Island education chiefs were praised by MHKs this week for always resisting calls for school league tables.

With the UK regulatory body Ofsted continuing its gradual about-turn, and now warning of the harm caused by over-reliance on data, results and league tables, as well as and threatening to penalise schools caught ’gaming’ the system, Education Minister Graham Cregeen argued the UK was catching up with the Isle of Man.

Island education chiefs have always resisted calls for league tables - a stance praised in the House of Keys on Tuesday.

Mr Cregeen said: ’What Ofsted has recognised is league tables are damaging to our children.’

When former children’s champion Daphne Caine (Garff) called on the Department of Education, Sport and Culture to ’do some benchmarking of island schools with those on the adjacent islands’, he quickly turned the tables.

Describing Mrs Caine as a ’key mover for league tables’, Mr Cregeen said: ’We have just had a question regarding mental health, regarding our young people, and I would challenge you to go out and see the damage they are saying, in the UK, that these league tables have actually caused young people.’

He added: ’In the adjacent island they have special schools where they put children with additional educational needs. They have pupil referral units where they send all their naughty children.

’Our school system is inclusive.’

Dr Alex Allinson (Ramsey) agreed, adding it was key the government continued to ’maintain one of the most inclusive education systems in the British Isles, which is impossible to benchmark against schools in the adjacent isles that deliberately game the system to achieve better results’.

Tim Baker (Ayre and Michael), Mrs Caine’s successor as children’s champion, said: ’Ofsted’s recent announcement that they need to broaden and enrich the curriculum is a direct consequence of the harmful impact of league tables and the excessive focus that has been driven by Ofsted’s inspection regime in the UK.’

The announcement from the UK Government that it wants to ease the burden on teachers by reducing administration and give them more flexibility was down to the same thing, he said.

’These issues are not the same in the Isle of Man due to the department’s conscious decision not to go down this route of league tables, of the use of organisations like Ofsted, and that actually is an endorsement of the approach that the department has taken,’ he said.

UK school inspection service Ofsted this month revealed plans to move away from reliance on exam results for judging schools and to encourage a broader curriculum. Under the new proposals, schools that push out less able children - a practice known as ’off-rolling’ - or design a curriculum solely to improve test results and lift them up league tables, risk being penalised.

The issue of league tables arose after former teacher Jason Moorhouse (Arbory, Castletown and Malew) asked Mr Cregeen what key initiatives were being planned this year to help school students reach their potential.

The minister said the department’s work was continuous, with schools required to give evidence to the school improvement team, which evaluated each school and would also challenge schools to push themselves. The department remained committed to the external validation process.

There was continuous dialogue between schools to examine education developments and Mr Cregeen said the department frequently brought over education experts.