THE team credited with turning around the fortunes of Swindon Academy have defended a policy of naming and shaming badly behaved children in front of their peers.

Pupils from across the school are being ranked in order of either positive or negative performance in areas including attendance, academic achievement and classroom behaviour.

The ranking orders are displayed on whiteboards at assemblies where the performance of individuals is discussed openly.

The school’s management team says the strategy is a way of encouraging improvement and fostering support for pupils.

But one parent, whose 11-year-old child was named in a recent assembly in front of other children, including those much older, says the system amounts to “branding”.

The woman, who did not wish to be named for fear that it would exacerbate the stigma she feels has been attached to her child, said she has lost faith in the school’s methods.

“They’ve got a whiteboard and they write the kids’ names up in order of who has been the worst behaved.

“There are older kids there too – it’s not fair.

“My child came home really upset, they were embarrassed, I had no idea it was happening.

“I personally think if a child is causing a bit of a problem at school then they need help, especially when they are so young.

“Someone needs to be paying attention to what they’re doing and why, not victimising them – maybe trying to help that child rather than making them feel like they’re worthless.

“If they’re treated like that then what reason have they got to improve? You’ve branded them at such a young age.”

In 2015, a similar system of rankings at nearby Nova Hreod Academy was slammed by parents and labelled a ‘bullies’ charter’.

The school, which like Swindon Academy is part of the United Learning Trust, said the move had helped to improve performance but parents said it was making children feel inadequate and giving ammunition to playground bullies.

The principal at Swindon Academy, praised for its turnaround in fortunes during a recent visit by Schools Minister Nick Gibb MP, has defended the tactics being used at her school.

“The school shares a range of ‘rank order’ data regularly and publicly with pupils and parents,” said Ruth Robinson.

“This includes a pupil’s rank order place in their year group and college for attendance, attainment, progress and for their learning behaviours.

“In college assemblies, children celebrate the pupils who have achieved top places in the rank order and pupils are always encouraged to out-perform their personal best rank order.

“College leaders praise, inspire and motivate pupils. In the same way that a football manager will reflect on a game with his players, college leaders look at programme data with pupils.

“If a small number of pupils are engaging in poor learning behaviours, which affects the learning of others, they will be encouraged to reflect on this.

“Other members of the college are asked to support and help them to improve.”