Cllr Duncan

Head teachers voted this week to boycott the tests used to draw up league tables.

Headteachers and Deputy Heads who are members of the National Union of Teachers or the National Association of Headteachers voted to "frustrate" SATs tests for 11-year-olds.

They say the tests cause unnecessary stress for pupils and teachers, undermine teaching, produce inaccurate data, and cost more than £30m a year just to mark.

Green Party councillors in Brighton and Hove have backed the boycott. The party’s General Election manifesto pledges to scrap all SATs tests, invest an extra £500m in teachers and give schools more control over the curriculum.

Cllr Ben Duncan, who hopes to be elected MP for Brighton Kemptown, said:
“Asking our teachers to concentrate on exams rather than teaching, and our children to focus on exam performance rather than learning is a damaging waste of time.
 
“I’m delighted that my son’s school will be boycotting the tests: the decision will mean less stress, better teaching and more enthusiasm for education among pupils.
 
“Even worse, the data, which is usually inaccurate anyway, is used to produce socially damaging league tables and, by Ofsted, to further undermine some schools’ performance.
 
“Every child should be offered a place in a good, local primary school. Greens in Parliament would invest in our schools to make this a reality – and both league tables and making our children sit test after test at school are expensive, damaging distractions.”

For more information about the Greens view:
www.brightonhovegreens.org