PARENTS from Stroud took part in organised “strike action” on Tuesday in protest over tougher SATs for primary school children.

Around 50 children from seven different schools were taken out of classes for the day by their parents as part of a nationwide demonstration against the standard assessment tests (SATs) for six and seven-year-olds.

Families have raised concerns about the impact of primary tests in Year 2, saying that placing extra exam pressures on young children will stifle creativity and leave them over-worked.

While some parents kept their children off school for stay-at-home lessons, around 100 people gathered in Stratford Park for a day of “fun outdoor learning” and a trip to the Museum in the Park.

While the parents could face fines of £120 for each child ‘skipping school’, head teachers are likely to mark absences as ‘educational’ rather than ‘unauthorised’.

Mother-of-two Emily Finch helped set up the Stroud boycott as part of the Let Our Kids Be Kids campaign, which organised similar events across the country.

“There is very little evidence that testing at such a young age has any educational benefit,” she said.

“It just means kids are over tested, under pressure and more likely to suffer from stress and mental health problems. This is not the kind of school system I want my children to grow up in.

“Surely early education should be more focused on children’s happiness and the joy of learning rather than results and league tables?”

She added that greater testing meant that other subject such as art and the humanities were being “squeezed out of the curriculum”.

“This really is having a knock on effect on pupils, on teachers and on schools themselves. We have to speak up about it and take action,” she said.


Sam O’Brien from Woodchester helped set up the Stroud group’s Facebook page and attended with her children.

“We spoke to our head teacher before going on strike and she reassured us that while she would have to put the absence down as ‘unauthorised’, there was very little chance of a fine,” she said.

“So we’re not too worried about that. What we are concerned about is increased testing for young children.

“The exams are not at all age appropriate. They are setting children up to fail.

“But this protest was about more than just SATs. It’s about the rapid changes to our education system that are being rushed through, such as forced acadamisation.

“I know many parents like me feel who feel they have not been part of the discussion on their children’s education.

“We have one of the most powerful voices in UK education on our doorstep here and we'd like to make sure Neil Carmichael is representing his parent constituents’ voices at Westminster.

“We would ask him consider meeting parents across Stroud to address their questions and concerns around conservative education policy.”

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But the Stroud MP, who is chair of the Education Select Committee, defended the government’s introduction of more rigorous tests.

He said: “Improving social mobility depends on making sure that children are not falling behind at an early age.

“The government is right to introduce greater structure and rigour into the assessment process.

“Those who oppose this testing need to consider England’s mediocre position in the OECD rankings.

“Children who fall behind in the early years of their education struggle to catch up in later years and taking children out of school needlessly, even for a day, is harmful for their education.”

The Department for Education (DfE) said SATs were aimed at raising standards and identifying children who may need extra help.

A spokesman said: "We know mastering the basics of literacy and numeracy at primary school has a huge impact on how well children do at GCSE, which is why we are determined to raise standards.

"We have updated the Key Stage 2 tests to reflect our new, more rigorous curriculum, which will help every child fulfil their potential regardless of their circumstances.

"Tests help teachers identify and provide the support pupils need as well as giving parents a picture of how their child is doing."

It stressed that the assessment is carried out over a month in the normal course of teaching, not in a traditional exam environment.

More than 40,000 parents have now signed the petition calling for a boycott of primary school tests, which are due to be taken later this month.