Dear [Your Teacher/Headteacher]
[I/We] understand that the Department for Education changed the format of the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) for the 2025/2026 academic year so that part of that test now involves reception pupils using a touchscreen device.
[I am/We are] concerned that the inclusion of a screen based element to this assessment for the youngest of school children encourages and embeds an approach to early years education which is at odds with a healthy approach to child development. Normalising touchscreens in foundation-level classrooms sets a terrible precedent and raises unhelpful expectations about our children’s use of touchscreen devices in school, and also at home.
A study of children participating in the new screen-based RBA, undertaken in 2025, conducted by a team of researchers from Leeds Beckett University and University College London, produced alarming results. Every child observed in that study displayed signs of stress and anxiety when completing the touchscreen element of the test. Most critically, the researchers found that the screen-based element of the assessment was producing false indicators, and demanding a level of digital literacy that children of that age should not possess.
As those researchers have subsequently noted, this new approach to the RBA is already misaligned with government guidance on screen use, which states that “good practice if you are using a screen involves adults co-engaging with children, prompting children to think, predict, respond or discuss.” Teachers cannot help, guide or support the child during the screen based RBA because they are obliged to follow a script and not provide any prompting.
As parents we have chosen to limit screentime and [we do not allow our child/children routinely to use] / [are careful to limit our use of] touchscreen devices at home. There is considerable evidence that even limited screen use for young children carries negative impacts spanning cognitive, linguistic and emotional development, early educational attainment, motor development and handwriting.
For these reasons, [I/we] wish to opt [my/our] child out of the digital element of the RBA, which I understand [I am/we are] entitled to request. Please could you kindly confirm that XXXX [insert child’s name] will be opted out of the touchscreen element of the test as requested?
Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]