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300,000 primary pupils to miss SATs today as teachers launch boycott
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:32 AM on 10th May 2010
Hundreds of thousands of children will be prevented from taking a compulsory reading test today as head teachers launch a boycott of primary school SATs.
They will go ahead with their unprecedented action after attempts to reach a deal with ministers collapsed.
As many as 300,000 pupils will be affected by the heads' refusal to administer the tests, a move which threatens to plunge the exam system into chaos at a time when the Government is in a state of flux.
Labour ministers did try to get round the boycott by ordering school governors to draft in non-union teachers or officials to set the tests.
Headteachers at more than 1,000 schools already informing their local authorities they will not be administering Sats
But their attempts have fallen flat amid claims such action could be illegal.
Despite a backlash from parents, estimates suggest that between a third and a half of all primary schools will boycott the SATs, which start today and continue until Thursday with writing, spelling and maths tests.
Many teachers have arranged ' creativity weeks' instead, involving museum trips or nature walks.
Some schools will set last year's tests to placate angry parents and mark the papers internally.
A survey by the Mail reveals that in Hartlepool all 31 primaries will join the action. In Kirklees and Calderdale an estimated three-quarters of schools will take part, while in Kent, Birmingham and Manchester around half will join the boycott.
However, in some areas, mainly in the south of the country, no schools at all or very few will take part.
The action could still be extensive enough to impact on school league tables and throw Ofsted inspections into disarray.
Teachers wearing anti-SATs T-shirts gathered for a picnic in Central London yesterday. They were addressed by children's authors including Alan Gibbons, who called the tests ' reductive, unreliable and time-consuming'.
The prospect of a Tory-Lib Dem pact will raise hopes among teachers of imminent reforms on SATs testing.
The Lib Dems have signalled they would be prepared to move quickly towards internal teacher assessment of children at the age of 11, rather than making them sit formal exams.
They have also pledged to reform league tables branded 'humiliating' by heads - a concession the Conservatives may be prepared to agree to.
NUT general secretary Christine Blower said previously that up to half of the 17,000 primary schools in England were set to join the action
The Tories made a manifesto commitment to retain external marking of tests at 11 and expressed a wish to make SATs more rigorous.
Labour's Schools Secretary Ed Balls has previously been accused by Union leaders of putting pressure on heads not to boycott
But they have indicated concerns about 'teaching to the test' in primary schools and have mooted moving the exams to the first year of secondary school.
Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, made clear the union would consider re-balloting for a boycott next year.
She added: 'We have categorically got enough schools involved to scupper the league tables.
'We would like no child to be doing SATs tomorrow.'
Some local authorities have threatened to dock half a day's pay from those who refuse to run the tests, but any such move will be legally challenged by the National Association of Head Teachers.
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:32 AM on 10th May 2010
Hundreds of thousands of children will be prevented from taking a compulsory reading test today as head teachers launch a boycott of primary school SATs.
They will go ahead with their unprecedented action after attempts to reach a deal with ministers collapsed.
As many as 300,000 pupils will be affected by the heads' refusal to administer the tests, a move which threatens to plunge the exam system into chaos at a time when the Government is in a state of flux.
Labour ministers did try to get round the boycott by ordering school governors to draft in non-union teachers or officials to set the tests.
Headteachers at more than 1,000 schools already informing their local authorities they will not be administering Sats
But their attempts have fallen flat amid claims such action could be illegal.
Despite a backlash from parents, estimates suggest that between a third and a half of all primary schools will boycott the SATs, which start today and continue until Thursday with writing, spelling and maths tests.
Many teachers have arranged ' creativity weeks' instead, involving museum trips or nature walks.
Some schools will set last year's tests to placate angry parents and mark the papers internally.
A survey by the Mail reveals that in Hartlepool all 31 primaries will join the action. In Kirklees and Calderdale an estimated three-quarters of schools will take part, while in Kent, Birmingham and Manchester around half will join the boycott.
However, in some areas, mainly in the south of the country, no schools at all or very few will take part.
The action could still be extensive enough to impact on school league tables and throw Ofsted inspections into disarray.
Teachers wearing anti-SATs T-shirts gathered for a picnic in Central London yesterday. They were addressed by children's authors including Alan Gibbons, who called the tests ' reductive, unreliable and time-consuming'.
The prospect of a Tory-Lib Dem pact will raise hopes among teachers of imminent reforms on SATs testing.
The Lib Dems have signalled they would be prepared to move quickly towards internal teacher assessment of children at the age of 11, rather than making them sit formal exams.
They have also pledged to reform league tables branded 'humiliating' by heads - a concession the Conservatives may be prepared to agree to.
NUT general secretary Christine Blower said previously that up to half of the 17,000 primary schools in England were set to join the action
The Tories made a manifesto commitment to retain external marking of tests at 11 and expressed a wish to make SATs more rigorous.
Labour's Schools Secretary Ed Balls has previously been accused by Union leaders of putting pressure on heads not to boycott
But they have indicated concerns about 'teaching to the test' in primary schools and have mooted moving the exams to the first year of secondary school.
Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, made clear the union would consider re-balloting for a boycott next year.
She added: 'We have categorically got enough schools involved to scupper the league tables.
'We would like no child to be doing SATs tomorrow.'
Some local authorities have threatened to dock half a day's pay from those who refuse to run the tests, but any such move will be legally challenged by the National Association of Head Teachers.
