Daily Mail Editorial, April 22
"In response to Tony Blair's 'education, education, education', members of the National Union of Teachers seem to have come up with a self-indulgent mantra of their own - militancy, militancy, militancy ... It will be obvious to anyone that the interests of children are in danger of being sacrificed to a hardline agenda. Of course, it is unlikely that all of the militants' demands will win union support. But with many schools already struggling to provide all their scheduled lessons, any further disruption would be unacceptable.
"The education secretary, Charles Clarke, wisely decided not to subject himself to the boorish abuse now depressingly traditional at teaching union conferences. But for the sake of Britain's children, he must not fail to bring his much vaunted combativeness to bear against the classroom militants."
Stephen Pollard Times, April 21
"It wouldn't be Easter if the NUT didn't vote to take some kind of action. You can always rely on the NUT to behave like - well, the NUT. [On Sunday] almost every delegate at its conference was to be seen standing up and screaming repeatedly, 'No more Sats' - Sats are national tests in maths and English. The FA is, apparently, considering playing England's match against Slovenia in an empty stadium because of the loutish behaviour of a few yobs last time the team played. Yet NUT members scream and shout every year at their conference - and then we pay them to teach our children.
"The NUT lives only to have something - anything - to boycott, strike against or simply scream about. Testing, publication of exam results, league tables, literacy hours, numeracy hours; it has campaigned against the lot. There has not been a single change in schools which the NUT has not fought against."
Deborah Orr Independent, April 22
"Testing pupils [as young as seven] is madness, but it is a madness that no amount of expert opinion or reasoned debate can purge this government of ... The NUT is a union that has a reputation for being stroppy, Spartist and self-interested. But the interesting thing about this radical solution [boycotting tests for children of seven, 11 and 14], is that it doesn't put the interests of its members first, as unions exist to do. It puts the interests of pupils first. It has to use confrontational, disruptive means to do so, because it is clear that more sedate and civilised means don't work ...
"Statistics aren't knowledge, and statistics say nothing about a child, a school, or a government that those involved at the grass roots don't know already. It is time for education to move away from this awful centralised control and take the lead from pupils' actual needs, instead of pupils' 'needs' being dictated by the system. That teachers have to organise a boycott as the only means of achieving this is a scandal. But the scandal lies in the flinty, unresponsive attitude of government, not in the desperate actions of the union."
Daily Mirror Editorial, April 22
"Striking is never an option for teachers. Their prime concern should always be the education of their pupils and that cannot include refusing to teach them ...
"But the Mirror has huge sympathy with teachers who want to boycott Sats tests. Stopping them won't harm children - in fact, it is likely to help. For decades, one of the Labour party's great principles was that the 11-plus test was wrong. Now a Labour government insists on testing children at seven, 11 and 14. That can put terrible strains on youngsters, their parents and teachers. And it is all done in the name of league tables which remain irrelevant to most families. The NUT is talking sense on this issue. The government should listen."
Journal Editorial, Newcastle, April 22
"The [teaching] profession has a number of grievances with the government, and has, by and large, retained public sympathy up until now. But that will change if the NUT pursues the threat [to] send home pupils if class sizes rise above 27 ...
"The form of industrial action NUT conference delegates voted, narrowly, in favour of - that of sending children home from large classes in rotation - is indefensible. It makes innocent pupils pawns in a fight that is nothing to do with them. It could harm both their education and personal safety. We urge NUT members in the region to look for another way of taking their dispute forward. Teachers will do enormous damage to the standing of their profession, and probably with very little effect, if they do not."
Daily Express Editorial, April 22
"Everyone wants smaller class sizes, but children should not be used as weapons against the government. Militant NUT members who want to refuse to teach classes of more than 27 pupils do not have the welfare of their children at heart. If children are sent home on a rota they will miss lessons. Classroom learning would also become more onerous as teachers would have to help those sent home to catch up.
"Many working parents already struggling with care when their child is sick or on holiday would be unable to cope. Inevitably some children would be left unsupervised. NUT militants should examine their consciences."
