An investigation has found maladministration of writing Sats tests at Colburn Community Primary School.
North Yorkshire County Council has reassured parents of Year 6 children at the school that they will not be adversely affected by the annulment of their Key Stage 2 SATs writing assessment.
After concerns were raised about the administration of this year’s statutory teacher assessment for Key Stage 2 writing at Colburn, the Standards and Testing Agency instructed the local authority to undertake an investigation.
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Following this investigation, the Standards and Testing Agency made the decision that as a result of maladministration, the 2018 writing outcomes for all pupils in Year 6 would be annulled.
The rest of the key stage 2 tests and assessments have not been affected.
The county council says staff involved will be subject to further investigation and the authority has begun appropriate employment procedures.
“As governors we will work with the county council to ensure that no child is disadvantaged by this annulment” said Angie Dale, Colburn’s chair of governors.
“We understand how upsetting this must be for parents at the school and particularly for those of children in Year 6, but they must be reassured that their children’s education and transition to secondary school will not in any way be adversely affected.”
The county council says it will work with secondary schools to ensure that accurate and fair assessments of writing will take place, providing a secure baseline from which to measure progress from the start of the autumn term.
“We expect the highest standards of teaching, learning and assessment in the county’s schools” said County Councillor Patrick Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s executive member for schools.
“Maladministration of assessment of any kind must not be tolerated and we will always act swiftly to ensure fair and proper practice and to safeguard the educational futures of our pupils.”
