THERE are no mistakes in schools - only lessons to be learnt.
This is the message from head teachers' leader Desmond Harrison, the new president of the National Association of Head Teachers.
He has called for an end to testing young children, and has slammed ministers obsession with trying to measure everything in education.
Dr Harrison told the union's annual conference in Harrogate that the youngest children should be taught in the smallest classes and that no pupil should be in a class of more than 30.
"Learning is not about tests for tots," he said.
"There are no mistakes in schools - only lessons to be learnt.
"We are knowledge creators. What we do often remains invisible and intangible.
"Yet government has a continuing obsession with leaving no person under tested.
"Those for whom classroom visits are occasional photo opportunities often reflect most enthusiasm for testing regimes - not classroom teachers."
Dr Hamilton suggested that the best way to organise classes would be to multiply a child's age by two, so a five-year-old would be in a class of 10 pupils.
"Let's make 30 pupils the maximum number of pupils anywhere," he said.
"Let's liberate teaching and learning from the shackles of testing, targets and tick-boxes.
"Assessment is for learning, not for league tables."
The conference was also due to hear calls for reforms to the way schools are inspected by Ofsted.
