Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn promised to scrap controversial SATs – tests in English and maths for seven-year-olds yesterday.
In a keynote address to the National Education Union’s conference in Liverpool he delighted rank-and-file teachers, school leaders and parents.
SATs, or national curriculum assessments as they are formally known, test primary school pupils’ progress and attainment.
But they have been heavily criticised by teachers who claim “high-stress testing” is placing primary school pupils under huge pressure, leaving some in floods of tears or vomiting through worry.
Mr Corbyn told delegates he would abolish the “regime of extreme pressure testing” for primary school children.
He added: “We need to prepare children for life, not just for exams.
“Sats and the regime of extreme pressure testing are giving young children nightmares and leaving them in floods of tears.
“I meet teachers of all ages and backgrounds who are totally overworked and overstressed. These are dedicated public servants. It’s just wrong.”
Labour said the policy would relieve pressure on a schools system forced to cope with overcrowded classrooms, and an ongoing crisis in teacher recruitment and retention.
Mr Corbyn also announced that the next Labour government will scrap baseline assessments for reception classes.
Scrapping SATs for seven and eleven year olds and baseline assessments for reception classes will help tackle the problem of children being the most tested n the world.
However, Labour will consult with teachers and parents to develop a more flexible and practical system of assessment that is tailored to individual pupils and “prepares children for life, not just for exams”.
The new system will trust and empower teachers to deliver a broader curriculum, not a rigid assessment regime.
Labour has previously committed to encouraging teachers to remain in the profession by scrapping the public sector pay cap and ending cuts which have led to teachers begging parents for money to pay for basic supplies.
The conference heard: “Our assessment will be based on clear principles. First, to understand the learning needs of each child, because every child is unique.
“And second, to encourage a broad curriculum aimed at a rounded education.
“When children have a rich and varied curriculum, when they’re encouraged to be creative, to develop their imagination, then there’s evidence that they do better at the core elements of literacy and numeracy too.”
Mr Corbyn said his party trusts teachers and will raise standards by freeing them up to teach.
He added: “Teachers get into the profession because they want to inspire children, not pass them along an assembly line.”
Dr Mary Bousted, NEU joint general secretary, said: “ Jeremy Corbyn gets it: he recognises the damage that a test-driven system is doing to children and schools; he understands what needs to change; he sets out ideas for education which will make sense to parents and teachers.
“The NEU has long advocated an assessment system that has the trust of teachers and school communities – one that will support children’s learning and raise standards of attainment in our schools.
“We look forward to the return of a broad and balanced primary curriculum and to the rekindling of the spirit of creativity in our schools. We welcome Labour’s commitment to work with the profession in order to develop these ground-breaking policies further.”
And Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “We welcome Labour’s approach here. NAHT has long campaigned for less testing overall in primary.
“While it is important to measure a child’s progress, this can be done through every day teacher assessment and classroom tests, rather than through high stakes national assessments.
“In reality, SATs do not tell teachers or parents anything they didn’t already know about their child or school, but have the negative unintended consequences of distracting from teaching and learning and narrowing the focus of the curriculum.
“Fewer tests would leave more time and space for a broad range of subjects and activities in the school day so that children’s opportunities are not limited.”
But Schools Minister, Nick Gibb condemned the move and said, “These tests have been part of school life since the 90s. They have been pivotal in raising standards in our primary schools. That’s why Labour governments led by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown supported them.
“Abolishing these tests would be a terrible, retrograde step. It would enormously damage our education system, and undo decades of improvement in children’s reading and maths.
“Labour plans to keep parents in the dark. They will prevent parents from knowing how good their child’s school is at teaching maths, reading and writing.
“Under Labour, the government would simply give up on ensuring all our children can read and write by the age of 11.”
