Children are being subjected to regimented school days in which they are drilled to pass tests rather than enjoy their education, a union leader has warned.
There is no room and freedom in modern education to make youngsters feel excited about learning, according to Alison Sherratt, the incoming president of the Association and Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).
Schools can no longer spend weeks on topics such as Humpty Dumpty due to the pressure to tick boxes and pass "arbitrary" levels, she said.
"School days are too broken up into regimented tasks, with the days dictated by a strict timetable," Mrs Sherratt suggested. "And far too much of what is taught is based on what children are going to be tested on, which leaves little time to pick up children's questions about other issues or explore topics of interest.
"We've lost the room and freedom to give children an excitement about learning. It's no longer possible to spend six weeks on a topic, which would include maths, science, vocabulary, writing, reading, poetry, drawing and cooking, as I did with the theme of Humpty Dumpty, a topic my pupils remember nearly 40 years later."
Teaching children by topic makes it easier for them to link subjects, she said, adding she feared that the new primary curriculum, due to be introduced in autumn 2014, "will do little to encourage such creativity or free thinking".
Mrs Sherratt, who has been a primary school teacher for 40 years, said that when she started teaching four and five-year-olds in reception class, children were encouraged to learn through play.
"It makes me really cross that early years teachers are now expected to act as a childcare service to prepare children for proper school," she said.
The new president also condemned the Government for constantly criticising teachers and said there was a lack of respect for the profession.
She added: "Unless the Government stops its constant criticisms and its ridiculous obsession with tests for their own sake, it will turn teaching into a last resort profession and turn generations of children off learning for ever."
An Ofsted spokeswoman said that the inspectorate was there to "champion the rights of all children and learners to a good education."
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "We agree that the constant 'teach to the test' culture should be tackled.
"That is why we are scrapping modules and January assessments to end the treadmill of exams and ensure pupils develop a real understanding of each subject."
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