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<p>Assessment is a crucial part of a child’s schooling and fundamental in a high-performing
education system. At primary school, statutory assessments are an essential part of
ensuring that all pupils master the basics of reading, writing and maths to prepare
them for secondary school. Assessment data also enables parents, schools and the department
to understand the impact of lost time in education and recovery initiatives.</p><p>Schools
should encourage pupils to work hard and achieve well, but the department does not
recommend that they devote excessive preparation time to assessments, and certainly
not at the expense of pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. We trust schools to administer
assessments in the appropriate way.</p><p>Research conducted by UCL Institute of Education,
published in 2021, found that there was ‘little evidence to changes in [pupil] wellbeing
around the time of key stage 2 tests, or that children in England become happier -
either in general or about school - once these tests are over’.</p><p>Nevertheless,
the department knows that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on the mental health
and wellbeing of children and young people and will have an impact in the longer-term.
Mental health and wellbeing are a priority for the government, and we remain committed
to promoting and supporting mental health and wellbeing support in schools and colleges.
In May 2021, the department announced an investment of over £17 million of mental
health funding to improve mental health and wellbeing support in schools and colleges.
This includes £9.5 million dedicated to training senior mental health leads in over
8,000 schools and colleges, with an additional £3 million announced this year to extend
this training to even more schools and colleges. The training will equip leads with
the skills and knowledge to develop a culture and ethos that promotes positive mental
health wellbeing, as well as how to make the best use of local resources to support
children and young people experiencing issues such as anxiety.</p><p>The department
has also recently brought together all its sources of advice for schools and colleges
into a single site on GOV.UK, which includes signposting to external sources of mental
health and wellbeing support for teachers, school staff and school leaders. The site
is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-in-schools-and-colleges#mental-health-and-wellbeing-resources"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-in-schools-and-colleges#mental-health-and-wellbeing-resources</a>.
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