Education Committee Northern Ireland Assembly 01/01/R Report

Report on the Review of Post-Primary Education in Northern Ireland

SESSION 2001/2002 FIRST REPORT

Ordered by The Committee for Education to be printed 9 October 2001
Report: 01/01 R (to the Northern Ireland Assembly from the Committee for Education)

COMMITTEE FOR EDUCATION

VOLUME 4 -WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS RELATING TO THE REPORT (CONTINUED), SUMMARY REPORT OF FOCUS GROUPS, RESEARCH PAPERS AND SCHEDULE OF VISITS BY THE COMMITTEE

COMMITTEE FOR EDUCATION

POWERS

The Committee for Education is a Statutory Departmental Committee established in accordance with paragraphs 8 and 9 of the Belfast Agreement, Section 29 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and under Assembly Standing Order 46. The Committee has a scrutiny, policy development and consultation role with respect to the Department of Education and has a role in the initiation of legislation.

The Committee has the power to:

n consider and advise on Departmental budgets and Annual Plans in the context of the overall budget allocation;

n approve relevant secondary legislation and take the Committee stage of relevant primary legislation;

n call for persons and papers;

n initiate inquiries and make reports; and

n consider and advise on matters brought to the Committee by the Minister of Education

MEMBERSHIP

The Committee was established on 29 November 1999 with 11 members, including a Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson and a quorum of five.

The membership of the Committee is as follows:

n Mr Danny Kennedy (Chairperson)

n Mr Sammy Wilson (Deputy Chairperson)

n Mrs Eileen Bell

n Mr John Fee

n Mr Tommy Gallagher

n Mr Oliver Gibson

n Mr Tom Hamilton*

n Ms Patricia Lewsley

n Mr Barry McElduff

n Mr Gerry McHugh

n Mr Ken Robinson

* Mr Tom Hamilton replaced Mr Tom Benson on 29 January 2001. Mr Benson died on 24 December 2000.

Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by the Stationery Office by Order of the Committee. All publications of the Committee are posted on the Assembly's website: archive.niassembly.gov.uk

All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk to the Committee for Education, Committee Office, Northern Ireland Asembly, Room 242, Parliament Buildings, Stormont, Belfast BT4 3XX. ( (028) 9052 1629;Ê (028) 9052 1371; e-mail: committee.education@niassembly.gov.uk

written submission by:
institute of directors

1. Introduction

The Institute of Directors has long stressed the fact that the quality of the education system is fundamental to the well-being of Northern Ireland, its economy and its competitiveness.

2. Timescale

There is much in our education system to be proud of and we would not wish the excellence that does exist to be diluted through hasty change. We feel that the review period is to short; this could be detrimental to the creation of a system unique to the needs of Northern Ireland and its young people.

3. Desired Characteristics

The IoD wants to see an education system which:

n is tailored to the social, cultural, intellectual and economic needs of the twenty first century;

n is benchmarked with, and informed by, world best practice and standards;

n is developed and implemented in partnership with business;

n is integrated with economic strategy;

n provides a combination of generic and industry specific skills;

n is genuinely accessible and open to all, with equality of access;

n is flexible in terms of level, pace, content and structure; and which

n recognises and rewards excellence and innovation in education.

4. What Business Expects

Business needs an education system that ensures the employability of all its young people. The right system should:

n enable everyone to achieve their maximum potential.

n provide sufficient choice and flexibility so that young people can select their preferred route to a future career.

n produce potential employees with the life skills, work skills, competencies and qualifications that will make them valued members of the labour force.

n increase the expectations that young people and their parents have of the education system.

5. Keep the Best, Improve the Rest

Our system of education has a well deserved reputation for high academic performance. The opportunity to reach the highest standards should be extended to all pupils. Secondary schools should offer a more technical/ vocational emphasis and should be resourced to provide a high quality service to pupils. Research could identify why some secondary schools cannot provide the right environment to enable all pupils to achieve their full potential.

6. Parity of Esteem

The IoD attaches great importance to the quality of all education, both vocational (ie mainly leading to training, further education, the world of work) and academic (mainly leading to higher education). We are most concerned at the lack of esteem accorded to people working in 'blue collar' as compared to 'white collar' jobs. Business success depends equally on those who can make and supply goods and services, and on those who can extend the boundaries of knowledge.

7. Change

IoD members were surveyed on post primary education and they overwhelmingly supported the models that propose a two route system. There was very little support for a comprehensive system, which has not, by and large, proven successful in terms of results elsewhere in the UK.

An argument is often given in favour of a comprehensive system in that it would increase social inclusion. The Institute believes that such a system would actually reduce social inclusion in Northern Ireland as the high level of social (and indeed religious mixing) that occurs in the present grammar schools and some secondary schools would be lost. It is likely that families would move home to fall within the catchment area of the most popular schools.

8. Multiple Opportunity

The Institute proposes the following:

n Current secondary level schools should become part of a single body of post primary schools, without the labels of grammar or secondary. All schools should offer a range of opportunities, some of which would be common to all, and some of which would vary as between a more academically or vocationally oriented emphasis. We would, on the whole, envisage that the present grammars would maintain their academic bias and the secondary schools would become centres of excellence in vocational/technical areas.

n What school a pupil enters should be a matter of choice, involving the parent and pupil with teacher guidance in establishing that the child is likely to benefit from the type of educational route chosen; this would be based on continuous assessment throughout the primary school. There would be no selection test as part of the transfer procedure apart from the Key Stage 2 testing currently used to assess a pupil's acquisition of key skills.

n Ideally schools will be adequately resourced and, if necessary, allowed to offer more places when demand exceeds supply.

n In any system, however, there will almost inevitably be some over-subscription to certain schools. The Institute would propose that schools apply similar criteria to those applied to allocate places under the current transfer system.

n A broad common curriculum should apply to all schools with certain core subjects compulsory to all. Beyond the core, a wide range of vocational and academic subjects would be delivered on the basis of overall pupil demand in each school for more academic or vocational career routes. Resources must be made available to enable the curriculum to be delivered to high standards in all schools.

n Parity of esteem for pupils from all schools also requires an improved qualifications framework. Pupils at vocationally oriented schools should be able to leave with the same level of GCSEs and A levels as those at academically inclined schools, regardless of the subjects they choose.

9. Integration

Any administration that seeks to promote excellence should seriously address the segregation between the maintained and controlled sectors. Segregation is politically and culturally divisive, inimical to equality of opportunity, and wasteful of resources.

10. Further Information

This is an executive summary of the Institute of Directors submission to the Review Body on Post Primary Education. The full document will be available on the Review Body's website.

Post Primary Education - A Source of True Competitive Advantage

1. Introduction

1.1 This paper provides a contribution from the Institute of Directors (IoD) to the work of the Review Body on Post Primary Education.

1.2 The IoD has long stressed the importance of the quality of the education system to the well being of Northern Ireland in general, to the strength of the economy and to the competitiveness of our businesses. We therefore have a keen interest in the subject matter of the Review, and we welcome the opportunity to make an input.

