AN EDUCATION campaigner has criticised parents' plans to keep their children out of school in protests at tests.

Former headteacher Chris McGovern said using "child soldiers on the educational battlefield is a sure way of upsetting their sanity and wellbeing" as hundreds gathered in Brighton and some warned they will continue to keep their youngsters at home.

Some parents warned they could take their children out of school for a week in an escalation of the Sats strikes after Brighton hosted one of the biggest education protests in the country yesterday with 500 parents and children gathering in Preston Park to voice their disapproval at current Government policy.

But Mr McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, told The Argus: "Who will take responsibility in ten year’s time when today’s seven-year-old is about to leave school without having mastered basic literacy and numeracy? At Preston Park Children's laureate Chris Riddell told campaigners the strike would help teach children an important lesson about the power of protest.

Organiser Nupur Verma said parents had indicated they would take children out of school throughout the Sats exams.

But councillor Tom Bewick, chairman of the council’s children, young people and skills committee, warned parents that further strike action would damage pupil development, the city’s reputation and individual school’s Ofsted ratings.

Parents yesterday defied warnings they would face fines of £60 for taking their children out of school.

Some parents said school headteachers had been sympathetic to the action, only marking children as unauthorised absences.

Polly Charlton, who has a child at Hertford Infant and Nursery School, said six and seven-year-old pupils were feeling “extremely stressed” ahead of the exams.

She added: “I’m prepared to take the risk of being fined.

“I feel supported by all these other people here, what are they going to do, fine everybody?

“If the Government does not take notice of this, then there is something very wrong with democracy.”

Mother-of-two Ellie Hipkin said: “The changes to Sats exams means children are going to be judged adequate or inadequate.

“You will have a generation of children who are going to be totally uninspired by education and I just think that is heartbreaking.”

Mr Riddell said: “I heard a junior minister on the radio saying that this would affect their educational development not just for today but for the rest of their lives.

“I completely agree with him, I think our kids are going to learn an incredible important lesson about protest and what to do if there is something you disagree with.”

Cllr Bewick said the decision about whether parents would be fined would ultimately rest with headteachers.

He said: “I absolutely agree with concerns about over-testing but I cannot condone or agree with classroom boycotts, as an elected public official I cannot condone breaking the law.

“Not only would an ongoing strike actually damage children’s education, I think it would create a very negative reputation for the city in how we are managing the educational system and could let in outside interests into how we are running our schools.”

Nick Gibb, schools minister and Bognor Regis and Littlehampton MP, said: “All pupils should be in school today.

“Keeping children away will heighten anxiety and prevent us identifying those needing extra help.”

See page 10 for Argus opinion.