§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has had from, and what meetings he has had with, parent-teacher associations on the subject of testing in schools; and what consideration he is giving to their views.
§ Mr. ForthMy right hon. Friend has received a number of letters from parent-teacher associations in recent months. He last met the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations (NCPTA) on 26 April. He has also met a delegation from Parents' Initiative, and gave a speech at the annual conference of the Campaign for Real Education on 17 April.
All these occasions allowed my right hon. Friend to speak to parents, and to seek their views on the subject of testing. We recognise that parents have an essential role to play in the education process: we want actively to engage them in it.
492WMy right hon. Friend has asked Sir Ron Dearing, the chairman designate of the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority, to conduct a wide-ranging review of the manageability of the national curriculum and the associated testing and assessment framework. Parent-teacher associations should make their views known to him.