1.3 The views expressed in this paper have been produced through consultation with the Northern Ireland Committee and Education Committee of the Institute. Analysis of the results of a survey of the 820 members of the Institute in Northern Ireland has also been incorporated into this submission.

2. Timescale

2.1 IoD members are concerned that the review process seems somewhat rushed. 73% of respondents to the survey felt that the period allocated for the review was too short.

2.2 There is much in Northern Ireland's education system of which to be proud. Institute members would not wish the excellence, which does exist, to be in any way diluted through hasty change.

2.3 At the same time, it is recognised that there are shortcomings in the current transfer procedure from primary to post primary education, and within the structure of the secondary education sector.

2.4 The starting point for this review of post primary education should be the needs of children rather than the structures. Whatever system is introduced, the question must be asked as to whether it will address the social, economic and educational needs of' young people.

2.5 The Institute believes that the opportunity now exists to develop a post primary education system, which will provide a firm foundation for social well being and economic prosperity, which genuinely meets the needs of all citizens, which enables them to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations, and which is unquestionably world class. Sufficient time should be allowed to enable that to be achieved.

3. Desired characteristics of the Northern Ireland education system

3.1 As expressed in the Institute's response to the Assembly Committee for Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment examination into Education and Training for Industry, the IoD would wish to see established a system of education for Northern Ireland which:

n is tailored to the social, cultural, intellectual and economic needs of the twenty first century;

n is benchmarked with, and informed by, world best practice and standards;

n is developed and implemented in partnership with business;

n is integrated with economic strategy;

n provides a combination of generic and industry specific skills;

n is genuinely accessible and open to all, with equality of access;

n is flexible in terms of level, pace, content and structure; and which

n recognises and rewards excellence and innovation in education.

3.2 The Institute's survey of members elicited comments about the preferred outcomes of the education system. Members were concerned in particular that the education structure should be shaped by these outcomes and not in response to political dogma.

3.3 From the business community's point of view, one of the key outcomes of education should be the employability of the young people leaving the system and entering the labour force.

4. What business expects

4.1 The quality of our system of education is an essential element in the creation of a vibrant, modern and internationally competitive economy through the development of a strong, indigenous business community.

4.2 In addition, the existence of a well educated pool of labour is a key attraction to potential inward investors.

4.3 Education has an important role to play in developing citizenship, changing attitudes, resolving sectarian differences and creating an equitable society.

4.4 Whilst the Institute does not deny the importance of these other outcomes of education, the employability of the young people leaving post-primary education is of prime concern to the business community.

4.5 An education system that ensures the employability of all its young people will have the following characteristics:

n Enable everyone to achieve his or her maximum potential.

n Provide sufficient choice and flexibility so that young people can select their preferred route through the education system.

n Produce potential employees with the life skills, work skills, competencies and qualifications that will make them valued members of the labour force.

n Increase the expectations that young people and their parents have of the education system.

4.6 Research amongst business has identified the qualities and competencies which make up employability as:

n Values and attitudes - including a desire to learn and to apply that learning, to improve and to take advantage of change, regard for others, self-confidence, motivation and integrity.

n Basic skills (literacy and numeracy).

n The six key skills (communication, application of number, information technology, improving one's learning and performance, working with others, problem solving) sufficient for the needs of the work.

n Other generic skills that are becoming increasingly 'key' - such as modern language and customer service skills.

n Up-to-date and relevant knowledge and understanding.

n Up-to-date job-specific skills.

4.7 76% of respondents to the IoD survey felt that the current secondary level education system does not meet the needs of the business community in Northern Ireland.

5. The Gallagher Report

5.1 The Report on the Effects of the Selective System of Secondary Education undertaken by Tony Gallagher of Queen's University and Alan Smith of the University of Ulster (the 'Gallagher Report') is a most useful aid to the work of the Review body and those aiming to assist it. It is however by no means a completely satisfying document.

5.2 The Institute would suggest that the Report has a number of failings including:

n It is most surprising that whilst the Report compares the system in Northern Ireland with what happens in England, Wales, Scotland and certain parts of Europe, it undertakes no comparisons with the system in the Republic of Ireland. That system is different from Northern lreland's, but it has made impressive progress and through it some 90% of 16 to 18 year olds continue in full time education until the senior 'Leaving Certificate'. A strategic approach has been taken to the education system, which underpins the progress of the so-called 'Celtic Tiger' economy. It relies heavily on individual choice rather than on selection at eleven by examination, and it offers a choice between academic and vocationally focussed options.

n The comparisons omit measures by which levels of attainment and outcomes as between the various systems can be assessed. It is thus difficult to make an informed and definitive judgement as to their respective merits. This is a serious handicap when attempting to weigh up the 5 options which the report offers.

5.3 It is understood that a further report has been commissioned, which amongst other things, will deal more specifically with international comparisons. The Institute awaits that report with much interest.

5.4 84% of IoD respondents felt that benchrnarking of the education system against comparative international systems should be undertaken before changes are made in Northern Ireland.

6. Keep the Best, Improve the Rest

6.1 Northern Ireland's system of education has a reputation for high academic performance. Much, but not all, of this reputation rests on the quality and achievements of the grammar school sector.

6.2 These schools produce levels of academic attainment that compare well with what is achieved in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Europe and beyond. As Gallagher indicates, they are well regarded by their pupils who on the whole are well motivated, by their parents, by the staff employed in them and by the public at large. A very high proportion of their pupils go on to third level education where many of them acquire the knowledge and the skills on which, amongst other things, the future of Northern Ireland industry, especially the so called 'knowledge based sector' will depend.

6.3 Whatever is decided about the future of the system, it is important that the quality of educational achievement now attained by the grammar schools sector or elsewhere should in no way be diminished, diluted or undermined. On the contrary, the aim should be to advance standards of attainment to even higher levels and to ensure that all pupils have the opportunity to achieve them.

6.4 69% of respondents to the IoD survey believe that the grammar schools should be retained.

6.5 Only a minority of pupils attend grammar schools. The majority (currently according to Gallagher, some 65%) attend secondary schools which should, in theory, have a less academic and more technical/vocational orientation. In the secondary schools, achievements in terms of measurable outputs as shown by qualifications obtained, is much less marked and in some cases is disturbingly low.

6.6 The Institute would suggest that the secondary schools have moved too far from the technical/vocational route than was originally the case. Part of the blame for this may be due to the introduction of the common curriculum, which may not provide the flexibility and diversity that is required to meet the diverse needs and talents of young people.

6.7 Although most comparisons of educational attainment are made with other parts of the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland's achievements are rated highly, the outputs of the Great Britain school system - taken as a whole - are not impressive by the best international standards. This gives cause for concern and suggests that efforts should be directed at raising expectations and achievements right through the system

6.8 The Gallagher Report indicates that the poorer performance within the secondary sector is related to a number of factors including social disadvantage and parental background. It points, as the primary cause, to the 'grammar school effect'. The Report states (para.2.2.4) that a pupil's achievement at age 16 'appears to be related more to gaining access to a grammar school than to any other factor'. It goes on to say (para.2.3.2) that as between grammar and secondary school pupils who are similar in every other respect, including transfer grade, the former will receive significantly higher GCSE grades - equivalent to three additional grade Cs. This is an important difference. The 'grammar school effect', however, does not address the fact that a larger number of subjects is taken by grammar school pupils, which is likely to account for most, if not all, of the difference in cumulative scores and does not calculate average scores.

