The government’s plans to assess four and five-year-old children in their first few weeks of school from September should be postponed, according to a report from the More Than A Score campaign group.

A YouGov survey of 2,012 parents in England with children aged 4 to 11 suggests that only 15% think spending time preparing for assessments should be included in a “catch-up” programme for pupils.

The poll found that 67% of parents would prefer the programme to include their children participating in activities which were not accessible during lockdown, most of which take place outside of the classroom such as drama, outdoor play and group sports.

The More Than A Score report urges the government to pause the introduction of the RBA, as well as SATs and all other statutory assessments in Years 1, 2, 4 and 6, including the phonics and times tables checks.

Alison Ali, a spokesperson for More Than A Score, said: “Everyone’s talking about catch-up and lost learning. At More Than A Score, we say there’s a simple solution for primary schools: don’t bring back Sats and the other assessments children have to sit in five out of seven years.

“Cancelling them for two years has had zero negative impact. Keeping them out of schools will give teachers and children the time they need to bridge learning gaps and focus on wellbeing.

“Change to the system is long overdue and any focus on true recovery is incomplete without an acknowledgement of this.

“The chorus of parents, heads, children, unions, MPs and dozens of organisations working in the field agree: the time has come to turn the page on the current primary assessment regime.”

In response, a Department for Education (DfE) spokesman said: “Assessments are designed to enable teachers to track pupils’ progress, helping to make sure they stay on track to fulfil their potential throughout school.

“Our reforms are helping to ensure children leave primary school with a secure grasp of reading, writing and mathematics, as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.

“We have already invested £1.7 billion in ambitious catch-up activity, and are working with parents, teachers and schools to develop a long-term plan to make sure all pupils have the chance to recover from the impact of the pandemic as quickly and comprehensively as possible.”

Around two in three teachers (68%) believe pupils should be supported through sport and exercise and increased creative and practical learning (66%), the poll found.

It comes after the Secretary for Education, Gavin Williamson, confirmed that changes to the summer holidays and longer school days had not been ruled out of the recovery plan which aims to help pupils make up for time missed in the classroom.

However, the survey from the National Education Union indicates that more than four in five teachers believe education providers should be given the flexibility to decide what is important for their students learning and wellbeing.

The poll found that only 2% of teachers, school leaders and support staff believe lengthening the school days or term times is an important way of supporting pupils who have missed in-person learning as a result of school closures throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government has announced £1.7 billion of “catch up” funding for schools in England, as well as summer schools for pupils in greatest need of support.

However, 68% of the 10,700 NEU members surveyed believe the Downing Street should focus on reducing levels of child poverty to help support the recovery of those children most impacted by the pandemic.

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: “Learning has continued throughout lockdown, although precious little appears to have occurred at the Department for Education.

“The message is clear: we need to steer a course beyond Covid which rights the historic faults of the education system in this country and the distorted priorities of those who run it.

“If the Government is serious about building back better, then they should take on board these views.

“Education professionals have been on the frontline, either virtual or physical, throughout the last 12 months and it is their insights on what has worked best that should be taken forward.”

Rapid testing allows for positive cases of Covid-19 to be detected in under 30 minutes, helping prevent the spread of the virus. Tests will be provided to pupils’ households, as well as those in their childcare or support bubbles, regardless of whether anyone has symptoms, the government announced over the weekend.

According to the Department of Health and Social Care, the rapid tests will be ordered and collected from local sites or administered through workplace testing programmes. Students within secondaries and colleges will receive three initial tests at school, before taking them at home twice each week. Anyone who tests positive will need a secondary PCR test to confirm the result of their home test.

The government believes that this can be the difference between children being able to stay in school, or a class being sent home due to an outbreak.

Announcing the plans, Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Regular testing of households and childcare support bubbles of primary and secondary school children is another tool we are making available to help keep schools safe. We know that one in three people with COVID-19 don’t have any symptoms, so targeted, regular testing will mean more positive cases are kept out of schools and colleges.

“As we continue to roll out the vaccine, testing offers us a way forward. Sustained and repeated testing for people without symptoms has a critical role to play as sections of society are reopened by driving down transmission rates.

“By everyone playing their part and getting tested regularly, vital public services, workplaces and educational settings can stay open and running, and we can move closer to a more normal way of life.”

The development comes as the number of daily cases identified in the UK continues to decline, with Saturday’s data showing the lowest number of daily infections since October last year.

Rapid, regular testing for students is one of a range of new measures designed to minimise the spread of the virus and support the successful return of more learners to face-to-face education and childcare settings.

The 135 school leaders, the majority of which are from independent schools, signed a letter calling for staff within the education sector to be vaccinated.

