(UK) Thousands of parents withdraw their kids from primary school testing; stress is cited

April 9, 2018, (UK) Independent: Thousands of parents consider withdrawing primary school children from Sats exams over mental health concerns https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/sats-primary-school-exams-uk-parents-children-mental-health-a8292821.html Parents across the country are preparing to withdraw their 10 and 11-year-olds from tests over concerns about their mental health. Families are becoming increasingly worried about the number of practice papers and revision classes that Year 6 children face during the Easter holidays, The Independent understands. Thousands of parents have downloaded a letter which sets out plans to stop their children from taking the Sats exams next month because of the “pressures of a high stakes testing system”.... “There has been an explosion in child and adolescent mental health and I think much of that is related back to the pressure we are putting them under when they can’t stand it.” Children’s mental health will be a key focus of the annual conference of the ATL section of the National Education Union in Liverpool, which starts today. A motion on the increasing incidence of suicide among young people is set to question whether assessment has contributed to the experience of “hopelessness” among young people. …