Thousands of Lancashire kids taking their final SATs amid calls for them to be scrapped
We've heard kids have been left anxious and in tears over this week's exams
A head teachers' union has expressed concern over this week's Sats exams for 10 and 11-year-olds amid claims that an English paper left some pupils "in tears" and damaged their "mental health and wellbeing".
Hundreds of parents and teachers have complained online about Wednesday's Year 6 reading exam, with one saying on Mumsnet that her daughter had found the paper "really hard and awful".
We've been speaking to Dave McPartlin who is the headteacher of Flakefleet Primary in Fleetwood.
He and his school were thrown into the spotlight after appearing on Britain's Got Talent and winning David Walliams' Golden Buzzer.
Mr. McPartlin believes school is about much more than exams and hopes we can find away to asses children, without it being so stressful.
He says:
"I think they've been tough. They're always tough but this year I'm hearing they've been particularly challenging, especially the English paper which maybe had one or two trick questions which certainly doesn't seem fair.
"I think they are important. I just wish they didn't need to be so stressful. Maybe they can be more like the SATs taken in year two where they're marked internally and the kids get a little more time.
The National Association of Head Teachers, which represents heads at the majority of primary schools, said it plans to raise the issue with the exams team at schools regulator Ofqual.
Sarah Hannafin, the union's head of policy, said:
"We are very concerned about reports from our members about the Sats reading paper.
"Members have told us that the choice of texts was not accessible for the wide range of experiences and backgrounds children have and the difficulty was beyond previous tests, leaving children upset, and with even staff struggling to understand the questions.
"We will definitely raise these concerns with the Standards and Testing Agency and also the Ofqual National Assessments team."
Sats, or Standard Assessment Tests, are used to measure children's English and maths skills in Year 2 and Year 6, and consist of six 45-minute papers.
The Department for Education (DfE) website says Sats are meant to "measure school performance and to make sure individual pupils have the support that they need as they move into secondary school".
A DfE spokesperson said:
"Key Stage 2 assessments play a vital role in understanding pupils' progress and identifying those who may have fallen behind, so they can be provided with extra support if needed.
"Our test development process is extremely rigorous and includes reviews by a large number of education and inclusion experts and professionals including teachers, and we trial tests with hundreds of pupils over several years to ensure that all tests are appropriate.
"It's important that schools encourage pupils to do their best but preparing for these exams should not be at the expense of their wellbeing."