In the letter, coordinated by William Goldsmith, headmaster of St George’s School Windsor Castle, they said: “This is saving lives, bringing light to a dark period for many and giving hope that pupils will be back in their schools without any further delay.

“To support this mission, we urge the government to vaccinate all teachers and school staff, along with other priority groups of workers.

“The emotional and social wellbeing of young people is a significant concern to us, and every day we see the need for pupils to be in school; with each hour that passes the need to be back with their peers and teachers grows stronger.

“Teachers have demonstrated that they are ready for the challenge ahead; without neglecting anyone’s safety, reopening schools from March 8 should be the priority under any circumstance.”

The Labour Party has suggested that once those in the first four categories have been vaccinated, the February half-term, which begins on Monday, was the opportune time for teachers and support staff to receive the jab.

However, Boris Johnson has rejected this proposal, warning that is risked “delaying our route out of lockdown” by diverting vaccines away from some of those most likely to need hospital treatment or die. The Prime Minister has previously said at a Downing Street press conference that he hopes to start reopening schools in England by 8th March at the earliest.

A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to reopening schools as soon as the public health picture allows, and will set out further plans for education settings, parents, pupils and students as soon as possible, providing as much notice as we can.

“We continue to follow the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, whose priority list is designed by experts and clinicians to prioritise those at greatest risk from coronavirus.”

Published yesterday, the report found that nearly half of parents who responded to Ofsted’s survey said that keeping their child focused on studying was a top concern, along with motivation and having enough contact with teachers.

This view was echoed by school leaders, with many working hard to increase pupils’ engagement and to find better ways for pupils and teachers to interact.

The study also found that more than half of parents of a pupil with special educational needs said that their child has been disengaged with remote learning.

Whilst maintaining focus was of major concern to parents and leaders, three fifths of teachers surveyed said they were confident they were providing a high-quality remote education when this was needed. However, the study highlights that schools are at different stages of development, and there is wide variability in the remote learning on offer.

In response to the reports finding, her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, said:

“While remote education will help to mitigate the learning lost when children are out of the classroom, it’s clear that pupils’ motivation and engagement remain issues. These, along with the pressure remote learning places on teachers and parents, are proving real barriers to children’s learning and development.

“Despite the challenges, I am impressed by the flexibility and innovation shown by teachers and leaders involved in our research. I hope these insights will be valuable to schools that are still developing their own remote education offer.

“My thanks to all the teachers and school leaders across the country whose continued efforts mean that children can still receive a quality education, even in such difficult circumstances.’

The Health Secretary said “by far” the fastest rise in coronavirus infection rates in those areas was in 11 to 18-year-olds. Therefore, this age group should be tested regardless of symptoms, he said.

Speaking at a Downing Street briefing yesterday evening, Hancock insisted that action needs to be taken now in order to curb the number of infections among young people before it spreads to the elderly and vulnerable.

The government will deploy rapid lateral flow tests, designed to provide results within half an hour, to secondary schools across London boroughs with the highest infection rates in an attempt to control the surge in cases and prevent the capital from being placed into Tier Three restrictions over the Christmas period.

It is also a final attempt by Number 10 to keep all schools open throughout the second wave of the pandemic.

Hancock said: “We want to keep schools open because that’s both right for education and for public health. We are therefore securing mobile testing units and will be working with schools and local authorities to encourage these children and families to get tested in the coming days.

‘We know from experience that a sharp rise in cases in younger people can lead to a rise amongst more vulnerable age groups later. We’ve seen that happen before. So, we need to do everything we can to stop the spread amongst school age children in London.’

Mr Hancock added: ‘I want to urge all those involved to step forward for the testing. It’s important that 11-18year olds get tested in these boroughs irrespective of if they have symptoms.

‘One in three people with COVID have no symptoms at all, but can still pass it on to others and I know that nobody wants to be responsible for endangering those around them so I urge everyone involved to get a test.’

The government’s strategy of ‘surge testing’ has proven effective in areas such a Liverpool and Leicester.

The football star has been campaigning for the government to extend its free school meals support, an initiative which has been met with overwhelming support from charities, individuals and local authorities across the United Kingdom.

Following his team’s premier league clash against Everton on Saturday, Rashford received a personal phone call from Prime Minister Boris Johnson who pledged a £170 million to the COVID-19 Winter Grant Scheme; designed to support children, families and the most vulnerable over winter. The scheme comprises a range of measures to help tackle poor health, hunger and education.

Making the announcement, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said: “We want to make sure vulnerable people feel cared for throughout this difficult time and, above all, no one should go hungry or be unable to pay their bills this winter.”

