EDUCATION TARGETS

16 November 2006

Commenting on the National New Heads conference Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers Europe’s largest teaching union said:

“I welcome Alan Johnson’s commitment to an open public debate on education targets. The Government is at last facing up to the obvious. Personalised education is in direct contradiction to crude national targets.

“But he needs to go further. League tables are not inevitable. Other countries have shown they can do without them. They should go.

“He can initiate an independent review of our national testing system which fuels the league table mentality.

“Parents want change. There is an increasing consensus that tests, targets and tables are undermining education and endangering the mental health of children.