I wished a friend at school a pleasant and restful Easter break, and she replied: “Well, my son has his Sats exams after the Easter holidays, and his [primary] school has given him some work to do over the Easter break.”

“Why?” was my instinctive response. He’s 10 years old and will have had a full term of Sats preparation (to the back teeth probably). Surely he could have had some time to play and meet friends and family and be a 10- or 11-year-old during the holidays?

And this wasn’t a unique situation. Thousands of children would have been asked by parents to complete tasks in preparation for the upcoming Sats exams. These skills are important; however, I think we need to gain a little perspective at this juncture.

As a secondary school English teacher, I know how the Sats are currently received.

Often they are ignored as some primary schools, in their infinite wisdom, have decided not to inflict them on their students. As a head of English for nearly a decade, it was one of the biggest points of contention which I faced, with my then line manager.

Students arrived in Year 7 with these “amazing” Sats results and when we, as the secondary school, assessed them in the first half term it always looked as though the students had regressed on arrival! Were we that incompetent or inept? Did we get it that wrong?

Or were the then Year 6 students rehearsed for the exams to within an inch of their lives and, once the exams were over, then did all the creative stuff? After the exams, pupils go on trips and expedition weeks, they perform the school production, they have workshops with visitors where lots of creative and practical learning takes place.

Now, this is great because, of course, not all learning takes place in the classroom and pupils should be receiving a broad curriculum, but like this? Really?

Generally, when students arrive in Year 7 they undertake the Cats tests, which largely can’t be prepared for because they are a measure of ongoing progress and skills. In the first term, the students will then be assessed in each subject area to gauge their abilities.

My issue at secondary level is that the students arrive in September having not undertaken any consistent academic work since May, and, after nearly four months of doing school trips and productions and activities, they have forgotten the skills that they practised in preparation for Sats.

When they arrive to do baseline tests and Cats at secondary school, they’re not at their peak and optimum. The parents and the primary schools think the Sats are the pinnacle of the child’s primary career - they are not. Well, not anymore.

Sats: ‘An atmosphere of cruel hysteria’

So, is the focus on Sats purely for the primary schools to be able to demonstrate progress, for the likes of league tables and Ofsted? If so, we really need to re-evaluate the common practice of asking teachers to hold revision sessions during their Easter holidays. We need to reconsider the focus of our attention. 

The learning should be learner-focused and not, instead, obsessed with bureaucratic institutions like Ofsted and measurements on league tables. The Sats can create an atmosphere of cruel hysteria and mania for children, parents and teachers. The amount of stress that schools are asking students to undergo is insurmountable, and for what? A number/level to deem a child as a success or a failure at the age of 11? What are we doing to their self-esteem and self-worth? What are the long-term repercussions for their mental health? And their parents? And their teachers?

Why, oh why, is there an obsession in primary schools around Sats? Yes, we want the students to demonstrate progress, but surely that is the same at every stage of their journey? I understand that the Sats seem like the climax of the primary school career; however, in the grand scheme of things, they really are not.

Surely the focus should be moved away from Sats exams in May, and be more on a continuous learning journey in preparation for their journey ahead into secondary schools?

Shouldn’t we consider a “drip-feeding” approach of the skills they need to help their academic progress on their longer journey? Perhaps think of spreading the activity days across the year rather than in a bulk at the end?

I did once have a student who started the new academic year saying that it felt “weird holding a pen” and “I think I have forgotten how to write my name”… need I say more?

Anjum Peerbacos is a secondary English teacher in London