Parents back the end of Sats as teachers refuse to set exams

Parents demanded the abolition of primary school Sats today as growing industrial action by headteachers hit 20,000 children across London.

Senior teachers in hundreds of state schools refused to set compulsory writing and spelling tests this morning and are set to boycott maths exams tomorrow.

The unprecedented week-long campaign, called by the National Union of Teachers and the National Association of Head Teachers, is aimed at forcing ministers to scrap the tests.

In some boroughs 70 per cent of 11-year-olds were not given Sats today as headteachers kept exam papers locked in cupboards, according to lobby group London Councils.

Margaret Morrissey, founder of the Parents Outloud website, backed the unions' "brave" campaign, warning that Sats put too much pressure on children to get results.

Headteachers are fighting "to allow children to receive a holistic education taught with imagination", she said. "Parents Outloud gives full support to the abolition of the present system of testing."

The unions want to force ministers to replace the externally marked tests with a system in which teachers assess their own classes. They claim government pressure on schools to boost Sats results in the core subjects of English and maths robs children of a rounded education.

NUT general secretary Christine Blower said the boycott would make it impossible to compile league tables "naming and shaming" primary schools on their Sats results this year.

"I am hearing from a lot of head teachers just how delighted they are that finally children in their schools are being taught without the threat of Sats results hanging over them," she said.

Across 30 London boroughs providing statistics, 28 per cent of 11-year-olds were prevented from taking today's English tests. More than half of pupils were hit by the industrial action in six boroughs, with 70 per cent affected in Haringey and 73 per cent in Kensington and Chelsea.