Holding Sats this academic year would be “nonsensical”, according to the largest school leaders’ union, which today unanimously backed a call to scrap them.

“Under the circumstances in which we find ourselves this year, for the DfE [Department for Education] to insist on statutory testing would be inequitable, nonsensical and frankly of no benefit whatsoever,” the NAHT conference was told by West Midlands regional representative Michelle Sheehy.

“It would be harmful to the mental health of our pupils and would inhibit their progress. We must not be complicit in this.”

Background: Sats and all primary tests will go ahead in 2021

NAHT: ‘The sky won’t fall in if 2021 Sats are scrapped’

Teachers: Forget Sats and focus on Covid recovery

Her motion, passed unanimously, called for the NAHT to lobby the government to scrap statutory primary testing this academic year.

It was also welcomed by the largest teachers’ union. Kevin Courtney, NEU joint general secretary, said: “We welcome the NAHT stand. Teachers and headteachers are now united in their call for cancellation: the government should listen.  

“Statutory assessment in 2020-21 serves no useful purpose. When some schools are hit far more than others by the effects of Covid, Sats cannot function as a fair measure of comparative performance.

“Gavin Williamson should wake up to reality, pay attention to the experience of schools and prepare now for the changes which circumstances are all too likely to force upon him later”. 

Ms Sheehy told the NAHT conference: “Our assessment methods give us accurate information about a child’s learning, rather than informing us of the child’s ability to cope with the test.

“The results of the statutory tests will come far too late and will lack the precision required to be of any use to us school leaders.

“After all they have been through, children will need far more support than usual, time spent preparing students for tests is time wasted.”

She added: “How can we have standard attainment tests when there isn’t anything about the experiences [that schools have had] this year that is in fact standard.

“An assurance that we are trusted to provide what our children need to cope effectively in terms of their learning and mental health instead of being forced to concentrate on preparing for tests would be hugely beneficial for teachers and children.

“We need this assurance as soon as possible, so that schools are free to deal with the impact of the pandemic in a timely and efficient way without the constraints of having to prepare children for tests.”

A spokesperson for the charity More Than A Score welcomed the motion.

They said: “School leaders are doing an incredible job in the ongoing pandemic crisis. They see the daily disruption to children’s learning and to their wellbeing and they agree with teachers and parents that the very last thing schools and young children need is to waste valuable learning time on statutory assessments. Schools will need 8-10 weeks to prepare for Year 6 Sats alone which will produce meaningless data in the current circumstances. 

“The More Than A Score Drop Sats 2021 campaign has support from school leaders, parents and in Westminster. Our petition now has over 52,000 signatures. It’s time for the government to do the right thing and cancel Sats and all formal primary tests in this school year. They would be wholly ineffective and morally wrong.”

A DfE spokesperson said:  “We are planning for statutory primary assessments to take place in summer 2021, while the statutory rollout of the reception baseline assessment has been postponed until September 2021.

“We have launched a £1 billion Covid catch up package to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time as a result of the pandemic, which headteachers and school leaders have the flexibility to decide how to spend in the best interests of their students.”

The motion:

• While the current emphasis on children’s health and wellbeing is welcomed, it is ironic that the testing regime in primary schools can have a negative effect on their mental health. The Sats tests next May will come after a year of uncertainty and anxiety as well as substantially reduced curriculum time, all caused by the pandemic. Conference calls on National Executive to lobby the government to cancel statutory tests in primary schools in 2021.