next academic year, for example). It may be that any number of other parents have also been told this happened and will report it, maybe one of those vulnerable members of staff have decided that despite the risk to themselves, they will do the right thing and report the maladministration - additional reports from parents will protect them.

Not having KS2 results at all is less harmful to a kid than having falsified data. You will not harm a single child from reporting this. And it's the right thing to do.

Oh I’ve remembered in my French gcse oral , 1988 the nun who taught us said if we weren’t saying enough or got it wrong she’d kick us under the table. Presumably the slightly dodgy nature of doing that was in her mind outweighed by the opportunity to be slightly violent which (from my experience) was like catnip to the sisters. They loved a good child hitting , or if not possible a bit of verbal abuse.

It is 100% true. I teach music and my pupils' targets are based on their English and maths SATs scores. It's mental.

I’m not saying the head did what the op is suggesting. I think in her case it was more to prove herself she was new to the school after the last head who’d been there for years got ill. This is an outstanding ofsted school as in a privileged area so it was already really good.

I remember my head teacher did exactly this when I sat the equivalent of SATS back in the 80s. He pointed to one question and said something like 'try again'. I checked and realised I'd made a simple mistake.

It also happened that a friend of mine (who had recently moved to the country so didn't sit the exams) helped with the marking (this was in the 80s!) and told me afterwards I'd gotten a perfect score.

Needless to say, I've always thought fondly of that head teacher!

What a ridiculous comment!
I generally try not to look at the children's answers, because it is frustrating to see their mistakes when you know they can do it, but there's no way I would think it acceptable to point it out during a test.
In last week's arithmetic test I did happen to look down at a child's paper and see they were a digit out on an answer - this is a child who generally gets full or almost full marks, so it was possibly their only error. I hope when they checked over the answers it was corrected, but I don't know and would never have drawn their attention to it.

Maybe it wouldn't if people reported it. I don't cheat in the exams I conduct (GCSE and A Level MFL speaking exams), though I could almost certainly get away with doing so. Why on earth should primary teachers, TAs and headteachers get away with it? Arguing that they don't approve of the exam is a pathetic excuse for professional misconduct.

There was teacher to four children this week at my DCs school. What I mean is it’s unlikely another teacher was not there to witness the cheating.

There are arguments for not doing SATs, but the point of them isn't anything to do with secondary schools, so that isn't one of them.

It will be better for everyone in the school if cheating is stopped.

This.

When they introduced SATS they were very clear that it was to measure standards at the school, not of the individual pupils. I have never understood why individual results are published. Spend an hour on the test and never think about it again. No need to stress the children at all.

@Dilemmaramma

I'm a yr6 Teacher & regardless of my opinion on SATS, that is 100% cheating & against all of the very strict guidelines - I would report to the School Governors - they're who you need to go to in a Primary School if you have a complaint about the Head.

Reporting isn’t what ruins someone’s life. Cheating is what does that. Apparently widespread cheating by teachers, given this thread. Teaching a whole generation that it’s fine to cheat. So no, not for kicks. For the good of society.