Labour will abolish Sats exams in primary schools, Jeremy Corbyn says

Meanwhile, teachers are moving closer to a boycott of primary school tests

Labour would scrap the controversial Sats exams in English primary schools, Jeremy Corbyn has said.

The “regime of extreme pressure testing” would be abolished amid reports of children crying, vomiting and having nightmares, the Labour leader told the National Education Union conference.

Mr Corbyn has also announced that the next Labour government will scrap the government’s baseline assessments for children as young as four – which are due to come into effect next year.

The pledge was received with a standing ovation and loud cheers from teachers in Liverpool, with some chanting, “Oh Jeremy Corbyn”.

The Labour party will now consult with teachers and parents on an alternative assessment system that encourages a broad curriculum and “prepares children for life, not just for exams”, Mr Corbyn said.

Teachers are backing a motion to ballot members over a possible boycott of the Sats exams – which are taken by 10- and 11-year-olds in Year 6.

And parents are due to march on Westminster next week over the government’s new baseline tests for pupils in the first few weeks of reception.

Speaking in Liverpool, Mr Corbyn said: “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.”

The NEU members gave Jeremy Corbyn a standing ovation at their conference in Liverpool

His announcement comes after a poll of teachers last year revealed children had nightmares and were sick from anxiety after tougher Sats.

In 2017, the government announced that statutory Sats exams for seven-year-olds would be phased out and replaced with a baseline assessment in reception beginning in 2020.

Despite calls for Sats exams for 10- and 11-year-olds to be abolished, the Department for Education decided to keep them in place. The exams are used to hold schools to account.

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, 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.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of heads’ union NAHT, said: “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.”

The More Than a Score coalition, which represents 18 education and parents’ organisations, said: “We’ve now reached a tipping point as parents, teachers, heads, education experts and politicians agree: the current testing regime makes no sense and is damaging for pupils, teachers and schools.

“Parents of children preparing for Year 6 Sats in just a few weeks’ time will have seen the effects for themselves: a narrowed curriculum and unnecessary pressure on pupils and teachers.

“Meanwhile, parents of pre-schoolers are now facing the prospect of four-year-olds being tested in English and maths when they start school from next year.”

Speaking about Labour’s announcement on Sats, schools standards minister Nick Gibb 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 plan 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.”