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Teachers back a boycott of Sats Teachers back a boycott of Sats
(about 1 hour later)
One of the main classroom teachers' unions has voted for a ballot on a boycott of Sats in England next year. The union representing a majority of teachers in England's primary schools has backed a plan to ballot them on boycotting next year's Sats tests.
The National Union of Teachers' annual conference backed a proposal to ballot "once all other reasonable avenues have been exhausted". The annual conference of the National Union of Teachers decided a ballot should be held if "all other reasonable avenues have been exhausted".
Any action could start in September, as schools prepare for next year's Sats tests for seven-to-11-year-olds. It hopes the National Association of Head Teachers will adopt a similar course at its conference next month.
The government has said a boycott of the tests would be unlawful and has appealed to the union to think again. The government said it would be unlawful not to administer the tests.
Other classroom teachers' unions are not in favour. It is urging NUT members to vote against a boycott.
But the National Association of Head Teachers is to debate a similar motion at its annual conference next month. Autumn action?
League tables The most "high stakes" tests are those taken by 11-year-olds whose results form the basis of the annual league tables.
The motions call for a ballot of members on a boycott of the statutory national curriculum tests at Key Stage 1 and 2 (ages seven and 11), for the academic year 2009-10. Tests are also used to bolster the assessments that seven-year-old pupils' teachers make of their progress. The results are not published but the unions' attack includes those tests.
The tests that seven-year-olds take are relatively low-key and marked internally within schools, to inform teachers' assessments of children's progress. The proposal which the NUT conference adopted refers to the whole 2009-10 academic year, not just the tests themselves which are held mainly in May and affect some 600,000 children in each year group.
It is the Key Stage 2 tests taken by about 600,000 children every year at the end of primary school that are more high-stakes, as the results form the basis of the league tables. NUT general secretary Christine Blower said a great deal of preparation work was done by teachers during the year - and there was no statutory obligation on them to do that.
Although nothing has been decided yet, it raises the possibility of action beginning following a ballot in September.
If there were any serious question about the lawfulness of action involving a boycott of Sats we wouldn't be proposing it Graham Clayton, NUT solicitor Have your say: Sats debate If there were any serious question about the lawfulness of action involving a boycott of Sats we wouldn't be proposing it Graham Clayton, NUT solicitor Have your say: Sats debate
These tests, and those taken by 14-year-olds, were mired in delay and confusion last year because of problems at the private firm contracted to administer them, ETS Europe.
The government scrapped the 14-year-olds' tests - although most schools will still be doing them this year on an optional basis.
But ministers have insisted a measure of attainment is vital at the end of primary school.
Speaking ahead of the NUT conference, the union's chief solicitor, Graham Clayton, said: "If there were any serious question about the lawfulness of action involving a boycott of Sats we wouldn't be proposing it."
'Essential for standards'
Proposing the boycott motion, Hazel Danson, a member of the NUT executive, said testing narrowed the curriculum and did not raise standards, but damaged children's learning.Proposing the boycott motion, Hazel Danson, a member of the NUT executive, said testing narrowed the curriculum and did not raise standards, but damaged children's learning.
"It is educationally barren." She called it "educationally barren."
She said that as a primary school teacher she spent her life trying to ensure that every child achieved their full potential, and she could be trusted to know what needed doing.She said that as a primary school teacher she spent her life trying to ensure that every child achieved their full potential, and she could be trusted to know what needed doing.
The league tables, derived from the results, forced schools to focus their efforts on developing pupils who were just below the required attainment level.The league tables, derived from the results, forced schools to focus their efforts on developing pupils who were just below the required attainment level.
SATS: WHO TAKES WHAT Sats and official attainment tables now exist in England only In Wales children take cross-curricular "skills tests" in numeracy, literacy and problem-solving aged nine or 10; results remain within schools. In Northern Ireland there are statutory tests, marked within schoolsScottish pupils sit assessments in reading, writing and maths when their teachers feel they are ready, marked in schools
They were "tantamount to wholesale government-funded cheating", she said.They were "tantamount to wholesale government-funded cheating", she said.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families - responsible for education in England - said: "It is regrettable that the NUT leadership and their conference in voting for a boycott is setting themselves against the clear wishes of parents and the need to raise standards in every school and in every child. Max Hyde, who seconded the motion, said Sats must end.
