SATs in the 2021-22 Academic Year

That this House recognises the enormous effect that the covid-19 pandemic has had on pupils' mental health; notes the study by UCL Institute of Education researchers which found that a fear of poor SATs results is driving headteachers to separate pupils by ability despite the impact on children’s self-esteem and confidence; believes that the UK’s teach-to-test approach to education has led to valuing high stakes exams above other more meaningful measures of attainment; further believes that high-stakes testing, exemplified by SATs, distorts the work of schools, narrows the curriculum, increases stress on pupils, adds to teachers’ workload, and affects most severely those who are most in need; further notes that SATs do not provide teachers with any further information on their students’ progress than was not already available to them; notes that during the covid-19 pandemic teachers are having to spend ever more time on pastoral care and that preparing students for tests that are not useful is wasting valuable time that could be used more productively elsewhere; further believes that parents want teachers to spend more time teaching and less time testing pupils; and calls on the Government to scrap SATs for primary age pupils in the 2021-22 academic year.