Morning Star.png Teachers Revolt over 'Exam Factories' Cancel assessments or face strikes, says NUT Conrad Landin, The Morning Star, London, 28 March 2016 A spring revolt of teachers is sweeping through Britain's schools - with unions planning a one-day summer strike and threatening to boycott all primary school tests. National Union of Teachers (NUT) delegates voted yesterday to demand that Education Secretary Nicky Morgan cancel standard assessment tests (SATs) and the controversial baseline assessments. The union said it would consider a boycott "at the most appropriate time" if she failed to do so. "Teachers are wasting precious time on preparing children for tests at the expense of offering a vibrant engaging education for their pupils," said NUT general secretary Christine Blower. "Teachers are angry and dismayed at the primary tests, which they believe are age-inappropriate." The NUT's fightback comes as Ms Morgan, who is pushing plans to turn every school into an academy, was heckled as she addressed the conference of fellow teaching union NASUWT. Teachers shouted: "Rubbish!" after the Education Secretary accused them of talking down their own profession. A motion passed at the NUT conference in Brighton called for headteachers "not to participate" in the baseline assessments, which a large majority of primary school teachers have come out against. They say that Tory ministers are turning schools into "exam factories" and that kids' education has suffered due to tests being too hard. High stakes "Far from improving outcomes for 11-year-olds, the endless high-stakes testing of such young children could easily switch children off from learning, increase their anxiety levels and harm their self-confidence - a vital ingredient for successful learning," said Ms Blower. Ealing languages teacher Kathleen O'Neil told the -conference that obsessive primary school testing was also harming secondary schools. "We have to adjust schemes of work to tick boxes," she said. "Students come out with rote memory techniques rather than deep understanding of a subject." NUT teachers voted not to hear arguments for an amendment that would have set out a clear timetable for a boycott of primary tests, in spite of warnings from Lewisham delegate Duncan Morrison that "the government will be looking at us and saying that these people are not serious." On Saturday, the union voted to strike for one day in the impending summer term in a dispute over "the threat to jobs, pay and non-pay terms" presented by Ms Morgan's forced academisation plans. Her education white paper will spell the end of local authority supervision of schools unless effective opposition is mounted. Fattening frogs for snakes Successfully moving the executive's priority motion in opposition to the plans on Saturday, NUT treasurer Ian Murch said the government's policy was akin to "fattening frogs for snakes." He said private companies seeking to "feed on our public services" would take advantage of the vacuum created by ending council control. Kirklees delegate Hazel Danson said the white paper would "open the door to the total privatisation of our schools." The strike would likely be in July - after GCSE and A-level exams. The motion originally set out a process for the ballot to be delayed if other education unions indicated they would join strike action. But the conference amended it to ensure that a ballot would take place in five weeks' time. East London delegate Alex Kenny said the union could co-ordinate further strikes with other unions in the autumn term. But Brent delegate Hank Roberts warned that strike action alone could not defeat the expansion of academies. "We have to include escalating to direct action in any way we can," he said. He said that teachers had successfully occupied school rooftops and had even gained support from police officers called by management to disperse demonstrations. "There are lots of things you can do and lots of things you can get away with," he hinted. From: <http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-6572-Teachers-Revolt-Over-Tory-Exam-Fa ctories#.VvkS9eJ9601> http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-6572-Teachers-Revolt-Over-Tory-Exam-Fac tories#.VvkS9eJ9601 -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. 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