John Swinney told to 'listen and learn' on primary one testing as he heads for Holyrood defeat

John Swinney has been urged to "listen and learn" by suspending primary one testing ahead a Holyrood vote on Wednesday in which he is facing a humiliating defeat.

Liz Smith, the Scottish Tories' Shadow Education Minister, said Mr Swinney should "stop the bluster" and heed the concerns of teachers and parents.

She argued the Education Minister should follow the example set by her party, which she said had started opposing P1 testing over the last two years after listening to the evidence.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats ramped up the pressure on Mr Swinney to accept parliament's will after he refused to confirm if he would respect the result of the vote.

The motion on which MSPs will be voting this afternoon calls for the Education Minister to halt the tests, rather than scrap them completely, and look again at the evidence and "whole approach" to assessing P1 youngsters.

It cites the concerns of teachers, who have complained the standardised assessments have left four and five-year-olds in tears and are a "useless" way to test a child's ability.

Mr Swinney invited all MSPs to a "drop-in demonstration session" of the tests, performed by his civil servants, in a last-ditch attempt to win over opposition MSPs.

But the Tories, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens are expected to unite to defeat the minority SNP government following a debate.

Although not binding on the Scottish Government, ignoring the vote would leave the SNP politically isolated with a boycott campaign already underway.

Mr Swinney admitted at the weekend that parents could withdraw their children from the tests following a discussion with the school's headteacher.

A key pillar of Nicola Sturgeon's education policy, she has argued the assessments allow teachers to identify at the earlier opportunity potential problems for children. 

The Scottish Conservatives remain supportive of testing at P4, P7 and S3 level, but want P1 tests to be dropped.

Ms Smith said: "Parents and teachers are all raising concerns about the way these are being introduced. And the truth is it would be irresponsible not to listen to them.

"It is time the SNP’s bluster on this important issue stops. We have listened and learned. Today’s debate is a chance for the SNP to do the same.”

Iain Gray, Scottish Labour's education spokesman, said: “Instead of showing humility and admitting he got it wrong, the Education Secretary has again pressed on with a failing policy."

Referring to this afternoon's vote, he added: "If the SNP government were to ignore such a vote it would simply underline how out of touch ministers are on education.”

Tavish Scott, his Scottish Liberal Democrat counterpart, added: "When parliament votes with teachers and parents to halt national tests for 5-year-olds, the government must accept that view.”

Upstart Scotland, which campaigns for learning through play and is leading the boycott campaign, said it hoped the SNP government "comes to its senses."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Standardised assessments are delivered as part of everyday learning and provide consistent evidence for teachers to identify the next steps in a child's education, which is especially valuable in the early years if we are to continue to close the attainment gap. 

"Enhancements and improvements this year will provide a better experience for younger pupils and extra reassurance to teachers and parents."