Educational news about Personality development, career guidance, Leadership Skills and more in Edubilla.com ...

Education Secretary announces plan for compulsory re-sits in secondary school for pupils who fall behind in English and maths tests at the end of primary school.

More than 100,000 children who fail their primary school Sats tests every year will be forced to re-sit the assessments when they start secondary school.

Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary, drew up the plan to help pupils who are at risk of falling behind their classmates because they have failed to gain a good grasp of reading, writing and arithmetic.

Teachers’ unions have criticised the testing regime for putting children under too much “stress” and denying pupils a more rounded education, as more lessons focus on English and maths.However, Mrs Morgan said forcing pupils to re-take the tests at the beginning of their secondary education would help more children make progress in basic numeracy and literacy, which are essential for studying other subjects. The new re-sits policy is expected to come into force across England from 2017.

“English and maths are the non-negotiables of a good education,” Mrs Morgan said. “Since 2010 primary teachers have led a revolution in school standards with 90,000 more pupils now starting secondary with a good grasp of the basics.

“But there are still too many 11-year-olds struggling to read, write or add up properly. That’s why, as part of our commitment to extend opportunity and give every child a fair shot we are introducing these resits.

“They will guarantee pupils at risk of falling behind receive extra help and are given the best possible chance to succeed.”