A headteachers’ union has expressed concern over this week’s Sats exams for 10- and 11-year-olds amid claims that an English paper left some pupils “in tears” and broken their “psychological well being and wellbeing”.
A whole bunch of fogeys and lecturers have complained on-line about Wednesday’s 12 months 6 studying examination, with one saying on Mumsnet that her daughter had discovered the paper “terrible”.
The Nationwide Affiliation of Head Academics, which represents heads on the majority of major faculties, mentioned it plans to lift the problem with the exams workforce at faculties regulator Ofqual.
Sarah Hannafin, the union’s head of coverage, mentioned: “We’re very involved about reviews from our members concerning the Sats studying paper.
“Members have advised us that the selection of texts was not accessible for the big selection of experiences and backgrounds youngsters have and the problem was past earlier exams, leaving youngsters upset, and with even workers struggling to know the questions.
“We will certainly elevate these issues with the Requirements and Testing Company and in addition the Ofqual Nationwide Assessments workforce.”
Sats are used to measure youngsters’s English and maths abilities in 12 months 2 and 12 months 6, and encompass six 45-minute papers.
The Division for Training (DfE) web site says Sats are supposed to “measure college efficiency and to ensure particular person pupils have the help that they want as they transfer into secondary college”.
Kerry Forrester, a head instructor at a Cheshire major college, has written to her native MP expressing concern concerning the “detrimental affect” of the exams on the “psychological well being and wellbeing” of her pupils.
In a letter she shared on Twitter, Forrester mentioned this 12 months has seen “probably the most detrimental affect on our kids that we have now ever skilled”.
“Tears flowed from our most succesful readers and stress ranges rose amongst all others,” she mentioned, including that “this was probably the most difficult studying check I’ve seen in my 29 years as a instructor”.
Jayne Robinson, 39, who works as a nurse, mentioned a lot of her daughter’s mates had been unable to complete the examination, regardless that her Stoke-on-Trent college had been serving to pupils put together since Christmas.
“These exams have been a lot more durable than the observe papers my daughter has sat,” she advised the PA information company.
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“My daughter had a number of Sats observe however she mentioned a few of her mates couldn’t end the paper because it was too lengthy. Considered one of her mates made up solutions on the finish simply to complete the paper.”
The DfE mentioned: “Key stage 2 assessments play an important position in understanding pupils’ progress and figuring out those that could have fallen behind, to allow them to be supplied with further help if wanted.
“Our check improvement course of is extraordinarily rigorous and consists of critiques by numerous training and inclusion consultants and professionals together with lecturers, and we trial exams with a whole bunch of pupils over a number of years to make sure that all exams are acceptable.
“It’s vital that faculties encourage pupils to do their finest however getting ready for these exams shouldn’t be on the expense of their wellbeing.”
