Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the statutory basis for any obligation on (a) parents and (b) guardians to allow a child to take an assessment test before that child has reached the compulsory school age is.
The compulsory school age is five under section 8 of the Education Act 1996. Whilst the reception year is not compulsory, children who are aged four who are enrolled in a reception class in a state-funded school are still covered by the requirements under the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework within the Childcare Act 2006. This includes assessments carried out in the reception year.