PLANS to axe tests taken by seven-year-olds have been welcomed by Lancashire headteachers.

Under the plans, the tests - known as SATs - in reading, writing, maths and science will no longer be statutory.

Four and five-year-olds will be assessed by teachers, but they should not know they are being tested, education secretary Justine Greening said as she launched a consultation.

The results will be used as a marker of children's abilities at the start of their schooling and be used to measure the progress they have made at the end of primary school.

It means that schools will be held to account for the progress that children make throughout their primary school career.

SATs for seven-year-olds will go ahead this year, with some improvements, including changes to the type and difficulty of questions at the start of the tests to ensure children are not discouraged by tough questions early on.

The consultation was welcomed by teachers and unions.

Donna McNicoll, headteacher at St Mary's RC Primary School in Haslingden, said: "Testing pupils at seven puts pressure on both children and teachers.

"Currently, staff are having to teach children how to 'do a test' rather than actually teaching to deepen their learning.

"Abolishing SATs means teachers could focus on teaching a broader, wider, relevant curriculum rather than trying to pass a test for league tables.

"A test administered at the start of reception class and key stage two outcomes, along with sensible internal data for years one to five would be a much better option for establishing a baseline for progress measures across the primary phase."

Janet Pay, headteacher at Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church School in Burnley, agreed it was a good move.

"I had a meeting with Julie Cooper MP with most of the other headteachers two weeks ago about the assessment and how strongly we feel about how detrimental they are because of the pressure it is putting on staff and children.

"We have been saying there needs to be some reform to how it is at the moment so this is welcome."

Simon Jones, who represents the National Union of Teachers in the area, said the current system was broken with almost 50 per cent of 11-year-olds labelled failures last year.

He said: "Today’s consultation on primary assessment is a recognition that our children deserve something better.

“Ms Greening has been listening – but only partially. The consultation floats the idea that statutory assessment at key stage one will be set aside, but not until the early 2020s.

"This would be a welcome concession to the thousands of teachers who have protested against the effects of a test-driven curriculum on six and seven year olds."

However he raised concerns about the plans to reintroduce baseline testing for the early years which will 'drive curriculum change towards a narrower early years curriculum' and make the school system accountable if children do not make expected progress.