Fury as academics’ union urges Labour ministers to cut back exams in a bid to spice up ‘workers wellbeing’
Teachers are urging Labour to scrap SATs, cut GCSE exams and slash the curriculum – prompting fears of ‘dumbing down’.
The Left-wing National Education Union (NEU) is pushing for an overhaul of Tory education policies to enhance ‘student and staff wellbeing’.
This week, it submitted its blueprint to Labour’s curriculum review panel in response to a ‘call for evidence’. It urges ministers to scrap ‘all high-pressure government testing’ in primary schools, including the Year 6 SATs.
The union wants an end to the ‘damaging’ reliance on GCSE and A-level exams, advocating ‘multi-modal assessment’. And it calls for curriculum content in secondary schools to be reduced in most subjects and stages, while at primary level it should be reduced in maths and English.
It also wants two key performance measures scrapped – the Ebacc and Progress 8 – which were aimed at raising standards.
Chris McGovern at the Campaign for Real Education said the union’s submission to the review, which will issue recommendations next year, shows it is ‘committed to dumbing down educational standards’. He added: ‘The proposals may make life easier for teachers, but they are a shameful betrayal of young people.’
The Left-wing National Education Union (NEU) is pushing for an overhaul of Tory education policies to enhance ‘student and staff wellbeing’ (file image)
The union wants an end to the ‘damaging’ reliance on GCSE and A-level exams, advocating ‘multi-modal assessment’ (file image)
Chris McGovern is the Chairman of the Campaign for Real Education. He is a retired head teacher and a former advisor to the Policy Unit at 10 Downing Street
The proposals are a direct attack on Tory reforms to raise standards, led by previous education secretary Michael Gove. During the 14 years of Tory rule, SATs were made harder and GCSE and A-level courses placed greater emphasis on end-of-year exams.
Ebacc encouraged schools to put pupils through five core GCSEs – English, maths, science, a language, and history or geography – but the NEU wants more emphasis on the arts. The Tories introduced Progress 8 to acknowledge the work of schools with difficult intakes who were able to get better-than-expected results.
The NEU’s submission says: ‘Results of tests are misused for school accountability, leading to damaging, perverse consequences to curriculum breadth and student and staff wellbeing.’ Its general secretary Daniel Kebede said the ‘intense exam factory culture that has been created isn’t working for students or teaching staff’.
The Department for Education said every child must have the tools ‘to thrive’, adding: ‘We’ll consider what works and reform where necessary to raise standards and create a system that delivers for every young person.’
