Parents who do not want their child to take part in controversial primary school tests can discuss the matter with their school, the Scottish Government has said.

Ministers made the comment after facing opposition calls to clarify parents' rights to pull their child out of the Scottish National Standardised Assessments.

The Scottish Conservatives had earlier urged Education Secretary John Swinney to make a parliamentary statement on the issue, arguing the legal position is mired in confusion.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman responded: "The national standardised assessments are not defined in law and there cannot therefore be a legal right for parents to withdraw their children from them.

"In fact, there is no statutory right for parents to withdraw their child from any aspect of schooling other than some parts of religious education.

"However, if a parent does not wish their child to take part in the standardised assessments - or any other aspect of teaching and learning - they can discuss this with their school."

The exchanges came after Graeme Logan, a deputy director at the Scottish Government, sent a letter to councils stating parents did not have the option to opt out of the assessments.

He said only in "exceptional circumstances" could a child be withdrawn from the literacy and numeracy tests.

The Scottish Government said it had taken advice from the Society of Local Authority Lawyers in Scotland (Solar), but the organisation told The Herald newspaper it did not provide a view on the assessments.

The Government spokeswoman added: "Before writing to directors of education, the Scottish Government sought views from Solar about the withdrawal of children from the Scottish National Standardised Assessments.

"Graeme Logan's letter to directors of education set out the position as he understood it from those discussions. This was done in good faith.

"However, given Solar's clear statement that they have not taken a formal view, officials will hold further discussions with Solar to explore the issue and to seek agreement on the way forward."

The Conservatives' call for clarity came after Mr Swinney announced changes to the testing regime for primary one pupils following criticism from the education sector.

Tory education spokeswoman Liz Smith said earlier: "It is not at all clear as to whether parents have a right to withdraw their children from the primary one tests.

"The Scottish Government's own education department issued a letter stating that parents did not have a right to withdraw their children unless there were 'exceptional circumstances' and this statement was based on legal advice provided.

"It turns out that no such legal advice exists so it is only right that the Cabinet Secretary makes a statement to the Scottish Parliament as soon as possible to explain and clarify exactly where parents stand."

In an open letter to parents of P1 children, Mr Swinney said he had listened to feedback and had agreed "enhancements" to the assessments in order to "provide extra reassurance".

Teachers have said the test is too difficult, with young children lacking the computing skills to undertake the online assessments and sometimes being left distressed by the experience.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said the changes would "do little to allay the very serious concerns held by many teachers".