FIFE Council has voted to end standardised testing for primary one pupils in a Scottish first.

Disagreement between the SNP and Labour’s power-sharing administration led Labour to vote alongside the LibDems in a key vote on halting the assessments on Thursday.

The result came in at 41 votes to 26.

Schools are expected to revert to the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS) system previously used across the region from next year.

The local authority said: “At a meeting of Fife Council earlier today, councillors agreed to withdraw from the P1 Scottish National Standardised Assessments scheme and replace it with PIPS assessments from the beginning of school session 2019-20.

“Scottish National Standardised Assessments will continue for P4, P7 and S3.”

The result was welcomed by LibDem leader Willie Rennie.

The North East Fife MSP commented: “Two months on from the Scottish Parliament’s vote to end the SNP’s national tests for P1s, and in the face of criticism from campaigners, teachers, parents and the EIS union, the Education Secretary continues to stubbornly plod on.

“It is now up to councils to see sense. Fife Council have done the right thing today.”

He went on: “There was a clear majority on Fife Council for ending these tests.

“The SNP/Labour administration now need to work out how they will implement this vote so that no more young children in Fife have to be put through this counterproductive battery of tests.

“I hope that the other councils which have also been exploring putting a stop to this doomed policy will take heart from this vote.”

Education Secretary John Swinney has faced repeated calls to suspend the testing in Scotland’s schools, with children currently assessed in P1 P4, P7 and S3.

Scottish National Standardised Assessments (SNSA) were introduced last year by the Scottish Government in an effort to close the attainment gap in schools.

Although tests had taken place across the country before then, they varied between council areas.

Some teachers claimed pupils had been left shaking, crying and distressed by “unnecessary and cruel” change.

And educational campaign Upstart Scotland – which advocates a new play-based kindergarten stage for pupils up to the age of seven – launched a national postcard push advising parents with concerns to contact councils and withdraw their children from the process altogether.

Earlier this year, Holyrood voted in favour of halting the SNSA for four and five-year-olds, although the 63 to 61 vote was not binding on the Scottish Government.

Following the vote, Swinney – who invited journalists to Holyrood to trial the multiple choice tests, which are carried out on a computer – announced an independent review of national testing for P1 pupils that would be “led by the evidence” and would be able to conclude that the testing regime could be reformed or scrapped altogether.

In the meantime, he has urged schools to continue with the tests this year to avoid “uncertainty and confusion”.

Responding yesterday, he said: “If Fife Council were to revert to their previous systems, P1 pupils would face two assessments per year, rather than the single assessment they currently undertake.

“It is difficult to see how this would address the concerns raised around workload and pupil experience.”

He added: “It is, in fact, the precise opposite of what they claim they are trying to achieve and would cost taxpayers more money to double the tests P1 pupils face. That makes little sense.”

And teaching union EIS said: “EIS said: “While we welcome the council’s decision to scrap SNSAs for P1, this should not be at the cost of a return to Fife’s previous system of over-using standardised assessments – every year with all age groups.”

The union added: “If the council is serious about ensuring that all assessment genuinely supports learning and is committed to relieving the pressure that standardised assessment places on pupils, they should not be replacing SNSAs with a model that is potentially more damaging.”