6.9 The view of the Institute is that secondary schools should be resourced to provide the necessary high quality service to their pupils. Research should be carried out to identify why the secondary schools cannot provide the necessary environment to enable all pupils to achieve to their maximum potential is a key issue before wholesale restructuring of the system is undertaken. There are examples of secondary schools in many difficult areas, which are producing excellent outcomes for their pupils. A successful outcome is more frequently measured in terms of employability than GCSE results - and employability is an important outcome for the business community. The quality of the head teacher may well be a vital element in this success.

7. Weaknesses of the Present System of Education

7.1 There have been improvements in the level of achievement of young people leaving secondary level education, especially with respect to those leaving with no qualifications at all.

7.2 Many people in business are still concerned that too many young people are achieving below their potential, notwithstanding some excellent work done within the secondary school sector. There is a 'tail' of underachievers and too many pupils are leaving formal education with inadequate standards of numeracy, literacy and skills relevant to the world of work.

7.3 From a qualifications point of view and the consequent impact on opportunity and progress, being denied a grammar school place can be a serious disadvantage. This is compounded by the sense of failure many young children experience from not obtaining a place at a grammar school.

7.4 Since selection is at the root of this sense of failure, it follows that a system is required that creates choice rather than continues rationing of places through selection. What is needed is greater provision of high quality places for those wishing to pursue an academic route through education. To ensure that the non-academic route is regarded equally as highly as the academic route, the quality of provision in the vocationally or technically oriented schools must be just as high. This is clearly not the case in the present system.

7.5 Currently the choice for pupils transferring from primary schools is limited by the fact that a common curriculum operates in all secondary level schools. This curriculum may be inappropriate to the aspirations, expectations and talents of many young people. The common curriculum appears to be more suited to those wishing to follow the academic route than to those whose aspirations lie in technical or vocational directions.

7.6 This limiting curriculum may well be an element in the alienation that affects many young people, especially boys, in the early secondary years. For some, this alienation can be permanent with unfortunate social and economic outcomes for society.

7.7 The expectations of young people, and their parents, of life after education do not match current economic reality. Within areas of deprivation, generations of unemployment have resulted in the attitude that education has no relevance. The new economy that Northern Ireland is aiming to build needs every young person to obtain a sound basic education and the employability skills relevant to business needs.

7.8 Business must work more closely than ever with education to create awareness of the needs of and changes in business, especially the SME sector, and with young people to help raise their aspirations.

7.9 Technical and vocational education has been under-developed within secondary level education. The Further Education Colleges appear to have taken over the role of delivery in this area, whereas more emphasis on it within the curriculum in post primary schools would give young people a stronger foundation for their tertiary education.

7.10 With respect to underachievers in the education system, the secondary schools have faced criticism for producing young people without the basic numeracy and literacy skills needed for life, not just for work. The root of these problems lies at primary or even pre-primary level. More rigorous efforts need to be made with underachievers well before they reach secondary school where they will quickly be left behind and inevitably either drop out or become disruptive.

7.11 In addition, by making employability the key outcome of education, and with a curriculum, in secondary level schools, more relevant to the aspirations of non-academic pupils, it would be hoped that the problem of underachievers could be overcome in due course.

7.12 The Institute believes that resources for raising standards and the quality of the education experience in secondary schools could be found from savings in administration costs. Representations by the Institute in the past have mooted the reorganisation of the current Education and Library Board structure. Recent research has indicated that absenteeism within the public sector is a considerable cost; attacking this and other efficiency issues could free up resources for schools. The removal of the Transfer Test system would, presumably, also involve some cost reduction.

7.13 94% of IoD respondents agreed that more resources should be allocated to secondary schools to enable them to raise standards.

7.14 Improvernent's in school performances would involve not only funding for teachers and facilities, but also support in relation to careers guidance, curriculum delivery and business links.

7.15 The present system of post primary education and transfer to it from primary school has created inequities in educational opportunities and achievements. Such a system is damaging to our young people and ultimately to our economic and social wellbeing. The Institute believes that the proposals put forward in this paper can redress these problems.

8. The Case for a Transfer System

8.1 We see only two reasons for the operation of a transfer system:

8.2 The first is to enable pupils to obtain an education which is best suited to their needs and from which they will derive the most benefit. This is an essential feature of any good system of education, which purports to serve the interests of its clientele.

8.3 The worst way of performing this function in our view is by way of the present transfer test system. The fairest, most accurate and most sensible approach in our view lies through assessment throughout the primary education process, relying on teacher's knowledge of pupils, which guides and leads to parental choice. External assessment of this continuous assessment process should prevent undue pressure being put upon teachers by parents with unreasonable expectations of their children's aptitudes. Research should be undertaken into appropriate assessment processes on an on-going basis.

8.4 The second reason for operating a transfer system is to enable schools to identify which pupils it should accept when demand for places exceeds supply. This could apply equally to the academic and vocational schools.

8.5 In principle, this is not a legitimate reason for having a transfer system which involves testing. The logical response to a situation of under-supply is to increase that supply, not to deny young people opportunities from which they could benefit. We make the point regarding the need to increase provision of high quality places in response to demand elsewhere in this paper.

8.6 Without further research, it is not clear what the level of demand would be for places in individual schools. Appropriate guidance at the end of primary education may result in more pupils seeking entry to either the academic or the vocational schools than is currently the case.

8.7 It is likely, however, that some schools will experience over-subscription. In time, the changes to the system will bring all schools up to a high level of quality, which will mean that parents and pupils will be able to choose from a variety of excellent schools. Over-subscription will become less of an issue. In the meantime, over-subscribed schools would have to select pupils by some means. It is suggested that schools could apply their current entrance criteria, which enable them to allocate available places on the basis of, for example, the presence of siblings already in the school, distance from home to school, etc.

8.8 The main weakness of the present system of transfer from primary level education is that it creates a sense of failure amongst those pupils who do not obtain a grammar school place.

8.9 This sense of failure arises from the fact that the perception of secondary schools is that they are 'second best'. Yet many successful people in business and the professions have 'failed' the eleven plus or transfer test, but have been anything but failures in later life. This perception will continue unless fundamental change to the secondary schools makes them a true alternative to the academically focussed grammar schools.

8.10 74% of IoD survey respondents agreed that selection by examination should not continue as at present and that continuous assessment provides a more accurate measure of a child's ability.

9. 'Vocational', 'Academic' and 'Parity of Esteem'

9.1 The IoD attaches much importance to the quality of all aspects of education in Northern Ireland including the quality of vocational education.

9.2 For the purposes of this paper we define 'vocational' education as education which is in general occupationally specific, which has a strong practical dimension, and which will generally lead young people to training, to a career or to the world of work, rather than to higher education. Vocational would include 'technical' education. We define 'academic' as involving the acquisition of knowledge and the development of cognitive skills, which are not necessarily career specific at the time they are imparted but which may well be essential to an occupational choice at a later date, usually following higher education.

