National Union of Teachers strengthens stance against primary school exams

Primary school testing could become a thing of a past after members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) agreed to consider a ballot for a boycott of future exams.

The overwhelming majority of delegates at the union's conference in Brighton voted in favour of calling for head teachers and schools not to participate in the optional baseline tests - for four-year-olds - from September this year.

It also called on Education Secretary Nicky Morgan to cancel the 2016 Key Stage 1 and 2 tests, also known as SATS, this year. If they continue to go ahead, the Department for Education (DfE) will be asked not to use individual schools' results to inform league tables.

The NUT also agreed to consider a ballot for a boycott of all SATS tests from next year.

Should the Education Secretary accede to the NUT's request - made over concerns about the pressure it is putting on pupils, parents and staff - and should schools opt out of the controversial baseline tests for new starters, it would mean school pupils would not sit an exam until secondary education.