"Not only is a boycott unlawful and causes great disruption to the schools it also sends entirely the wrong message to children and young people an undermines the standing of the teaching profession. "At best they are detrimental and skew the curriculum and at worst, especially for the most vulnerable children, they are perilously close to a form of child abuse."
'Cruelty'
Sasha Elliott is a London teacher who for nine years has taught Year 6 classes - the year group who take the Sats, at the end of their primary schooling.
HOW CHILDREN ARE TESTED Sats and official attainment tables now exist in England only In Wales children take cross-curricular "skills tests" in numeracy, literacy and problem-solving aged nine or 10; results remain within schools. In Northern Ireland there are statutory tests, marked within schoolsScottish pupils sit assessments in reading, writing and maths when their teachers feel they are ready, marked in schools School tests: Who takes what
She said she was convinced the children made more progress in the two months following the tests than in the nine months beforehand, when she was having to teach them a "Gradgrind curriculum" in the test subjects - English, maths and science.
"Stop the cruelty," she said. "Boycott the Sats."
A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "It is regrettable that the NUT leadership and their conference, in voting for a boycott, are setting themselves against the clear wishes of parents and the need to raise standards in every school and in every child.
"Not only is a boycott unlawful and causes great disruption to the schools; it also sends entirely the wrong message to children and young people an undermines the standing of the teaching profession.
"The unions representing the majority of teachers do not support the approach being urged by the NUT leadership and we urge the NUT to think again.""The unions representing the majority of teachers do not support the approach being urged by the NUT leadership and we urge the NUT to think again."
The NUT's acting general secretary, Christine Blower, has said the whole debate might have been headed off by the report of the government's expert group on testing, which had been due in mid-February but has been postponed to May. The other unions that represent classroom teachers - primarily the NASUWT and the ATL - have not backed the joint campaign being mounted by NUT and NAHT leaders.
She said Schools Secretary Ed Balls had said "quite helpful" things about Sats "not being set in stone" - though there have been problems in the pilot versions of new single-level tests which Mr Balls had held out as a possible replacement. Some NUT members say Sats make children nervous
She added: "We absolutely do want to talk to government." The NUT's Christine Blower said they did not, however, support Sats and league tables any more than her union did.
The NUT conference is being held this year in Cardiff - where the Welsh Assembly Government scrapped the Sats in its schools between 2002 and 2005.
The NUT says this absence of testing in Wales has not resulted in an upsurge of "barbarian hordes".
However, the Welsh inspectorate, Estyn, has expressed concern that the proportion of five to seven-year-olds with good levels of reading and writing has stopped rising over the past five years.
Some of the NUT delegates held a small demonstration in the Cardiff sunshine outside their conference venue, wearing red T-shirts with the slogan No Useless Tests (NUT).Some of the NUT delegates held a small demonstration in the Cardiff sunshine outside their conference venue, wearing red T-shirts with the slogan No Useless Tests (NUT).
One, David Clinch from Devon, said: "Sats are like cigarettes. They've got no benefit to the human body whatsoever.One, David Clinch from Devon, said: "Sats are like cigarettes. They've got no benefit to the human body whatsoever.
We want to scrap the Sats now. We know they're bad for children NUT member Sara TomlinsonWe want to scrap the Sats now. We know they're bad for children NUT member Sara Tomlinson
"What they do is make children very nervous about their learning in fact they are not learning they are being coached to do particular tests which have no benefit to them at all," he said."What they do is make children very nervous about their learning in fact they are not learning they are being coached to do particular tests which have no benefit to them at all," he said.
"The key benefit is to the state to make schools compete against one another and to put schools into league tables, which is not what we think, we believe in collaboration and innovation in teaching.""The key benefit is to the state to make schools compete against one another and to put schools into league tables, which is not what we think, we believe in collaboration and innovation in teaching."
Another, Sara Tomlinson from Lambeth in London said: "We want to scrap the Sats now. We know they're bad for children.Another, Sara Tomlinson from Lambeth in London said: "We want to scrap the Sats now. We know they're bad for children.
"Every report, every survey that's done by expert groups says they are damaging to children.""Every report, every survey that's done by expert groups says they are damaging to children."
She said there was no problem with having a bank of materials to assess children, but there was a problem with the top-down imposition of test targets.She said there was no problem with having a bank of materials to assess children, but there was a problem with the top-down imposition of test targets.