9.3 The Institute is most concerned at the lack of esteem accorded to people working in 'blue collar' as compared to 'white collar' jobs. Not just Northern Ireland business and the economy, but also the quality of life of the public at large, depends on people who can make and supply goods and services, just as they depend also on those who can extend the boundaries of knowledge.

9.4 90% of respondents indicated that equal value should be accorded to academic and
vocational career paths.

9.5 This lack of 'parity of esteem' flows essentially from disparities in the quality, depth and range of what is offered educationally, and from perceived differences in the advantages that result. These disparities need to be addressed. The chief way of doing so is to ensure that the 'vocational' offers comparable benefits to the 'academic' and that the associated educational experience is as satisfying, enjoyable and generally fruitful.

10. Some Comments on the Nature of Disadvantage Within the System

10.1 The Institute regards the disadvantage that exists for some pupils within the system as flowing from a number of elements. We would highlight the following points:

10.2 In effect a two-tier system is in operation based upon secondary schools and grammar schools. The latter offer an education, which is academic in nature. The former place more stress on a vocational dimension.

10.3 It is not inherently wrong or necessarily disadvantageous that some schools should specialise in academic subjects and others in vocational ones. On the contrary, it is essential that the system should enable pupils with an academic or a vocational bent to have the fullest opportunity to develop their potential.

10.4 A strong case can be argued, supported by experience elsewhere (e.g. the dual system in Germany and the Netherlands) and to some extent by the Gallagher observations, that specialist schools or systems that offer the possibility of providing concentrated levels of specialist expertise, equipment and facilities and which can develop high quality peer groups in their fields is a good way by which that objective can be achieved.

10.5 It is both wrong, however, and inherently disadvantageous for one part of the system not to offer levels of achievement and opportunity comparable to the other, especially where access is determined other than by choice.

10.6 Moreover failure to achieve equality in those terms, inevitably leads to one part of the system being seen as superior to the other, since pupils, parents, and the public at large naturally will tend to value most those parts of the education system which they see as offering the best opportunities for advancement. It is vital in any education system to remember that the key customers are not necessarily the young people but rather their parents. Persuading them that their child is being offered the best possible education, suited to his or her aptitudes and aspirations, is essential.

10.7 As noted above, grammar schools have a good track record in delivering success in examinations and a high percentage of their pupils go on to higher education which is seen as the main gateway, if not the only one, to well paid employment and progressive careers.

10.8 That track record ought to be matched, in our view, by correspondingly high levels of attainment and outcomes at schools offering vocational subjects as alternatives to a more academic route. At present it appears that this is not the case. The range of vocational courses is limited. There is little as yet which directly corresponds to the academic GCSEs and A levels (notwithstanding the availability of some GNVQs which is as yet limited) and prospects and routes for further progress thereafter are insufficiently clear. Hence the problem of 'parity of esteem'. The qualifications framework on which work has recently been undertaken, must be developed more fully and continually promoted to employers.

10.9 Thus the system does not offer all Northern Ireland pupils the fullest opportunity to develop their potential. On the one hand, there are insufficient places for those whose preference is for the academic route in what are seen as our best schools. On the other what is available for those whose talents lie more towards practical subjects is variable and limited.

10.10 That situation is central to the currently perceived need for transfer testing, since a system, which does not offer, full opportunity for all requires a means by which it can be decided to whom opportunity should be given.

10.11 The obvious conclusion to be drawn from this analysis is that more good quality academic places need to be made available and that the level, quality and range of vocational courses and career paths thereafter need to be drastically improved. If that could be achieved the need for a transfer system as we now know it would be very different.

11. Change

11.1 The Institute put to its members in the survey questionnaire, the five options proposed in the Gallagher Report and asked them to indicate their preferences.

11.2 IoD members overwhelmingly supported the models which proposed that a two route system be introduced for post primary education. There was very little support for a comprehensive system.

11.3 2% favoured a comprehensive system

31% selected the common junior high option to 14 with differentiated schools thereafter

8% chose the common lower secondary and differentiated upper secondary option

35% opted for differentiated secondary schools (at 11) with distinctive academic and vocational/technical routes, and

25% preferred the status quo with selection at 11

11.4 Since the preference of IoD members is for a dual route system of post primary schools, this response will put forward views on the characteristics of such a system.

11.5 40% of responding members indicated a preference for transfer at age 14 or 15

56% opted for earlier transfer with 11 being the favoured age

12. Multiple Opportunity

12.1 IoD members have expressed their concerns that any change to the post-primary education should be manageable, cost effective and carefully implemented. There is an impression that schools and teachers have been subjected to an increasing catalogue of curriculum and administrative burdens over many years. Along with the discipline problems faced in many schools, the result has been low morale and difficulty in attracting high calibre career teachers. The Institute would caution against precipitate action on such a potentially far-reaching issue as post-primary education reorganisation.

12.2 Building on the base which now exists, it will be relatively simple to develop a system which offers extensive and multiple opportunity based on primarily vocational or primarily academic routes, along lines which in some respects are similar to what has been successful in the Republic. Under this option, the current secondary level schools would become part of a single body of post primary schools, without the labels of grammar or secondary. All schools would offer a range of opportunities, some of which would be common to all, and some of which would vary as between a more academically or more vocationally orientated emphasis.

12.3 What school a pupil entered would be a matter of choice, involving the parent and the pupil with trained teacher guidance designed to establish, through assessment during passage through the primary school, that the child is likely to be able to benefit from the type of education chosen. There would be no transfer system by examination.

12.4 Progress at school would be carefully monitored. Where it is shown that a pupil is unable to cope with the chosen educational route, explanations would be sought from the sponsoring primary school and consideration would be given to what additional help or support the pupil might require.

12.5 The Institute would emphasise that this is not a continuation of the status quo. There would be no selection or testing as part of the transfer procedure to post primary education. Resources would be allocated to ensure that a high quality of education would be provided to all pupils. The move to a predominantly vocational or academic school would be a matter of choice informed by continuous teacher assessment and guidance at primary school level.

12.6 The choice of school would be made at age eleven. A further choice would be made, however, as part of on-going careers guidance at age 14 when the pupil, with advice and assistance, would decide whether to follow a vocationally or an academically weighted route. At that point it would be possible for a pupil to transfer to another school if that would enable him/her to pursue better the chosen route.

12.7 On opting for change, it would, if necessary, be possible to undertake a 'transition year 'in order to adjust to the change of direction decided upon.

12.8 A broad, common curriculum would be applicable to all schools.

12.9 Within the common curriculum there would be certain core subjects which would be compulsory for all pupils - covering, for example, literacy, numeracy, communications and key life skills, etc. Beyond those core subjects there would be a wide range of vocational and academic subjects with a specified syllabus, which would be compulsory where that subject is offered. Research amongst local companies suggests that the needs of business are reflected in these core skills.

12.10 Resources must be made available to enable the curriculum to be delivered to high standards in all schools - this means investment in facilities, teachers and, where necessary, remedial support for underachieving pupils.

