Dorothy Stringer secondary school pupils are being assigned a score based on their “attitude to learning” – a new scheme which rates students on a number of metrics from resilience to enthusiasm.
Youngsters in years 9 and 11 – aged between 13 and 16 – came home from the school at the start of the week with ID cards denoting their place in the canteen queue at break time, based on their attitude to learning score.
Headteacher Matt Hillier said the new system of segregating students means “all students can access the canteen safely” in an “orderly and timely manner.”
But parents at the school in Loder Road, Brighton, say some children nearer the back of the queue have given up on buying food during break time.
One concerned dad wrote: “Rather than concentrate on the weaponisation of food perhaps it would be easier to look at the message that this policy sends to children with lower scores which deems them to be worth less than others and reinforces that attitude by their appointed place in the food line.
“At the very least this could be considered to be emotional abuse.”
Students with the best scores are given a place right at the front of the canteen queue at break time.
Green ward councillor Kerry Pickett said: “I share parents’ concerns that this queuing system could disproportionately impact certain pupils and indeed, leave them at a disadvantage compared to their peers.
“I’ve also heard reports that far from improving the queuing at break times, it has actually led to students who have been placed in the lowest priority group simply giving up on getting a snack at break time because they know there will be little left by the time they reach the front of the queue.
“I would also heavily question whether it is ever helpful to label and rank children and young people so publicly.
“I have no doubt the head means well in their attempts to improve queuing, but on the face of it, this does not seem an appropriate and fair way to go about doing so.
“I was actually quite shocked when residents brought it to my attention and will be contacting the school for further information.”
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Headteacher Matt Hillier refuted these claims after a “successful” trial of the scheme among students in Year 11. He said: “The trial was very successful, removing any poor queuing behaviour and speeding up the canteen service for all students.
“We now have some students who previously did not feel safe in the queue accessing the canteen. The groupings for breaktime canteen entry are very wide and individual attitude to learning scores are not public.
“Students are not separated from their friends; they can choose to wait and go in together. This system does not prevent anyone from accessing food and food does not run out.
“The system also recognises and rewards students who demonstrate a positive ATL in school, something that is already celebrated in assemblies. ATL is well established in the school and is calculated by all teachers who take into account students’ learning needs.
“It is not linked to attainment and lots of our students with SEN have excellent ATL scores. It recognises those who are trying hard and is updated afresh at each report. A small number of students with a specific need linked to canteen entry already have passes that allow them to bypass the queue.
“It only applies at breaktimes, when approximately 1600 children go through the canteen in 25 minutes, and not at lunchtimes. Lunchtime and Free School Meal provision is unchanged.
“It has become apparent that some parents are not fully aware of what ATL is, and how useful it can be in supporting students, and therefore we plan to run a session at school for any parents and carers who would like to understand more about how the ATL system works.”
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