Join SATS campaign

OLDHAM NUT chiefs say a major report has backed their calls for SATS and league tables to be scrapped.

The Cambridge University review of the Primary Curriculum concluded that national testing at 11 has meant schools focus on short-term learning at the cost of children’s long-term development.

Oldham National Union of Teachers (NUT) says it confirms their stance is correct and a public meeting tonight, at the Civic Centre (7pm), will be an ideal opportunity for parents and teachers to join in the campaign to end SATS.

The review was three years in the making and saw more than 70 academics produce 29 reports, with thousands of children, parents and teachers taking part in surveys.

It presented a damning review of the primary curriculum, suggesting it has failed generations of children.

It concluded there is an over-emphasis on the skills of reading, writing and maths at the expense of other subjects, while learning that requires time for talking, problem solving and exploring ideas is sacrificed for memorisation and recall learning.

Professor Robin Alexander said: “The report says schools should be freed of SATS and league tables to allow them to make more decisions about what and how they teach.”

Another recent survey found that 85 per cent of 10,465 parents surveyed thought that SATS should be abolished and 71 per cent wanted league tables scrapped.

Oldham NUT secretary Bryan Beckingham said: “There is absolutely no need to test children in the manner that SATS do and then use them to produce league tables. Whilst this regime remains schools will inevitably be teaching to the test to improve league table results.

“England is the only country in the UK still testing eleven-year-olds and the Scottish and Welsh education system has not collapsed after dropping testing children at 11.”

He urged parents and teachers in Oldham to make their voice heard by attending the meeting.