12.11 The existing schools would be enabled to broaden the options they offer by the inclusion of wider range of vocational or academic choices, modified, in the light of experience, by the extent of uptake. Schools would be resourced accordingly.

12.12 Each school would be allowed to specialise in a more academic or a more vocational emphasis in terms of the range, depth and quality of the courses that they offer.

12.13 The potential career paths of vocational courses would be identified and course content would be integrated with the subsequent training, further or higher education that would be required to enable a path to be followed.

12.14 Every school, without exception, would be required to offer clear routes to advanced training, further and higher education and to a choice of potential career paths for their pupils

12.15 In doing so, courses would be supported by an examination structure, involving GCSEs and A levels with vocational versions or GNVQ equivalents, which would be recognised as meeting entry requirements to relevant vocational training and/or to institutions of further or higher education.

12.16 All schools would be required to offer qualifications at these levels to all their pupils. In order to do so, they would be encouraged where appropriate to form alliances with specialist providers - e.g. Institutes of Further Education.

12.17 The number of places at a school specialising in an academic or vocational emphasis would be expanded, or contracted, to respond to the demand for places, by the adaptation of existing schools, but, if necessary, by the creation of new schools and/or the closure of existing ones. The aim would be to provide access for all pupils to their educational preference, subject to their demonstrating (assessed as above) during the course of their primary education that they are capable of benefiting from it.

12.18 The normal expectation would be that all pupils under this dual route system - whether from within the more academically or vocationally orientated elements - would proceed to high quality training (eg a Modern Apprenticeship) or further education with the option in due course of higher education for those who require and are able to benefit from it. The same strenuous effort would be made to ensure that no school leaver enters unemployment.

12.19 Likewise performance and progress throughout the system would be monitored and benchmarked against the best international standards.

12.20 Schools found to be performing at comparatively low levels of achievement would be identified. The reasons for this underachievement would be established and remedies proposed. Additional financial help and staffing support would be made available, where required to achieve better outcomes - for example to counteract problems associated with deprivation or social disadvantage.

12.21 All schools would be encouraged to have close links with employers for the purposes of work experience and learning in a practical environment. All would be part of a 'seamless robe' of learning opportunity leading to employment underpinning future quality of life and personal fulfilment.

13. Advantages of the Multiple System

13.1 The advantages of this education system would include the following:

13.2 By abolishing selection by examination and substituting choice supported by assessment and professional guidance, this system would remove the stigma and social exclusion occasioned by the current transfer system and it would stimulate equality of opportunity.

13.3 By extending both the quantity and range of academic and vocationally orientated provision, it would enrich choice within the system and would increase flexibility.

13.4 By allowing specialism in the vocational or the academic and by insisting on equally high standards, it could induce high levels of expertise and achievement in both.

13.5 By offering high standards with continuing good quality opportunities in both the vocational and academic elements, it could help promote 'parity of esteem.'

13.6 By developing on the present base of existing systems it would avoid 'big bang' change with the potential for dislocation and destruction which that entails.

13.7 It would not threaten the strengths of the present system but would radically improve those parts of the system, which are now seen as second best.

13.8 By widening the choices at schools and by removing the existing labels, it would remove the pejorative distinctions, which are now made between types of schools.

13.9 It has been suggested that a comprehensive system of education would result in advantages from the mixing of social classes. The Institute believes that the opposite would happen. At present, grammar schools provide children from every social class with equal access to an academic education. Many secondary schools also exhibit this cross-section of pupils. Creating comprehensives would be more likely to result in parents moving house to ensure their children could attend the perceived 'good' comprehensives (this applies to the less well-off family, which will make sacrifices, as well as the better-off parents), leaving many schools with a higher proportion of pupils from poorer backgrounds.

13.10 In this system proposed by the Institute, the improvement over time in the quality of education provided in all schools would ensure that all establishments are regarded as good schools and parents will be happy to patronise any school that will meet their children's educational needs and aspirations

14. Integration

14.1 Any administration, which seeks to promote excellence and cost effectiveness across the education system, ought to consider seriously addressing the segregation that now exists as between the so-called 'maintained' and 'controlled' sectors. We urge the Minister to do so.

14.2 Segregation is not only socially, politically and culturally divisive. It is also inimical to equality of opportunity and to the development of quality. By requiring the existence of two separate systems of education and administration, it wastes resources. By impeding access for pupils in the controlled sector to the best teachers and facilities in the maintained sector (and vice versa), it is inimical to equality of opportunity for individuals and it restricts achievement. By keeping talented students in both sectors apart, it obstructs the development of the strongest peer groups. The list could be continued.

14.3 The Institute recognises that the introduction of full integration in the education system of Northern Ireland will require significant changes in attitudes throughout the community. It is unlikely that such a change could be made in the short or medium term. The IoD would urge that consideration of full integration be kept at the forefront of thinking by the Department of Education as it produces its strategic plans for the future.

15. Conclusion

15.1 The IoD supports, in principle, the case for far reaching change, which would improve the quality of post primary education right across the system on the basis of choice and equality of opportunity, and the demanding of high standards, outcomes and opportunities inducing parity of esteem for both the vocational and the academic.

15.2 Change must be implemented in ways that do not threaten or destroy the strengths of the present system.

15.3 The Institute would like to see the reports of other on-going research into relevant education issues, such as benchmarking with international comparitors, before action on changing the post-primary education system is taken.

15.4 Curriculum change and integration with the strategic planning for the tertiary sector must also be part of an overall review of post-primary education.

15.5 Change must include the ending of selection for transfer from primary to post primary education.

15.6 Transfer should be based on choice, guided by continuous assessment by primary school teachers.

15.7 In order that a true choice can be made between an largely academic or largely vocational career path, all secondary level schools should be resourced to a high standard. Special measures will be required to provide the necessary high quality facilities within schools with a vocational or technical emphasis.

15.8 Parity of esteem for the vocational and academic career paths must be assured not only within the education system but also within the business community and the wider community.

15.9 The Institute looks forward to participating actively in this on-going consultation process and would request the opportunity to develop these proposals directly with the Review Body in an oral presentation.

The Institute of Directors

The IoD has 54,000 individual members in the UK and 820 in Northern Ireland, representing the full range of industrial sectors and company size.

The IoD aims to be the prime organisation helping directors to fulfil their leadership responsibilities, in creating wealth for the benefit of business and society as a whole. To achieve these aims, the IoD has the following objectives:

n To develop policies on issues which affect directors and business, and to represent members' interests by influencing public policy makers and opinion formers in the UK and the rest of the EU.

n To raise the professional standards of directors and help them attain high levels of expertise and effectiveness by improving their knowledge and skills.

n To expand its membership so as to increase its influence and ability to service its members and business in general.

n To provide a range of business and individual services for members, both centrally and through the branch network.

WRITTEN SUBMISSION BY:
IRISH NATIONAL TEACHERS' ORGANISATION (INTO)

BACKGROUND

INTO has over 6,000 teacher members across all sectors and levels throughout Northern Ireland and approximately 23,000 teacher members in Primary Schools in the Republic of Ireland.

