Teachers, headteachers and the Department for Education appear to have collectively lost sight of the purpose of Sats: to educate and nurture children (Sats exams ‘designed to be challenging’, DfE tells aggrieved parents and teachers, 12 May).
Sats are designed to be a quick test that takes place on one day in year 6 to assess the teaching standards of the school. The theory is that the children are not being examined, that they should not think or feel that they are being examined, and that they should be unaware of their “result” and feel no stress from the situation. It is the school’s job to educate children and the DfE’s to assess the school. It is not a child’s role to provide emotional support to these adult‑run institutions.
