As the holidays begin it is hard to believe we end the school year with more confusion and distress for our children. We do not expect perfection from Ed Balls but a degree of competence is not only expected but essential if he is to continue to run the education system. In May I and others given the information schools were providing suggest to him and his Minister Jim Knight there were problems with the company marking SATs. Parents and teachers were assured there was no problem, all was on line for the results and yet we now have one of the most serious “mess ups” I can remember in over 30 years of parental involvement in schools. Two things are needed, one to abolish the tests and return to the tried and tested method of teacher assessment, no stress for children and parents and part of the teachers work to inform lesson planning and individual support for learning, two to abolish league tables. If we cannot trust our highly trained and competent teachers, and I believe we can, then there is something wrong with the teacher training programe. This years tests must be abandoned we have no confidence in the quality of marking and no true result to allow league tables to be produced, thank goodness for small mercies. The question is are SATs there to improve standards or provide government headlines in the press one suspects the later. If all parents were to boycott next years test we would have no more teaching to tests, allowing teachers to use their flair and imagination making learning more interesting and exiting for children. Finally in another profession continual mistakes in management would mean either the person in charges dismissal or re-training which would Mr Balls prefer.