Commenting on Michael Gove’s release of figures showing support for this year’s SATs boycott by the NUT and NAHT, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“Given the enormous political pressure that primary schools faced during the election, not only from the Labour Government but the Conservatives as well, to carry out the tests, the 4,005 schools which followed the boycott call showed both courage and a commitment to protecting children from the malign impact of high stakes testing.

“Michael Gove should not fool himself. The fact that just under three quarters of schools did implement the tests does not mean they support them. Indeed, I welcome Michael Gove's tacit recognition of this fact with his agreement to review the tests. What cannot happen, however, is that such a review is so circumscribed by an ideological commitment to testing that its outcomes will be meaningless. I call on him to initiate a full scale, independent review of the testing system with full involvement of schools, teachers and parents.

“We must also review the impact of school league tables which have fundamentally undermined the confidence of very many head teachers and staff doing their best in tough circumstances.”