ATL comment on Conservative's plans to make primary pupils re-sit maths and English tests

Anne Heavey, education policy advisor at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said: "The Conservative's proposal that children who "fail to reach the expected standard" would have to re-sit Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) in their first year of secondary school is at best ill-thought through and at worst a threat to the mental health and well-being of our children.

"We know that the transition from primary to secondary school is a delicate one. Many children find the move hard, and this change would brand many children as failures from day one. Such a move would undermine the efforts made by schools to support low attaining students in making progress. These re-sit plans would ultimately result in promoting disaffection in these children and disaffection stifles progress.

"For those administering the re-sit tests, this plan will create extra pressure of bureaucracy. The findings of the Workload Challenge are clearly languishing in a waste-paper bin somewhere in Whitehall. In their current format the SATs are stressful for children, parents and teachers. We know that children suffer unacceptable levels of anxiety because of the SATs, why would the Conservative party want to exacerbate an already damaging situation?"