‘The SATs have destroyed any self-belief my son may have had’

A young boy burst into tears and branded himself ‘stupid’ and a ‘failure’ after sitting this week’s ‘incredibly difficult’ SATs reading exam, his heartbroken mother has told MailOnline today. 

Hundreds of parents and teachers have lodged complaints over the ‘gruelling’ test, which was said to leave ‘even the most able pupils broken and in tears.’ 

It has prompted calls for the milestone examinations for kids aged 10 and 11 to be scrapped, with Labour MP Mary Kelly Foy insisting youngsters ‘shouldn’t have to go through this’. 

Distraught mother Louise O’Meara, from Southampton, told MailOnline today how her son left school with his head down after the exam, before he began crying. 

‘He then went on to tell me that he was stupid and a failure,’ she recalled. ‘As I’m sure you can imagine, this was completely heartbreaking for me to hear.

‘My son, who has yet to be assessed for autism, has always struggled with school life, his self-esteem and confidence in his ability is non-existent, to the point that I struggle to keep him up because he truly believes he is stupid. 

‘This week of constant tests has been extremely gruelling and has done nothing but crush and destroy any self belief that he may have had and right before he starts Secondary School, where the regime and school work become even tougher.’

She added: ‘While the Education Department says that these tests are a vital tool for monitoring progress, it seems it’s at the expense of the mental health and well being of a 10yr old boy. At this young age, they are simply not equipped for this kind of pressure!’ 

Meanwhile Mike Greenwood, a former headteacher and school governor, blasted the SATs as ‘total insanity.’ 

He told MailOnline today: ‘I blame the teachers and their leadership teams for betraying their professional judgement as well as their instinctive basic human decency in not only inflicting this this total insanity on their pupils but, in addition, allowing them to be wound up over a period of possibly weeks by getting them to believe it is important enough to determine their future success in life.

‘I admire their fortitude in actually striking for better conditions – but these should include refraining from this cruel and pointless abuse.’

He fumed: ‘I blame the administrative executives of the academies who largely have little or even zero teaching experience yet inflict this odious ”duty” on teachers.’

Mr Greenwood urged all parents to demand answers from their MPs.  

SATs are statutory assessments taken by youngsters at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

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Teachers across the UK are now calling for the abolition of the SATs after witnessing how ‘tears flowed’ and ‘stress levels rose’ as students sat the reading exam this week.

Lára Mc Ivor, revision expert and Biology Lead at Save My Exams, told MailOnline today: ‘Sitting exams is often one of the most overwhelming and high pressure experiences that children face as they transition into adulthood. 

‘Our recent research revealed that over two-thirds (68%) of teenagers struggle to sleep as their exams get closer and they experience stress symptoms such as a lack of appetite (39%), panic attacks (34%), migraines (33%) and nausea (20%).’

She added: ‘It has often been debated about whether testing children at such a young age is actually beneficial. Some children excel in these early exams while others develop at a slower rate than their peers and so may not perform as well. 

‘It is crucial that these children are not demotivated and that everything is done to ensure they reach their full potential. I know of children that were in the bottom set reading group throughout primary school who ended up getting a first class science degree at Oxford. 

‘The extra support provided by their teachers and parents helped them maintain their love for school and learning despite not being a top performer at a young age.’ 

Vice President of the NAHT Head teachers’ Union Simon Kidwell told Good Morning Britain on Friday that it was ‘very disappointing’ to see the tests were causing ‘such distress’ among pupils. 

Parents and teachers branded the exams a ‘disgrace’ as they take to social media to vent their frustrations overnight and this morning. 

One wrote: ‘SATs testing a disgrace… one size does not fit all for 10 and 11 year olds.’ 

Another father said: ‘Yesterday, my daughter sat her yr6 reading exam and was shaken by the experience. 

‘Fortunately, she is resilient; more resilient than an 11yo should have to be. 

‘I can only imagine how this paper will have impacted pupil confidence and attainment in the subsequent maths exams.’

Labour MP for Durham Mary Kelly Foy appeared to join calls for the exams to be scrapped. 

She tweeted: ‘SATs get in the way of teaching, but they also put children under extreme pressure. 

‘Young people shouldn’t have to go through this.’ 

It came after staff said that this year’s reading exam was more difficult than previous tests and was ‘not accessible’ to the ‘wide range of experiences and backgrounds’ among pupils. 

The SATs have previously come under fire from both parents and teachers, who feel it’s unnecessary to test children at such a young age and not a fair assessment of their overall abilities.

Headteacher Kerry Forrester has written to her MP saying ‘SATs must go’ after watching how her pupils at Tarporley C of E Primary School, Cheshire, reacted to the tests yesterday.

She shared a copy of her letter online for other professionals and families to see and within a couple of hours it had been shared more than 40,000 times.

‘Today was not acceptable. I cannot believe what we put our 10 and 11 year old children through for the government. SATs must go,’ she penned. 

‘Today I have written to my MP and urge you to do the same.’

In the letter, Ms Forrester described how the testing was her ‘road to Damascus moment’. 

‘My year 6 children, all capable readers who love reading, opened their reading test paper and were broken! Tears flowed from our most capable readers and stress levels rose amongst all others,’ she wrote.

‘For what, I found myself asking, for no other reason than to sit a test for the government DfE accountability measure.’

‘This was the most challenging reading test I have seen in my 29 years as a teacher and my 14 years as a headteacher. Since Covid we have spent time supporting our children to catch up and to believe in themselves as learners. Today saw so much of that work destroyed by a snapshot from an inappropriate test.’

She added that pupils put themselves under ‘immense pressure to perform well in these tests’, which has a negative impact on their self-esteem, confidence and mental health.

Urging her MP Edward Timpson to ‘consider the evidence and take action to address this issue’, she wrote: ‘Primary school should be where we make lifelong learners, not switch children off’. 

Dozens of people responded to her tweet, many of them professionals who said they agree that SATs are unfair and that the paper was particularly difficult.

‘Totally agree with this,’ said one. ‘It was completely unfair. Accessible to read but the questions were ridiculous and no clear answer. There was far too much for the hour time limit and totally unfair for pupils with ASD or slow processing. I will be writing to our MP too.’

‘So pleased teachers are finding their voice now!’ said a parent. ‘SATs totally drained my kids and we put no pressure on them at all, the school were really good too. It’s all very unnecessary and potentially harmful.. My dyslexic son is yr 7 he doesn’t know he failed his SATs. He’s brilliant!’

Similarly, Year 6 teacher Emma Wood took to Twitter saying how she was left ‘broken’ after seeing ‘so many disheartened children that would normally finish not getting to the last page’.

She added: ‘Many asked why it was so much harder than any before.’ 

NAHT union head of policy Sarah Hannafin said the organisation is ‘very concerned’ about the reports it has received from members over the reading paper.

She told TES how many teachers claimed the exam questions were ‘difficult’, ‘not accessible’ and ‘leaving children upset’. Others alleged the exam left teachers ‘trying to rebuild’ pupils’ confidence.

The NAHT will ‘definitely raise these concerns with STA (Standards and Testing Agency) and also the Ofqual national assessments team,’ Ms Hannafin stated.

Union president-elect and headteacher Simon Kidwell added that the education sector has not seen ‘sorts of outcries’ over the difficulty of the SATs in several years.

A Department for Education spokesperson, responding to the furore, said: ‘Key Stage 2 assessments play a vital role in understanding pupils’ progress and identifying those who may have fallen behind, so they can be provided with extra support if needed.

‘It’s important that schools encourage pupils to do their best but preparing for these exams should not be at the expense of their well-being.’