A new method of testing school pupils will be outlined this week as part of the Government's ten-year Children's Plan.

As part of the plan, of which details will be published on Tuesday, the new system will herald the end of the current one of national Sats tests for 11-year-olds.

On Sunday, Children's Secretary Ed Balls said he wants a more "flexible" assessment regime, allowing pupils to take tests when they are ready instead of at a fixed age.

And he acknowledged it is "time for a change" in the way children are tested and ordered a full-scale overhaul of the primary school curriculum.

His remarks follow years of campaigning by teachers' unions and a flurry of reports warning that the pressure to perform in tests is damaging children's education.

Last week, headteachers warned that schools felt under so much pressure that some teachers had even resorted to cheating in order to boost Sats results.

Mr Balls said he would not be abolishing national tests completely because parents "want to know not only about their child but how their school is doing".

However stating the need for some change, he continued:

"Our Children's Plan will pave the way for a change away from the rigidity of the national testing we have at the moment - which says that every child does the same test at the same age - towards testing which is more in line with the needs of the child."

This will involve children taking the tests "when they're ready at the level which makes sense for them".

"I think if we do this it will be much more popular with parents and with teachers but still give us the comparative information school by school," Mr Balls added.

The proposal is being examined in a pilot project under way in 500 schools which will allow pupils to take two shorter tests when they are ready, instead of one longer test fixed at age 11.

Pupils could sit their tests either in the summer or the winter, instead of all during one week in May.

The reforms are intended to stop teachers spending too much time drilling pupils to pass their tests because children will only sit the assessments when their teachers believe they are ready.

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