Southern Education & Library Board Submission

Draft Response

The Response of the Southern Education and Library Board to the Committee for Education’s request for views on the Minister of Education’s Proposals for Transfer to Post-Primary Education from 2010

The SELB Context

The following are distinctive features of schools in the SELB area:

• with the exception of Armagh City and District Council area, enrolments are recovering in the five other Council areas, with recovery at different speeds but projected to restore overall post-primary school enrolments by 2015.
• “Empty desks” in the post-primary sector is not an ongoing concern.
• the range of post-primary school types

Of the 50 post-primary schools:

• 19 have all ability intakes;
• 4 are schools to which the great majority of local pupils transfer at age 11;
• 4 are senior high schools (3 grammar); and
• 11 are 11-18 grammar schools (including one controlled school).

SELB Statement of Principles

• The current transfer procedure is discredited.

• Where the local situation permits in terms of pupil numbers a system of junior and senior high schools might be established. Elsewhere, there should be increased opportunity for pupils to change schools at age 14 or attend other schools for shared delivery of courses. Local provision in terms of 11-14, 11-16, 11-18, 14-16 and 14-18 should continue as these have evolved and meet local circumstances including pupil populations, economic conditions or pupils’ travelling arrangements and inter-school relationships.

• A 14-19 policy, which does not at present exist, should be determined to apply on an area basis so that at age 11 pupils should see the pathways available to them at age 14 through courses provided through a network of providers to promote a shared future.

• Area based planning must be respected by all school authorities and planning must cover all existing and envisaged provision. The emerging provision from Learning Communities engaged in delivering the Entitlement Framework, together with the uptake of the Specialist School Initiative, support area planning across school sectors. There is an urgent need for the 14-19 policy but also for Policies on Sustainable Schools and a Shared Future.

• The need for post-primary schools to organise their own admission tests, in a circumstance of oversubscription, should be rendered unnecessary by the development of educationally appropriate transfer arrangements acceptable to schools and parents. The outcome would be informed election. This refers to pupils transferring at ages 11 and 14.

• In the event of oversubscription, the information available to pupils and schools to which admissions are sought should take account of pupils’ profiles, containing ‘hard’ data about assessed achievements.

The Minister’s Proposals

The Committee agrees with the ending of the present process of academic selection but:

• disagrees with a phased ending of academic selection on the following grounds:
  • inordinate pressure on places in grammar and popular schools with a restricted intake based on ‘transfer’ results and the related pressure on P7 pupils; and
  • pupils gaining places from further afield with consequently longer travelling times.
• disagrees with the proposed test on grounds of:
  • the practical arrangements for the test on the grounds that insufficient information is available on the arrangements; as well as the suggestion that children may be required to take examinations away from their own school environment.
• disagrees with some of the non-academic criteria:
• for example, nearest suitable school as unfriendly to rural dwellers. It is not satisfactory to state “DE / ESA will ensure that the system of Transfer will take account of rurality”: this policy must be rural proofed and must be consistent on a cross-departmental policy basis. In addition, socially disadvantaged criteria as applying to applications for pre-school places causes resentment among low wage earners. A criterion of ‘special circumstances’ should be mandatory.
• is concerned that there may be an expectation that many grammar schools will become bilateral. This conclusion will exclude the possibility of non-grammar schools also seeking bilateral status. An unmanaged system could result.
• disagrees with the timescale indicated on the evidence of other policy documents and decisions still awaited; it believes a longer preparation period is required.

The Board recommends that instead of the transitional period the Department of Education now determines the transfer mechanism sought from CCEA is available for transfer at age 11 to allow appropriate changes in the post-primary school system and in individual schools.