Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to carry out further consultation on primary assessment in England.

On 30 March, the Department published two consultation documents setting out proposals to improve statutory assessment in our primary schools.

The first of these documents, ‘Primary assessment in England,’ set out wide ranging proposals designed to ensure that we have a settled, proportionate statutory assessment system that supports all pupils to fulfil their potential. The second document sought views on the recommendations made by the independent Rochford Review in relation to statutory assessment arrangements for pupils working below the standard of National Curriculum tests.

Following a 12 week consultation period, we are now considering the responses we have received to those consultation documents and the Government response will be published in due course. We currently have no plans to carry out further formal public consultation exercises on primary assessment, although we will continue to listen to the views of stakeholders, and especially head teachers and teachers.