INTO has been at the forefront of the Campaign to end selection at 11. Since the introduction of the selection procedure and throughout its many guises over the past 40 years, INTO policy has remained intrinsically the same, that the process of Selection at 11 years of age is unjust, discriminatory and fundamentally flawed. INTO has consistently called for the abolition of selection at age 11 and the introduction of a non-selective system of post-primary education.

RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS ASKED

CURRENT SYSTEMS

Q.1. Do you believe the current transfer procedure for pupils from primary to post-primary school should remain or be changed? Why?

A.1. INTO believes that the current transfer procedure for pupils from primary to post-primary school must be changed.

The current system of transfer, as evidence in the "Gallagher & Smith" Report distorts the primary curriculum in varying degrees throughout the schools in Northern Ireland. The high level of concentration on the three tested subjects, English, Maths and Science give the pupils the false impression that these are the only subjects of value in the curriculum. The procedure also causes unnecessary stress and trauma for children, and their families, at age 11 with possible repercussions throughout their lives.

Q.2. Do you think some form of selection is inevitable? If so, what form should it take?

A.2. No, INTO is of the view that children should be able to go to the school of their choice not to be subjected to some form of selection.

This could be done in a similar way to the process of election to Primary Schools. All post primary schools should have equal status.

Q.3. Do you think the "Gallagher and Smith" report accurately reflects the effects of the Selective System of Secondary Education in Northern Ireland? In what way?

A.3. Yes, the "Gallagher & Smith" Report accurately reflects many, though by no means all, of the effects of the Selective System of education. The scope of the research is only representative. The report does, however, confirm much of the anecdotal evidence of teachers, parents and pupils over the past few decades; disruption of the curriculum, particularly in the primary school; the poor self-esteem, motivation of pupils who have 'failed' the 11+; the social attitudes of the 'passes' and 'failures'; the effects of selection and open enrolment on post primary schools, society's view of the education system and the impact of selection.

Q.4. Do you think that sections of society are more/less advantaged by the current system?

A.4. Yes, the current system has increased the gap between the more and less advantaged sections of society. The more advantaged pupils who have access to a wide range of resources both at school and at home are more likely to pass, go to Grammar School and onto 3rd level education, etc. The less advantaged pupils who can't afford tutoring and don't have access to the internet, and other resources are more likely to 'fail', go to Secondary Schools and leave at 16 with little or no qualifications.

Q.5. If the current selection system was maintained what are your views on selecting by:

a. Setting tests which cover broader areas of the curriculum.

b. Allowing individual schools to set their own entrance tests.

c. Teachers and Principals of Primary Schools making the recommendations.

d. A system of continuous assessment.

e. Parental Input.

f. Combination of the above options.

A.5. INTO believes that the current system should be abolished. All these methods detailed have been tried from 1947 onwards and all have failed.

transition to post primary school

Q.1. What age do you believe is most appropriate for pupils transferring from primary to post-primary school and why?

A.1. In a non-selective system 11 is still the most appropriate age for transfer given the current Primary/ Post-Primary system.

Q.2. What effect do you think the transfer test has on the delivery of the curriculum?

A.2. The transfer test distorts the delivery of the curriculum at Key Stage 2, with much of Year 6 and the early part of Year 7 taken up with preparation for the tests. This is compounded by the fact that the level and extent of knowledge pupils are expected to achieve are unrealistic within the framework of the statutory curriculum. To achieve these teachers are forced to concentrate on the English, Maths and Science to the detriment of the other, also statutory subjects.

Content of the 3 subjects at Key Stage 3 is similar if not identical to areas covered at Key Stage 2 for the transfer which can also cause difficulties.

Q.3. What role do you think parents should have in the process?

A.3. INTO believes that parents should be given real choice in the schools their children attend.

The Government espouses 'parental choice' within the education system. However in reality parents have little or no choice of post-primary school for their children but are dependent on the outcome of the transfer test.

Q.4. What suggestions do you have to improve the transition between primary and post-primary schools?

A.4. The transition from Primary to Post-Primary School should be seamless and as painless as possible. It should emulate the transition process between Nursery School to Primary School. In this process children are not selected by ability or aptitude and there is direct contact between the schools, often with the Nursery teacher accompanying the nursery pupils on a visit to their prospective primary school and meeting the teachers etc.

EXAMINATIONS AND QUALIFICATIONS

Q.1. What are your views on the same curriculum being taught to all pupils? Should all schools provide the same curriculum?

A.1. All pupils should have the right of access to the same curriculum but it is not necessary for all to follow the exact same curriculum. A degree of flexibility and choice must be built into this curriculum to allow pupils of all abilities and interests to achieve their full potential.

Q.2. How important is vocational education? Do you think there are sufficient opportunities for pupils to pursue vocational training qualifications within the current education system?

A.2. Pupils should be able to choose from both academic and non-academic subjects. Restricting the choice to one or other is denying pupils the opportunity to develop their interests and achieve their full potential. Currently the opportunities for pupils to choose from non-academic subjects/training are limited. This is especially true in the Grammar Schools.

Q.3. Do you believe equal emphasis should be placed on academic and vocational achievement?

A.3. Yes both academic and non-academic subjects, training and achievement should be valued equally.

Q.4. How could equal status be obtained for both academic and vocational qualifications?

A.4. Sir Ron Dearing advocated an Overarching Framework of qualifications. Within this framework all qualifications academic and non-academic, were to be weighted within a common scale thereby ensuring equivalences were clearly visible. There have been difficulties in the past, some of which persist, with equating NVQs, GNVQs, GCSEs, A levels and many other qualifications. The trend has been for non-academic subjects/qualifications being considered of lesser value than academic subjects among the Higher Education Institutes and employers.

To redress this, requirements for entry to Higher Education Institutes and criteria for jobs need to change to reflect the equal value of academic and non-academic qualifications/training.

ALTERNATIVE STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS

Q.1. What are your views of:

a. A comprehensive system (eg the Scottish System).

b. Delayed selection (eg the Dickson Plan in Craigavon).

c. A more differentiated system of post-primary schools (eg in Germany where pupils opt for a vocational, technical or academic school).

A.1. a. INTO advocates the introduction of a Comprehensive System of Education for Northern Ireland as the best system for all pupils.

b. INTO believes that Delayed Selection only postpones the problems which are currently inherent in the present system.

c. INTO is of the view that a more differentiated system of post-primary schools would force children to choose one particular route instead of providing them with the flexibility to mix and match from all routes. This option restricts choice and potential development.

Q.2. What manpower/financial implications would arise from each of the above options?

A.2. To change our present system of education to any of the options will have manpower and financial implications. However this is the opportunity for NI to examine its system of education and make changes to place us at the forefront of education in the 21st Century thereby justifying the manpower and finance required to do so.

Q.3. What implementation difficulties could arise?

A.3. The implementation of change requires careful consideration and should be carried out as soon as realistically possible. In changing to a Comprehensive system of education it would be useful to contact the Department of Education in Scotland to learn from their experience.

Q.4. Are there other systems/structures which you believe would be suitable? What are the manpower/financial implications and possible implementation difficulties of these?

A.4. INTO believes there would be merit in investigating the possibility of integrated, open-access 6th form colleges.

