My colleague Jane Fisher, who teaches Year 2 at Hovingham Primary School, sent me this message over the weekend...

"Dear Chris, It so saddens and frustrates me that Ofsted now seem to being going to judge schools with their key focus being SATs results. How sad..... education is about so much more. Surely in the light of the Rose report they should begin to understand the important of raising a child's emotional intelligence alongside their academic achievements. If we focus on SATs results we can miss so much of the other wonderful things that children are achieving. You might like to look at my website, which I have just updated with a small part of what is happening at Hovingham. http://www.super-school.co.uk/page_917843.html .
All the best, Jane."

Jane is right, we need to build a more intelligent accountability system where we look at what schools are doing for children, families and communities. That doesn't of course mean that every child shouldn't be a reader, a writer, a storyteller, a maths wiz and connected to the world of ICT, of course they should... but they must also understand right and wrong and be an artist, a singer, a dancer, a friend and supporter of others, an ambassador for peace, truth and justice, an eco-warrior caring for their environment and a brilliant little learner with high expectations and high self-esteem. Makes you realise what a brilliant job our primary schools do!
Chris