The schools minister Robin Walker has defended primary school Sats going ahead this year despite acknowledging that pupils “have missed a critical period of learning” because of the Covid pandemic.
He was asked by a school leader at the Schools North East Academies conference today whether Sats should be taking place given that pupils have” not completed the programme of studies” that the assessments are based on.
Mr Walker told the conference that national assessments at primary school should go ahead to assess how pupils’ education has been impacted by the pandemic.
His comments follow opposition from a major school leaders’ union about the decision to proceed with Sats this year.
Mr Walker said: “I think it is important that we do have a full programme of statutory primary assessments take place this year.
“We recognise that pupils will have missed a critical period of their learning due to partial school closures and it is vital that we know the impact on the cohort of pupils nationally and we can give support to schools that need it most.”
The Department for Education has previously announced that results for national assessments will not be included in this year’s primary school league tables.
He added: “We do recognise that this year is different to normal years and that is why we are not going to be publishing league tables and comparative information in the usual way that we would.
“But we do think it’s important that schools are able to use the data to support catch-up and that we can support schools in doing so, and that is why we think it’s important we go ahead with the primary national assessments.”
Last year, school leaders voted to call on ministers to cancel Sats exams in 2022 amid ongoing disruption to education caused by the pandemic.
Headteachers told the annual conference of the NAHT school leaders’ union that holding “ridiculous” and “pointless” statutory tests in 2022 would be “unfair” owing to Covid-19 absences.
Advice on how to talk about the Ukraine crisis
Mr Walker was also questioned by heads about how schools should teach pupils about the war in Ukraine.
One headteacher asked whether schools needed to ensure this was “politically balanced” in light of the government’s recent guidance on dealing with political issues for schools.
Speaking to Mr Walker, he added: “For instance, shall I tell my teachers to ensure that any letters pupils wish to write don’t express their actual point of view?”
This question appeared to refer to the controversy and criticism of a school where pupils had described prime minister Boris Johnson as a “hypocrite who should resign” when they were asked to write letters about the partygate controversy.
Mr Walker replied: “No, of course you shouldn’t do that. I think what the guidance sets out is that we want to make sure teachers are supported to deal with difficult and contentious political issues. We want to make sure they are supported to deal with world issues such as the terrible events that are currently going on in Ukraine.”
He was also questioned about how schools could help ensure the Russian public are not blamed for the actions of the nation’s government.
Mr Walker said: “It is important when teaching about this to explain that Russia is in the control of someone who is unaccountable and is not someone who is necessarily acting on behalf of the Russian people, and therefore the elements of the guidance that refer to shared values and democratic values are important in that respect. Therefore, we don’t have to defend Russia’s position.”
Mr Walker said that schools could outline some of the reasons Russia is giving for launching its invasion and then explain “why they are not very strong reasons”.
