Sats stress 'blamed on schools'

Critics say the tests narrow the curriculum

Primary schools in England should not be inflicting stress on seven-year-olds by treating national tests like exams, the children's secretary has said.

Ed Balls said Sats days should be like any other and that pupils should not be aware that they were being tested.

In May, a Commons committee said inappropriate testing of children at seven, 11 and 14 could be damaging.

It is feared that drilling children for tests - with results in school "league tables" - narrows their education.

Mr Balls told the New Statesman magazine: "The best head teachers will ensure that no six or seven-year-old knows they are doing Sats. I promise you that is the case.

"If you are telling pupils in Year 2 that they are doing Sats next week then that's the wrong thing to do. You should not be stressing the children."

He said the tests did not need to be done in a "sit-down" environment, but could be carried out as part of the school day.

Sats tests at seven are not intended to "grade" the children but to establish the level of ability that the school is dealing with, he said.

"And there are loads of schools doing that," he added.

Mr Balls said he was angry about schools which took a more pressured approach.

"I cannot believe they are doing that. They should not be doing that," he said.

Critics of Sats tests say that pressure over league tables, compiled from the tests taken by 11 and 14-year-olds, forces teachers to "teach to the test" and that children miss out on a broader education.