18th May 2016 1:00
By Blue Tutors
Parents in England have started a campaign against primary school tests which are about to be introduced. Over 40,000 parents have signed a petition which calls for a boycott of the tests, saying that they are concerned about a culture of over-testing which is damaging to children. The campaign known as ‘Let Our Kids Be Kids’ seeks to highlight the unnecessary stress caused to children by the tests, and is urging the government to rethink the policy. Earlier this month, parents kept their kids off school for a day in protest, and organised fun educational activities such as visiting museums and galleries instead. Education secretary Nicky Morgan condemned the boycott, saying that taking kids out of school for a day was harmful to their education.
Rallies were organised in some parts of the country, with support coming from many quarters including teachers and children’s authors. Children’s laureate Chris Riddell said that children should enjoy reading, and that the culture of testing was destroying the fun they could derive from learning. Parents handed in their petition to the Department for Education in London, saying that their children’s schools were trying to be creative, but couldn’t mitigate the pressure of the tests introduced by the government. They said that the education system placed more importance on test results than on the joy of learning and children’s wellbeing.
One of the key concerns raised is that the culture of testing makes children feel like failures from an early age. However, the government has rejected parents’ concerns, saying that testing was vital to ensure that children do not fall behind. Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw said that the government was right to introduce more rigorous assessment processes, and highlighted England’s mediocre position in international educational league tables. Education minister Nick Gibb said that it was the job of schools to ensure that children did not find the test stressful, while other proponents of the tests have said that the stress to children is worth it if it produces better results. Parents have expressed dismay at the government’s rejection of their concerns, saying that exam stress was hindering their children’s learning rather than helping.