For those opposed to standardised assessments in Scottish primary schools the latest tweak to the way the P1 tests will be delivered has not gone down well.

John Swinney, the Education Secretary, said improved guidance for teachers would help them support children during the assessments to prevent distress.

Mr Swinney said the reforms would also help ensure assessments were delivered in a way that was compatible with a play-based classroom environment.

And he said it would be made clear the tests were not "high stakes" and were intended to help teachers with their own judgements of a child's progress.

READ MORE: Revamp of controversial tests after pupils left 'shaking and crying'

However, many critics wanted to see the assessments scrapped altogether amidst concern the stress of the tests left children "shaking and crying".

Sue Palmer, chair of the Upstart Scotland campaign for play-based education, said all tests at that age would be considered high stakes "no matter how many guidelines the government produces".

She said: "The very existence of national standardised tests in literacy and numeracy for five-year-olds is totally incompatible with play-based learning and will inevitably affect teaching practice in ways that will be damaging for many children.

Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said the teaching union was "unconvinced" of the need for standardised assessments in P1.

READ MORE: Independent review to decide future of P1 testing

He said: "They were not designed to be compatible with a play based approach, and no amount of guidance on their use alters this basic weakness."

There was also concern over the timing of the announcement, with the suggestion Mr Swinney was getting his retaliation in first.

The decision to publish the forum's report was taken in advance of the separate report of an independent review of P1 assessments, led by David Reedy.

Ms Palmer said: "An independent review of the P1 assessments is due to report next month. Why wasn’t this forum postponed until that decision?"

Mr Flanagan added: "The Scottish Government has commissioned an independent review of their role so it seems strange this particular report, which the EIS has not endorsed, has been published ahead of the review findings.”

Tavish Scott, education spokesman for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said the last thing teachers needed was "yet more guidance to plough through".

He added: "The government’s own review of testing has not yet reported so why would they throw out these recommendations? Once again, the government makes it up as they go along.”

Iain Gray, education spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party, said the reforms were "farcical" given a vote in the Scottish Parliament to scrap the tests in P1.

He said: "Not only has John Swinney ignored that for months, he is now ignoring his own independent review by pre-empting it."

However, the Scottish Government said the immediate changes introduced a a result of the forum report were to improve practical advice for teachers administering the assessments over the coming weeks.

A spokeswoman said: "The independent review will take any recommendations from the forum into account, however it’s remit is much wider, focusing on the compatibility of assessments with CfE, the usefulness of the diagnostic information the assessments provide and the future of the assessments.”