THE PURPOSE OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

Q.1. What conditions do you believe would enable all pupils to maximise their potential? How could these be achieved?

A.1. The CCEA Review of the Curriculum proposes a new aim, objectives and values for the education of children in Northern Ireland. These aims, objectives and values delivered in comprehensive schools in Northern Ireland with academic and non-academic qualifications valued equally would enable pupils to maximise their potential.

Q.2. What objectives should be identified for the education system in terms of social, educational and economic outcomes?

A.2. The objectives as proposed in Phase I of the Northern Ireland Curriculum Review underpinned by the proposed values.

written submission by:
professor pamela munn
university of edinburgh

1. Why has comprehensive education been apparently regarded more positively in Scotland than it has in England or Wales?

n There has been a tradition of 'omnibus' schools in Scotland outside the cities. These schools traditionally took all children in the local area although they were streamed on entry. The move to comprehensive education was thus not regarded as very radical.

n There has been confidence in the success of the system to raise levels of achievement especially for children from poor backgrounds.

n There has been sustained confidence in teachers as competent and successful professionals.

There is a broad consensus among Scottish political parties about the positive attributes of a comprehensive system and no party is seriously campaigning for a return to a selective system.

A brief outline of the historical traditions is given below.

1. Education is traditionally regarded as one of the three institutions, which mark Scotland's cultural distinctiveness from England. (The others are the law and the church). Many commentators have described one of the key features and myths of the education system as promoting equality of opportunity, whereby the 'lad o pairts' with ability, from a poor background, could progress from school to university. Thus one sense in which Scotland likes to think of itself as different from England is that it is more socially egalitarian. Class background is believed to be no barrier to progression through the system and entry to the progression through the system and entry to the professions in Scotland. A comprehensive system of education fitted this myth of equality of opportunity, albeit in a new way, abolishing the intelligence test as a structural barrier to equality of opportunity. A series of research studies showed the association between low social class and poor performance on the test and questioned the notion of intelligence as fixed and innate.

2. A second tradition was that of imposing cultural uniformity which can be traced back to the Reformation. Comprehensive education conformed to this tradition by providing a common curriculum for all children regardless of their ability. Curriculum and assessment reforms in the 1970s provided an 'entitlement' to a broad and balanced curriculum based on seven (now eight) modes of study.

3. A third tradition, which again can be traced back to the Reformation, was to see education as a public good as much as a private right. The social and economic arguments for a comprehensive system were seen as congruent with this tradition.

The demand for comprehensive education was apparent before the Second World War and the Advisory Council for Education published recommendations for a comprehensive system with a core curriculum and a common examination in 1947.

About one fifth of schools were already comprehensive by 1965 when the policy was officially adopted in Britain, although these schools streamed classes on entry. The main resistance was in the cities where it meant the end of old direct grant schools who had to decide whether to go independent and where housing policy had a direct effect on a school's catchment area. It became common for middle class parents to buy a house in the catchment area of the comprehensive schools, which had been selective senior secondary schools.

2. How effective is the use of banding and setting in schools? To what extent is streaming used in organising schools in Scotland? What are teachers' views of banding and setting versus mixed ability teaching?

Practice in banding and setting varies in secondary schools across Scotland in the first two years of secondary schooling. Many schools would avoid banding or setting in the first year and teach a common course with differentiation inside the classroom using group work, learning support staff and classroom auxiliaries to help children with different abilities and special educational needs. Where setting is most likely to take place in these years is in mathematics. HMI have reported their concerns at the lack of academic progress demonstrated by pupils in S1-S2 and associated this lack with the failure to set pupils in the early years of secondary. There is a continuing healthy debate about this with mixed views from teachers on the strengths and weaknesses of mixed ability teaching. The Scottish Council for Research in Education perhaps best sums this up in a research review:

The challenge is to find some way of catering for pupils' individual needs. The research..show that for many, ability grouping reduces both their motivation and the quality of education they receive. On the other hand, mixed-ability teaching which denies the differences between high and low ability pupils is not the answer.

There is more consensus about setting and banding in S3-S4 where pupils are allocated to Foundation/ General, General, or General/Credit bands in terms of their Standard Grade courses. The number of bands depends on class size.

There is no steaming as such.

3. Could you evaluate the success of the 'community comprehensive' system, perhaps giving some commentary on the incidence of pupils opting not to choose 'less popular' comprehensives?

In general, the comprehensive system has been successful. It has raised attainment for all social class groups, but has raised it more for working class pupils.

The schools were originally envisaged as drawing their pupils from their local catchment areas --zones defined by the education authority. In many areas of Scotland, because of geography, there is only one secondary school that it is feasible for children to attend.

In large towns and cities, before the introduction of legislation giving parents the right to choose the school their children would attend, many middle class parents sought to buy houses in the catchment areas of the old senior secondary schools which had selected pupils.

Since parental choice legislation there has been a decline in the notion of the local comprehensive with placing requests being used to the detriment of those schools in disadvantaged areas whose pupils are 'creamed off'. Changes in demography have created overcapacity in schools especially in the cities. Glasgow, for example, has undergone a programme of school closure allied to the development of particular schools as specialist in music, drama or sport. This, together with changes in transport policy for children, is challenging the traditional notice of a local comprehensive.

It is also worth mentioning that some mainstream schools have special units for children with special needs. Some local authorities have closed their special schools and so some secondary schools have particular expertise in deaf or blind education.

4. How is vocational education and training approached in Scotland? To what extent do schools and industry liaise? How effective is this relationship?

Within the school sector the reforms of the upper secondary school curriculum, Higher Still, are designed to give parity of esteem to academic and vocational education via a common system of assessment. It is too early to be able to comment on the effectiveness of this reform.

There is a flourishing further education sector, which provides vocational education for youngsters at 16+. The 43 FE colleges provide a wide range of courses from basic literacy and numeracy to Higher National diplomas and degrees. The sector also works with schools to extend curriculum provision for 14-16 year olds who are not experiencing success in the traditional school curriculum and there are many examples of partnerships between schools and colleges in terms of more general curriculum provision.

Work experience is part of the common curriculum for all pupils at 14+ and this involves liaison between schools and local industry and business. Some schools use their links with European networks to provide work experience in Europe.

The importance of Education Industry links has been highlighted in a number of policy statements, as has education for work. Practices vary and include staff exchanges between school and industry, mini companies being established in schools, and extended work experience involving mock interviews and pupil reports on their experience.

Scotland's equivalent of City Technology Colleges, Technology Academies, have failed to materialise.

5. Do you believe that there is a higher degree of social inclusion in the Scottish education system than in other systems in England, Wales or Northern Ireland?

