1. Standard Attainment Tests (SATs) are taken by Year 2 children at state maintained schools in their summer term.
2. Plans have already been approved to abolish the tests in Wales and Northern Ireland and there is a more flexible system of testing in place in Scotland. The largest teachers’ union, the National Union of Teachers, recently voted in principle to boycott primary school tests.
3. In the year in which SATs are being taken in England, many countries in Europe are only just introducing the children to formal learning.
4. During summer 2002 the Liberal Democrat Education team carried out a survey to investigate levels of stress in Year 2 and Year 3 pupils. A survey was sent to 147 schools. These schools were selected from 50 regions which were in five bands of ten, equal distant apart from each other in the social deprivation index so as to get a spread of the most to least socially deprived areas. 45 teachers responded to the survey, of which 25 taught Year 2 and 20 taught Year 3. The teachers were then asked to photocopy and hand out the questionnaire to the parents of their class. 148 parents responded to the survey, 83 parents from Year 2 pupils and 66 parents from Year 3 pupils.

The main findings of this report were that:

1. SATs for 7 year olds are believed by both teachers and parents to be unnecessary and potentially damaging for these children.
2. 80% of teachers believe both their Year 2 and Year 3 children to be stressed.
3. Almost 100% of teachers said that their pupils showed anxiety about their schoolwork.
4. A significant proportion of both Year 2 and Year 3 children showed symptoms of stress. However a higher proportion of Year 2 children showed these symptoms during the summer term when SATs are taken, thus linking the tests with the stress.
5. Not one teacher thought that SATs were good for their pupils.
6. When asked to give further comments on SATs and the effects they have on seven year olds, many parents were opposed to SATs and did not see why they were necessary. Many commented that they do not believe SATs to damage children but this is only due to the low-key way in which teachers and schools were handling the tests.
7. Teachers commented that SATs should be replaced by teacher assessments, which they believe are a better indicator of a child’s progress. They believed that if a child was feeling stress this was largely due to the pressure imposed by the parent.

1. Abolish SATs for 7 year olds. Instead individual skills profiles should inform and guide teachers at the next stage.
2. Formal education should start at 7 years. Compulsory pre-school classes for all children should still take pace from the age of 5 years, but these should focus on developing communication, numeracy and ICT skills that they need to make the most of formal education.

1. Almost 100% of teachers said that their pupils showed anxiety about their schoolwork.

1. At the beginning of, or during, the summer term around half of Year 2’s (a much higher proportion than Year 3’s) were reported as being stressed. Teachers reported that 55% of Year 2’s and 38% of Year 3’s showed anxiety during this time. 43% of Year 2 parents as opposed to 22% of Year 3 parents reported their child to be stressed during the summer term.
2. 60% of teachers thought children were anxious about SATs over an extended period of time, ie for longer than just the day on which the SATs were taken.

1. Many of the teachers commented that a child’s stress was largely due to pressure that parents exerted on children to do well in their work, rather than the children themselves creating their own anxiety. This matches the fact that more than double the number of parents said they were anxious about their child sitting the test than the child was itself.

1. SATs are recommended to be taken as unobtrusively as possible, so that pupils are not aware of them. The majority of teachers did not believe this to be the case, with 88% saying that pupils were aware of SATs and only 12% saying they were not.
2. For those teachers who had been teaching seven year olds before they were first introduced, 66% of teachers believed children were more stressed following their introduction.

1. When asked for further comments, the vast majority of both Year 2 (84%) and Year 3 (74%) parents said they were opposed to SATs. Many parents believed that a child’s education should be more enjoyable than the current straitjacket curriculum and there was an increased emphasis on the need for more learning through play.

1. Not one teacher thought that SATs were actually good for their pupils, with 68% saying they were not and 32% answering they were neither good nor bad. When asked whether the SATs were helpful to them as teachers, 4% said yes, 84% said no, and 12% said neither.
2. The vast majority of teachers (84%) did not think that SATs helped them as a teacher to help children to learn, with only one teacher seeing them as beneficial.
3. Numerous teacher’s believed that SATs should be replaced by continuous teacher assessment.

1. It was also voiced that SATs squeezed out too much time at the expense of a varied and balanced curriculum.

Liberal Democrat policy is to start formal schooling at the age of 7 years. England has one of the earliest starting ages in Europe, with the majority of children entering school in the year in which they turn five. Research suggests that there is no lasting benefit to formal learning at such an early age and young children seem to do best when they have opportunities to socialise, make their own choices and take responsibility for their learning. The prerequisite level of intellect and understanding, crucial before a child can benefit from formal education, is often only just being developed at 5 years. There are some suggestions that an early introduction to a formal curriculum may increase anxiety and have a negative impact on children’s self esteem and motivation to learn.

The Liberal Democrats would therefore introduce a formative stage that would cover the care and education of children from birth to seven years. This would take place in Neighbourhood Children’s Centres. Here there would be facilities for health professionals and space for mother and toddle clubs and drop in facilities. Such a network of provision would also allow for complete tracking and support of children born underweight or with recognised impairments. Compulsory pre-school classes for all children would still take place from the age of 5 years, to ensure that children develop the communication, numeracy and ICT skills they need to make the most of formal education. However SATs for 7 year olds would be abolished, instead individual skills profiles would inform and guide teachers at the next stage.

 (This report from the Liberal Democrats is incorporated for information - it does not imply political support either way!)