Some Plymouth primary schools to boycott Sats exams for 11-year-olds
SOME primary schools in Plymouth will boycott Sats tests for 11-year-olds next month, according to the chairman of the Plymouth Association of Primary Headteachers.
John Stephens, also headteacher at Goosewell Primary School in Plymstock, said that some schools will not administer the controversial tests, due to be taken on May 10.
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Mr Stephens — who said he will tell parents his own school's position in the coming days — could not yet say which schools will boycott the exams.
But he said he expects each school to tell parents over the next few days whether their pupils will take Sats or be tested independently by the school itself.
He said: "Some headteachers will go ahead with the boycott and not administer the 2010 tests while others will carry on as planned.
"Schools that will disrupt this year's testing will still assess their children using alternative tests and ensure they are moderated for accuracy."
Mr Stephens spoke after two days of PAPH meetings in the city. Headteachers met to discuss how best city primaries can tackle the national boycott of the controversial tests, announced last week.
Thousands of pupils in Plymouth could miss out on taking the Sats after the National Association of Head Teachers and the National Union of Teachers announced they will boycott the exams.
Mr Stephens said yesterday: "Headteachers have not taken this decision lightly and empathise with those taking a different position to their own because of their school's circumstances.
"PAPH is keen to work for a change to the assessment procedures for 11-year-olds that are based on teacher assessment, moderated within school and externally which take into account the wider picture of a child's learning rather than a 'luck of the draw' test on a set day.
"Headteachers will communicate their school's position to parents before May 4, when any action is due to commence."
The Sats tests in English and maths are due to be taken by 600,000 children in the week beginning May 10.
The unions argue the tests are bad for children, teachers and education, cause unnecessary stress, and lead to the creation of league tables which undermine the work of schools and heads.
Mr Stephens said, in the meetings, that there was "unanimous agreement" that the use of Sats results to form league tables to judge a school's performance is "narrow, misleading and potentially damaging to the morale of a school and its community".
Comments
by Darren, plymouth
Friday, April 30 2010, 5:53PM
“I don't think its the decision of the headteachers or teachers to stop the sats tests its the governments,how else are we supposed to tell how well schools are performing.Teachers get away with murder these days and are not like the teachers of old it is not a vocation anymore its just a job.When i was at school i sat the 11+ and it never effected me and i never suffered with stress .I wonder how many poor performing schools in Plymouth have opted not to sit the sats tests it will be interesting to see. Headteachers and Teachers must be held accountable for poor performance.My youngest child is now in the last year of Primary School and although in the last ten years i have come across some very good teachers there are alot of bad one's who can't be bothered and they are the one's who must be held accountable and if no improvement should be sacked just like the rest of us who work in the real world.”