Westminster primary schools - headteachers boycott Sats exams

Published: 14 May, 2010
by JAMIE WELHAM

HUNDREDS of primary school children missed their Sats exams this week as headteachers took direct action and refused to hand out papers.
Pupils at seven of Westminster’s 41 primary schools did not sit the controversial tests as a result of a four-day boycott organised across the country by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and National Union of Teachers (NUT).

Heads claim the exams put too much pressure on children, narrow their  education and create a mountain of extra administrative work.
They hope their protest will force the government to scrap tests for 11-year-olds in favour of internal assessment.
Westminster Council’s education department would  not say which schools had voted for the boycott, but the West End Extra understands they included Soho Parish, Edward Wilson in Westbourne Park, St Peter’s in Belgravia, and Willberforce in Queen’s Park.

Sats, formally known as Key Stage 2, are also used to compile primary school league tables, which could now become meaningless due to the boycott – one of the aims of headteachers, who claim they are “oppressive” and lead to the “naming and shaming” of schools.
Jeff Bates, head of the Westminster branch of the NUT, said: “I applaud the heads in Westminster who have supported this boycott, an action that I hope will signal the end of misuse of these national tests for political gains.

“It comes to something when a lifetime of experience in building and contributing to education in our schools is worth nothing compared to the ability to meet the next target.
“Something needs to be done about the bureaucratic surveillance mentality that is ruining the teaching and learning experience in our schools.
“Success has been timely and beyond many of our expectations. It is early days but indications are that sufficient schools have boycotted the tests to invalidate this year’s tables.”

Angela Drizi, Westminster Council’s director of schools and learning, said: “As a local authority, we are keen that the tests go ahead as they provide an important measure of progress and standards within our primary schools, and are extensively used by our secondary schools as baseline data for measuring progress.” 
She added: “While they may not be the most reliable assessment measure their use has contributed to raising standards across the authority.”