Teachers back Sats boycott plan

Teachers have backed plans for a boycott of next year's primary school Sats tests.

The NUT passed a resolution backing plans for a boycott of next year s Sats tests The NUT passed a resolution backing plans for a boycott of next year's Sats tests

A resolution calling for a ballot on industrial action was passed unanimously by delegates at the National Union of Teachers' (NUT) annual conference in Cardiff.

The union, and the National Association of Head Teachers, which is due to debate an identical motion next month, has said that continuing the tests beyond this year is "unacceptable".

But the Government says the move is "irresponsible" and insists that any industrial action would be unlawful.

The resolution was passed to cheers and chants of "no more Sats" from delegates.

Hazel Danson, of the NUT's executive which proposed the motion, said that league tables are "rigged" because they force schools to focus on borderline pupils who can push up their overall score.

She said: "It's tantamount to government-funded cheating, and we can't be complicit in that anymore."

She added: "When the game is rigged, you can't lose if you don't play. It's time we stopped playing."

Ms Danson received a standing ovation as she urged members to support the resolution. She said: "I want to teach children, I don't want to damage them, I don't want them reduced to a number."

Max Hyde, who seconded the motion, said: "At best they (Sats) are detrimental and skew the curriculum and at worst, especially for the most vulnerable children, they are perilously close to a form of child abuse."

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