§ Lady Olga MaitlandTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will give details of the representations he has had from teachers' unions regarding the Dearing report; and if he will list the unions which have declared a refusal to carry out the revised tests.
§ Mr. Robin SquireMy right hon. Friend has recently met representatives of the teachers' unions to discuss the Dearing report. While the declared policy of the National Union of Teachers, the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers is that a boycott is still in place, the unions have indicated that they wish to consider their position in the light of the sample tests and other guidance that have been sent to schools by the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority this month.