Written question asked by Lord Ouseley (Crossbench) on Wednesday, 1 May 2019, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 16 May 2019. It was answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative) on Wednesday, 15 May 2019 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Primary Education: Assessments

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received about the implications of introducing tests for children aged four; and what their response has been to such representations.

Answer: Following positive feedback on the proposal made in the 2017 primary assessment consultation, we committed to introducing the reception baseline assessment (RBA) at the beginning of the reception year to form the baseline for primary school progress measures. The consultation received 4,165 responses including representations from headteachers, teachers, teaching unions and sector experts. A majority of responses demonstrated clear support for moving the baseline assessment to reception. It is important to note the RBA is not a test - it is a short, teacher-led assessment and it will provide practitioners with valuable one-to-one time with their pupils within the first few weeks of reception. The full consultation response is attached and can also be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/644871/Primary_assessment_consultation_response.pdf.

Secondary information