NAHT comments on cancellation of SATs

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: "The idea of continuing with SATs this year had very little support, even before schools went into their third lockdown. When schools are eventually able to admit more pupils, school staff will need all of that time to support pupils and make up for the negative impact of being away from class. Preparing pupils for SATs, when they have had such a disrupted year, is not the best use of staff time. The government has made the right decision to cancel SATs this year, but as with just about every aspect of their response to the pandemic, their announcement comes much later than should have been the case, and months after the profession has already predicted the problems at hand.”