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Published: 23 April 2010
by RÓISÍN GADELRAB

PRIMARY school heads in Islington are planning to defy a national boycott of controversial SATs exams due to take place next month.

Last night (Thursday) nine of the borough’s primary schools told the Tribune they would go ahead with the exams, while unions said they expected the majority of schools would not.

Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and headteachers’ union (NAHT) voted nationally to boycott the exams for Year 6 students planned for May 10-13.

But Christ the King, Drayton Park, Grafton, Highbury Quadrant, Hungerford, Blessed Sacrament, Moreland, Pakeman and Thornhill primary schools are forging ahead. Gillespie and Montem schools were still discussing their plans and other schools were  unavailable for comment.

Schools secretary Ed Balls predicted the boycott would fail when he told the Tribune last October the action would be a “hugely retrograde step,” adding: “I don’t think headteachers I know will go along with that”.

Paul Campbell, headteacher of Christ the King in Tollington Park, said: “We’ve made our own decision, we will be going ahead. We’ve agreed that’s what we all wanted to do. There wasn’t a large call to follow the boycott from staff anyway. It wasn’t raised with me as an official thing.”

But, he added: “I have some sympathy with the boycott call but I think it’s too late in the year. The children have worked hard and devoted themselves to their studies. We’ve had extra lessons after school and Easter classes. Teachers and children have worked really hard to prepare for this and they deserve a chance to show what they’ve done.”

He said he would have reconsidered if the decision was taken right at the beginning of the year, adding: “Sats do have a distorting effect. The whole of children’s last year is given over to them. The breadth of the curriculum is reduced. The use they are put to in terms of league tables isn’t necessarily fair for schools that work in deprived areas.”

Blessed Sacrament headteacher Norah Flatley said: “At the moment we’re on track to go ahead but we await guidance from the union and the local authority.”

Ken Muller, assistant secretary of Islington NUT said: “This is not a strike and children will still be taught at schools. Instead of wasting their time doing useless tests they will be getting worthwhile education opportunities. We expect most children in Islington won’t have to go through the stress of Sats and will be able to spend their time learning. There were substantial majorities in both unions. It will be happening in Islington. We expect NUT and NAHT members will adhere to the majority decision to go ahead with the boycott.”

He added: “We think Sats put an amazing amount of stress on children, distort the curriculum, don’t tell teachers anything they don’t already know and are an attempt to blame teachers for the problems caused by under-resourcing and social inequality. They’re used to set up league tables which treat schools like football teams.”

An Islington Council spokesman said: “We have been, and remain, in contact with local union representatives and headteachers and at this stage have not been informed of any intention to boycott SATs in Islington.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and ensure that headteachers in particular are aware of advice and guidance issued by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. As always, our priority is to ensure that Islington’s children receive the best possible education.”

• Islington NUT are to hold a stall in Angel at noon tomorrow (Saturday) where supporters of the boycott can sign a petition.