Responding to the announcement of details of the Scottish Government’s review of national testing of P1s, Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie said:

“The Education Secretary is acting in contempt of Parliament and in defiance of what teachers have told us. These tests bring learning to a halt for weeks and add nothing to their knowledge of a child’s progress.

“All over this review are the fingerprints of people who have put on record their unequivocal support for testing four and five-year-olds. They have decided the process, the remit and will be involved in providing support.

“This review is a ploy. John Swinney is desperately trying to find the basis for a policy introduced 18 months ago without a shred of evidence. In the meantime, over fifty thousand P1 children will be tested in breach of the Parliament’s instructions. That is an outrage.”