Unions considering Sats boycott

Children face national tests at age seven and 11

Teaching unions are to consult their members on whether they would back a boycott of England's national tests.

Head teachers' union the NAHT and teachers' union the NUT want the government to scrap national tests, or "Sats", for primary pupils.

They argue such tests damage children's learning and should be replaced by internal teacher assessments.

Ministers said a boycott of statutory tests would be irresponsible and disruptive to pupils.

Both unions passed resolutions at their annual conferences, earlier this year, pledging to take joint action to boycott the tests if they were not scrapped.

Getting so many people signing our petition is a clear indication that we are not alone in our concern Christine Blower NUT general secretary

Now the National Union of Teachers says it will hold what it calls an indicative ballot, which will ask whether members would support a boycott if another solution is not found.

And the National Association of Head Teachers is to test the opinions of its members in a survey, before deciding on whether to ballot for a boycott.

NAHT general secretary Mick Brookes said members wanted what was best for children and did not want teachers to be forced to rehearse them for these tests.

"It's one thing voting at conference, but another getting members to do it."

He also said the union was having "constructive negotiations" with government officials, which he hoped would "get to a good place".

His comments came as 10,000 people signed a petition by two teaching unions calling for "mind-numbing" Sats to be scrapped in England.

'Utterly useless'

The petition says: "We, the undersigned, believe that the Westminster government should follow the example of the Welsh Assembly government by removing statutory end of Key Stage tests at age seven and 11 in England.

"Further, it should recognise that unlike the tests, teacher assessment supports, not damages, children's learning."

NUT general secretary Christine Blower said: "Getting so many people signing our petition is a clear indication that we are not alone in our concern about the detrimental effects that Sats have on our education system."

It is also being backed by former children's laureate Michael Rosen.

He said, in an article for the NUT's Teacher magazine, that Sats were "utterly useless" and that they drove children, teachers and parents "nuts".

'Chained to desks'

A spokesman for the Department of Children, Schools and Families said a boycott risked doing real damage to the standing of the teaching profession.

"It is out of step with what parents want, not backed by other teaching unions, and ignores the findings of our expert group on assessment.

"It was nonsense that children spent their days chained to their desks being tested and that from next year, the only externally marked tests children would do in their first nine years of education will be Key Stage 2 English and maths."

He urged the two unions to take a deep breath and consider the reforms in full before ploughing on regardless.

Last October Schools Secretary Ed Balls scrapped Sats tests for 14-year-olds in England after the fiasco over the marking of the 2008 test papers.

But he has kept the tests for pupils in the last year of primary schools, the results of which are used to draw up the national league tables.

These can lead schools to focus very closely on the tests, critics say, with children being required to repeatedly practice past papers.

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