Corbyn to axe SATs for seven & 11-year-olds
Labour’s pledge to ditch tests
JEREMY Corbyn has promised to scrap controversial SATs in English and maths for seven and 11-year-olds.
In a keynote address to the National Education Union’s conference in Liverpool yesterday, he delighted rank-and-file teachers, school leaders and parents.
SATs, or national curriculum assessments, test primary school pupils’ progress and attainment.
But they have been heavily criticised by teachers who claim “highstress testing” is placing children under huge pressure.
The Labour leader was given a standing ovation after telling delegates: “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 tears.
“I meet teachers of all ages and backgrounds who are totally overworked and over-stressed. These are dedicated public servants. It’s just wrong.”
Labour has said the policy would relieve pressure on overcrowded classrooms and the crisis in teacher recruitment and retention.
Mr Corbyn also announced the next Labour government will scrap baseline assessments for reception classes. He said: “Our assessment will be based on clear principles.
“First, to understand the learning needs of each child, as every child is
JEREMY CORBYN SPEAKING YESTERDAY
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, there’s evidence they do better at... literacy and numeracy, too.”
Dr Mary Bousted, of the NEU, said: “Jeremy Corbyn gets it. He recognises the damage a test-driven system is
doing to children. He understands what needs to change.”
And Paul Whiteman of the NAHT union said measuring progress “can be done through everyday teacher assessment and classroom tests”.
But Schools Minister Nick Gibb said the tests had raised standards in schools and abolishing them would be “a terrible, retrograde step”.
We need to prepare our school pupils for life, not just for exams
WE all want our children to learn but transforming schools into exam factories and turning teachers into assembly line assessors was a big mistake.
So Jeremy Corbyn pledging a future Labour government would scrap national SAT tests in primary schools is a welcome recognition the balance is wrong.
Teachers and parents need to know how well children are doing, but the tyranny of the current bureaucratic system is failing our kids.
Imposing high stress, pressurised exams on the youngest pupils is stifling creativity and narrowing education.
Every child matters and we want them to be encouraged, not crushed, at an early age.