Thousands of children who fail maths and English tests in primary school will be forced by the Tories to re-sit them to ensure they can read, write and add up. David Cameron will today announce that all children who do not pass their tests aged 11 will have to take them again in the first year of secondary school, when they are 12. Around 100,000 pupils a year do not pass the English and maths tests before they leave primary school. The Prime Minister said these children will be given extra help and support to ensure they do not fall behind in secondary school. Thousands of children who fail maths and English tests in primary school will be forced by the Tories to re-sit them to ensure they can read, write and add up (file picture) ‘The Conservatives are the union for parents,’ he said. ‘We represent every hardworking mother and father who wants to see their child succeed in a great school. ‘These past five years have been about getting changes in place which stretch our children – and the results have been extraordinary. The next five will be about finishing the job. More discipline, more rigour, zero-tolerance of failure and mediocrity. ‘There’s hardly anything more important to our long-term economic plan for Britain. ‘There is no job that doesn’t require English and maths and this is about making sure every child gets the best start in life and that our country can compete in the world.’ From 2016, if the Tories win the election, any pupil who does not achieve a good pass in English and maths tests taken at age 11, will be required to take a resit test in the first year of secondary school. These resit tests will be designed to make sure that pupils who leave primary school without being able to read, write and add up properly have caught up by age 12. Statistics from the Department for Education show that around 100,000 young people - one in five - fail to reach the expected standard in English and Maths at the age of 11. Of these children, only 7 per cent go on to get five good GCSEs including English and maths – compared to 72 per cent of their classmates who do make the grade. David Cameron will today announce that all children who do not pass their tests aged 11 will have to take them again in the first year of secondary school, when they are 12 . Secondary schools currently receive a £500 ‘catch-up premium’ for any child who arrives without having met the expected standard by the time they leave primary school. The Conservatives hope the new resit tests will ensure that secondary schools are using the money effectively and getting young people to where they need to be to succeed throughout rest of their school career. Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary, said: ‘We know that the biggest predictor of success at GCSE is whether young people have mastered the basics at age 11. ‘That means if we fail to get it right for young people at the start of secondary school they’ll struggle for the rest of their time in education. ‘Under Labour one in three children left primary school unable to read, write and add up properly, thanks to our reforms and teachers’ hard work we’ve seen that fall just to one in five. ‘But even one child falling behind, or being written off, is a child too many. That’s why the next Conservative Government will require schools to enter any child who doesn’t have the literacy and numeracy skills they need to succeed in secondary school, for new year seven resit tests that will guarantee they’ve caught up. Around 100,000 pupils a year do not pass the English and maths tests before they leave primary school (file picture) The resit tests will be slimmed down literacy and numeracy checks containing content from the assessments taken in the last year of primary school, as well as some content from the curriculum of the first year in secondary school. Schools will be able to enter students twice for the new tests in either spring or summer term of the first secondary school year. The tests will be marked by teachers and publicly reported as part of school performance tables. Last night Tristram Hunt, Labour’s education spokesman, said: ‘This is desperate attempt by the Tories to try to overshadow their failures on school standards. ‘On their watch, 1.6million pupils are being educated in schools that are rated lower than “good” by Ofsted. And as a result of David Cameron’s unqualified teachers policy, more than 400,000 pupils are being taught by unqualified teachers. ‘Labour has a better plan for education. We will ensure that every teacher is qualified or working towards qualified teacher status and introduce a new Master Teacher status to raise the standing of the profession. That is how we improve education for every child, in every classroom.’
David Cameron to announce that children will have to retake the three Rs . Children who do not pass tests aged 11 will sit them again the next year . About 100,000 pupils a year do not pass primary school English and maths . These children will be given extra help to stop them falling behind, PM says .