Labour under fire for touchscreen assessment plans for four-year-olds
The Department for Education (DfE) has written new guidelines, to come into effect from the next term, requiring schools to assess reception-age pupils using screens.
Campaigners have said that the change 'implicitly endorses and normalises device use in reception classes' and risks 'undermining the rights of parents' to restrict their children's screen time.
Politicians, teachers and campaigners sent a letter to the Education Secretary and Peter Kyle, the Technology Secretary, urging that the guidance be immediately revoked.
Signatories include Katharine Birbalsingh, known as Britain's strictest headteacher, Justine Roberts, the founder of Mumsnet, and Sophie Winkleman.
The letter said: 'We are united in our deep concern at this retrograde step which pushes our youngest schoolchildren, the majority of whom will be just four years old, on to touchscreen devices, and which implicitly endorses and normalises device use in reception classes.'
The new statutory Reception Baseline Assessment will involve a teacher using a device to conduct the assessment, with the child carrying out the test with a second touchscreen device.
The assessment, done within six weeks of a child starting at reception, has usually involved the use of toys and teddy bears.
The Government now says: 'Your child will complete the assessment by: using a touchscreen device; answering questions verbally with the teacher; working with materials given to them by the school.'
A spokesman for the DfE defended the guidance, telling The Telegraph that 'digital assessments reduce the administrative burden on teachers, freeing up their time to focus more on teaching and supporting pupils' learning.'
Campaigners said that, with some exceptions for children with special educational needs, a screen-based assessment 'can only be inferior' to the previous model.
They added that doing so risks 'undermining the rights of parents to raise their children in a screen-free, or 'screen-lite', environment, as many are now choosing to do'.
'Protect childhood'
The letter has also been backed by Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, as well as other MPs from the Conservatives, Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats.
Ms Trott told The Telegraph: 'Testing children as young as four on screens, instead of using books or physical objects, undermines their development. The evidence of lasting damage to children so young is now overwhelming. We must change course and protect childhood.
'We've sleepwalked into a society where children are increasingly glued to screens rather than engaging with the world and each other.'
The Conservatives are working to ban smartphones in schools and stop exam boards from shifting assessments to online-only.
Ms Trott said: 'If we don't act now, future generations will not forgive us.'
Mr Kyle has repeatedly stated the Government's aim to protect children from online harms, including restricting their time on social media.
Earlier this month, it was reported that he was considering introducing a time limit on social media apps for children and a 10pm curfew.
A spokesman for the DfE said: 'Giving every child the best start in life is central to our mission to break the link between background and success, and our Plan for Change will help get thousands more children school-ready by age five.
'These assessments give a clear picture of children's abilities when they start reception to measure progress by the end of primary school. They are carried out one-on-one with a teacher, so for children who are unable to use a device, verbal responses can be input by their teacher, and paper-based versions are available.
'Digital assessments reduce the administrative burden on teachers, freeing up their time to focus more on teaching and supporting pupils' learning.'
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