In response to the announcement, Rashford released the following statement: “Following the game today, I had a good conversation with the Prime Minister to better understand the proposed plan, and I very much welcome the steps that have been taken to combat child food poverty in the UK.

“There is still so much more to do, and my immediate concern is the approximate 1.7 million children who miss out on free school meals, holiday provision and Healthy Start vouchers because their family income isn’t quite low enough, but the intent the Government have shown today is nothing but positive and they should be recognised for that.

“The steps made today will improve the lives of near 1.7 million children in the UK over the next 12 months, and that can only be celebrated.”

The U-turn comes following a controversial vote in the House of Commons where Conservative MPs voted down a Labour motion that would see the state feed more than 1.4 million children during school breaks right through to Easter next year.

In response, Rashford intensified his campaign and attracted more than one million signatures to an online petition – piling pressure on Downing Street to pledge an increased level of support.

The 2021 exams will go ahead, but the majority of tests will be pushed back to give pupils more time to catch up on their learning following school closures.

In a written statement on Monday, Mr Williamson said: “I can confirm that GCSE, AS and A level exams in 2021 will go ahead, with most exams moved back three weeks next year to give students more time to prepare and a chance to catch up on education lost due to COVID-19.

“We know that exams are the fairest way of measuring a student’s abilities and accomplishments, including the most disadvantaged.”

The summer exam series will start on 7 June and end on 2 July for almost all A levels and GCSEs. One maths and one English GCSE exam will be held just before the May half-term, giving any Year 11 pupils who are affected by Covid-19 “the best possible chance” of still sitting a paper in each of these core subjects.

Results days are Tuesday 24 August for A levels and Friday 27 August for GCSEs, allowing students to start the following academic year as normal.

The DfE said there would be back-up plans in case exams were disrupted, but that students, teachers and parents would have to wait until “later in the autumn” to find out what they are.

In response to the announcement, a group of leading education unions have urged the Government to cut down the exam syllabus and give pupils greater choice over the topics they answer questions on – a proposal the Government has rejected at this stage.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL school leadership union, said he was “dismayed” by the announcement, and said delaying the start if exams would be “of marginal benefit when compared to the loss of learning from the national lockdown and ongoing disruption”.

“It has taken the government an eternity to reach a very inadequate response to the scale of the challenge which lies ahead for students who are taking GCSEs and A-levels next year.”

The announcement comes following the fiasco around grading of GCSE and A-level students this summer after exams were cancelled amid COVID-19. Thousands of A-level students had their results downgraded from school estimates by an algorithm, before England’s exams regulator Ofqual announced a U-turn allowing them to use teachers’ predictions.

During his time advising the former prime minister, Timothy was widely regarded as the driving force behind the controversial plan to bring back grammar schools, before resigning in 2017 after the Conservative Party lost their majority at the general election that year.

Timothy was also a fierce critic of the higher education sector.

In reaction to the appointment, a DfE spokesperson said: “Nick Timothy will bring a range of experience that will support our work as we continue to develop our world-leading education system.”

In addition to his new role with the government’s education department, Mr Timothy is a visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield, and formerly a Director of the New Schools Network (NSN), a charity that helps people set up free schools.

He a newspaper columnist, author and a member of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.

Led by the University College London (UCL), the study found that school closures alone were predicted to reduce deaths by 2% to 4% amid the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK, which is less than other social distancing measures.

The researchers examined 16 studies of recent outbreaks of other forms of the coronavirus, including the 2003 Sars epidemic in mainland China, Singapore and Hong Kong, and concluded that school closures did not help control the spread of the epidemic.

The published report concluded that other social distancing measures should be introduced such as increasing spacing between students in class and closing school playgrounds.

Lead researcher, Russell Viner, a professor at Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (part of UCL), said: “We know from previous studies that school closures are likely to have the greatest effect if the virus has low transmissibility and attack rates are higher in children. This is the opposite of COVID-19.

“Data on the benefit of school closures in the COVID-19 outbreak is limited but what we know shows that their impact is likely to be only small compared to other infection control measures such as case isolation and is only effective when other social isolating measures are adhered to.”

He continued: “With nearly 90% of the world’s students (more than a billion-and-a-half young people) out of school, more data and robust modelling studies are urgently needed to help us identify how countries can, in time, safely return students to education.”

However, Professor Neil Ferguson, who has been advising the government on strategies to tackle the pandemic, insists school closures play an important role in preventing the spread of the virus.

Schools are in their third week of lockdown but are able to remain open to look after the children of key workers. It is expected that a review of this policy will take place after the Easter break.

A government spokesperson stated: “Schools will remain closed until further notice, except for children of critical workers and the children who are most vulnerable. We will reopen schools when the scientific advice indicates it is safe to do so.”