Kentish Express Ashford & District
Decision expected soon on plans to delay 11-plus exam
Education chiefs in Kent and Medway are expected to soon reveal whether this year’s 11-plus will be delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The assessment remains pencilled in for September 10 – just nine days after pupils sitting the exam are expected to return to school.
However, council bosses are in discussions with the government about whether to move the date because of the impact on children of almost six months out of the classroom
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield, a frequent critic of the exam, has accused Kent County Council and Medway Council of pursuing a date that will unfairly impact disadvantaged pupils.
“Parents want certainty and the current plan to continue with the Kent Test at the beginning of September is clearly unworkable,” she said.
“By the time Year 5 students return to the classroom, many of them will not have been in any formal school structure for
KCC’s cabinet member for education, Richard Long, and former adult education adviser Denise Petro
nearly six months.
“In my opinion KCC should completely replace the Kent Test this year with a form of standardised teacher assessment which would not advantage any particular school and could be based on each primary school’s enrolment numbers.”
KCC remains tight-lipped over plans to delay the test, but in an email seen by this paper, the authority’s cabinet member for education and skills, Richard Long, says it will reveal “quite soon” details of its proposals “to enable selection to take place while being as fair as possible”.
This comes after Gavin Williamson revealed on Tuesday that plans for all primary school pupils to return to the class before the summer holidays have been scrapped.
The education secretary told colleagues in the House of Commons that many schools will not have the space to welcome back all of their children.
Former adult education adviser Denise Petro fears some pupils due to sit the exam will be disadvantaged by a disparity in the quality of home-schooling.
“A large majority of these children will be unable to take the test due to their parents’ inability to support them with their learning while schools have been shut,” she explained.
“The children able to take the test have extreme anxiety about the timescale as they have had no serious input and support from their teachers.
“They may have received input via emails and the internet but for a vast number this is not sufficient.”
A spokesman for Medway Council said: “We are in discussions with the Department for Education to establish if any changes are to be made.
“As soon as a decision is made, we will contact schools and parents to let them know.
“We are continuing to plan for the test, with an awareness that social distancing measures may still be in place.
“To reassure parents, the minimum score required for pupils to be assessed as suitable for admission to Medway grammar schools is adjusted according to the overall performance of all students who take the test.”
‘They may have received input via emails and the internet but for a vast number this is not sufficient’