Schools across region set to join nationwide boycott of Sats tests

Nationwide, 1,010 schools have already told their councils they won't be running the tests, and Yorkshire is one of the regions where the feeling among headteachers is strongest, according to the National Union of Teachers (NUT).

The local authorities in the region which said they expect the boycott to go ahead in some of its primaries are Calderdale, Rotherham, Kirklees, Doncaster and Barnsley.

Among those with high numbers of schools boycotting the tests are Barnsley, where the council said more than half of its 78 primaries are taking part.

Calderdale Council is estimating that around 75% of its primary schools will be affected.

Both the NUT and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) – which together represent about 80 per cent of primary school headteachers – argue that 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 both headteachers and their schools.

Ian Murch, Bradford branch secretary for the NUT, said that 75 to 80 per cent of schools across the region would be boycotting the Sats this week.

He said: "Some local authorities in Yorkshire, including Bradford, suffer when league tables are drawn up.

"We finish near the bottom of league tables for the numbers of children achieving particular levels, and we know that the main reasons for that are the obvious ones – there are more children from poorer backgrounds and more children with English as a second language.

"League tables don't take any of that into account."

Nationally, up to half of England's 17,000 primary schools are expected to take part in the boycott. General secretary of the NUT, Christine Blower, said that at that level of participation in the action it would be "impossible to draw up league tables."

The industrial action was confirmed by the NUT and the NAHT last month after ballots of their leadership members showed support.

It was then down to individual heads, deputies and assistant heads to decide whether to take part.

The boycott was expected to be the first battle a new government would have to face, but with a hung parliament following last Thursday's General Election, it is highly unlikely there will now be a last-ditch attempt by politicians to get it called off.

Sats tests in English and maths are due to be taken by 600,000 11-year-olds throughout this week, with the results used to create league tables.

Both Labour and the Conservatives have insisted that Sats should not be scrapped, although Labour has said the system is "not set in stone", while both the Tories and Lib Dems have pledged to reform the tests.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls wrote to governors last month to remind them they have a "statutory duty" to ensure the tests go ahead.

At their annual conference in Liverpool last weekend, the NAHT claimed their members were under mounting pressure from Government and local authorities to call off the industrial action, and were being threatened with having their pay docked.

Mr Murch added: "Headteachers are reluctant to take part in something like this, it's a big step. But they've been frustrated that politicians aren't listening.

"Sats have already been scrapped in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Here, it's only the Year 6 tests that remain. People are thinking that if we take a stand now, maybe we will get rid of this last element of the system."