First council scraps tests for all its five-year-old school pupils

CONTROVERSIAL standardised tests for five-year-olds have been scrapped by a Scottish local authority for the first time.

Fife Council – which is run under a power-sharing agreement between Labour and the SNP – voted 41 to 26 to abandon the assessments.

Labour co-leader David Ross, who lodged the motion to scrap the tests, said teachers, parents and unions backed the “tried and tested” assessments that were previously in operation – which will be reintroduced next year.

Kathleen Leslie, education spokeswoman for the Fife Conservatives, said: “The evidence is overwhelming. These assessments are educationally flawed and potentially damaging to children.

“This is another top down policy by the Scottish Government that is deeply flawed.”

The vote comes after the Government introduced new standardised national assessments for all pupils in P1, P4, P7 and S3.

The tests were introduced by Nicola Sturgeon as a response to concerns over falling standards of literacy and numeracy and a lack of consistent data across the country.

However, critics argue the move to test pupils, particularly in the first year of primary school, is counterproductive and can be upsetting.

Education Secretary John Swinney said: “If Fife Council were to revert to their previous systems, P1 pupils would face two assessments per year, rather than the single assessment they currently undertake.”