This depends on what counts as social inclusion. If we take the provision of common schools as an indicator then Scotland has a small independent sector, with less than 4% of the school population attending such schools. However, it should be noted that this figure disguises large variation in different parts of the country. In Edinburgh, for example, it is usually reckoned that about 25% of the secondary school population attend independent schools. The proportion of pupils in special schools remains fairly steady at around 1.8%. Separate provision for Roman Catholics in the state sector remains. There are very few single sex schools. There is thus less fragmented provision in Scotland than in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

If we look inside Scottish state schools at socially inclusive practices, there is a common curriculum 5-16 and a common system of assessment at Standard Grade and Higher Still. There is no streaming but there is setting from 14+ and this pertains to some extent at 12+. There is concern in Scotland as elsewhere about the level of exclusion from school. Four times as many boys than girls are excluded and there is a general concern about the underachievement of boys. Schools are increasingly aware of the importance of a positive ethos and over 1000 schools are members of the Scottish Schools Ethos Network (which I direct). This focuses on practices to evaluate and develop a positive ethos in terms of positive relationships amongst the school community. The current focus of the network is in sharing good practice amongst schools in involving pupils in decision making. (Information about the network and certain key publications have been distributed in N Ireland). In Scotland as elsewhere there is concern about bullying and a network has been established to share research based information about good practice.

Thus, I think in terms of provision, Scotland is probably more socially inclusive. In terms of day to day practices, it is my impression that Scotland has very similar problems to those of other parts of the UK.

6. Is there any evidence of concern on the part of teachers, higher and further education institutions and employers regarding the introduction of the new Higher Still exams?

There as been widespread concern about the maladministration of the examinations and in particular with the failure of the SQA to cope with the volume of internal assessment marks provided by schools. Much of the subsequent debate has concerned the role of internal and external assessment.

There has also been concern about the intellectual integrity of 'chunking' up knowledge into discrete units, which are assessed separately.

More generally teachers have felt excluded from the policy process by which Higher Still was developed and implemented. Although there was widespread consultation about Higher Still, there is little evidence that serious attention was paid to responses. Warnings from teachers were ignored. These concerned the problems they were experiencing with SQA about the accurate recording of their internal assessments.

There have been SQA and parliamentary enquiries into the widely reported disaster of the examination results of 2000.

7. What would you identify as the main challenges facing Scottish education?

I confine my remarks to secondary schools and teaching.

n An overcrowded curriculum dominated by subject specialisms, which look increasingly out of date.

n The need to modernise initial teacher education and take seriously the continuous professional development of teachers.

n The serious consideration of ICT's contribution to learning and teaching and the potential to meet the needs of individual learners more effectively.

n The underachievement of boys.

PAMELA MUNN

written submission by:
national association of headteachers (ni)

The National Association of Headteachers (NI) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Gallagher and Smith Report on The Effects Of The Selective System Of Secondary Education in Northern Ireland. A group representing Heads and Deputies in Controlled and Maintained schools in the primary and post-primary non-selective sectors met recently in the NAHT (NI) Regional Centre to discuss it and formulated the following response. The views expressed are representative of NAHT (NI) Heads and Deputies throughout Northern Ireland in controlled and maintained schools in the Primary and Post-Primary non-selective sectors.

Since its introduction, the selection process in N Ireland has been exclusive. It has identified a percentage of pupils to potentially benefit from a particular type of curricula. This selected group was then expected to progress to higher education. The remainder were not expected, nor encouraged, to remain in secondary education beyond the statutory leaving age. The system was designed to separate and in that it achieved its objective. In our opinion it is educationally unsound, inaccurate, unfair and socially biased. The process is futile, wasteful and immoral and results in extensive emotional and motivational damage to many children. If, as a society, we claim to care about our children, we must no longer perpetuate this annual form of child abuse.

Selection at 11 is now outdated, outmoded and not suited to present day needs. It is no longer needed because there are systems already in place which have shown that children, without being selected/separated, can receive high quality educational experiences, delivered through structures which cater for all abilities. There is evidence that where there is an alternative, there are parents and pupils who will opt for it.

We strongly believe selection at 11 must be abolished and the reasons we advance to support that view are set out below.

The Curriculum

The argument that 7 years experience of primary school can be tested by two examination papers each of one hour length is no longer sustainable.

Testing children at 11 is not a valid test of ability.

It is not an accurate predictor of the future performance of any young person.

It is difficult to quantify what it is measuring.

It 'skews' the primary curriculum which, in practice, is abandoned for two years or more.

It is incompatible with, and a barrier to Curriculum development in the Primary School.

It fails to focus on the educational needs of the child.

It has not met the changing needs of society and the economy.

The reasons which have been advanced are supported in the report, "Testing The Test - A Study of the Reliability and Validity of the Northern Ireland Transfer Procedure Test in Enabling the Selection of Pupils for Grammar School Places" by John Gardner and Pamela Cowan. One of the Key Findings states that:

"Since the Test does not measure a singular attribute of candidates, it cannot be used as a proxy for any particular attribute, for example, children's ability or their potential to benefit from a Grammar school education."

That being so, the 'fitness for purpose' of the Test is brought very much into question. the phrase 'potential to benefit from a Grammar school education' re-appears in the last of the Key Findings which states that:-

"The published information on the Test does not meet the requirements of the International standards on educational testing, both generally in the provision of standard reliability and validity information and particularly, for example, in the validation of the Test outcomes in relation to its predictive power (eg 'potential to benefit from a Grammar school education') establishing norms, providing information on potential misclassification and accommodating disability."

Referring to Test Accuracy it states:-

"The evidence she (Sutherland 1990) found suggested that at best 1 in 7 and at worst 1 in 5 candidates were misplaced by the tests."

At a later stage in the report the question, "What does the Test measure?" is asked and the following answer given.

"Strictly speaking, it is not officially known what the Test measures. The Department of Education states only that the Test is designed to assist schools in allocating places. It is not claimed to be a single measure of anything; not ability, intelligence, general reasoning or anything else."

We believe the reasons we have given are educationally sound and therefore sufficiently compelling for prompt action to be taken and selection at 11 to cease.

pastoral

All schools are responsible for the Pastoral care and welfare of their pupils. Selection at 11 can undermine the ethos of a school and the principles upon which any system of pastoral care is built for the following reasons.

It is immoral to put children of that age under such stress.

It devalues the majority of children.

It does not provide for the development of the whole person.

It fails to foster the concept of inclusiveness through which all children feel equally cherished by the education system.

It ignores the fact that boys mature later than girls.

It does not provide equality of access to life opportunities for all pupils.

personal development/self-esteem

For any school which strives to build and sustain a unique, distinctive ethos, a fundamental objective is to encourage pupils to develop confidence in themselves and in their own ability and have a strong sense of self-esteem and personal worth. We firmly believe that the concept of selection and its application are in direct opposition to this in that it:-

- can significantly damage self-esteem at a crucial stage of a child's emotional and educational development;

- creates and perpetuates a feeling of failure in many pupils;

- damages personal self-confidence and self-worth;

- can create feelings of inadequacy.

recommendations

Transfer to post primary education should continue to take place at 11 (a minority would see benefit in transfer taking place at the end of Key Stage 3) following a process of parental consultation, professional guidance and external moderation.

A balance must be found to accommodate, for example, urban/rural differences.

In parallel with the abolition of selection at 11 there must be an examination of alternative school structures.

Such an exercise must recognise and acknowledge that various pathways can be, and are already, delivered in one school system.

The potential benefits for movement across different pathways must also be recognised and provision to facilitate a process of transferability would therefore need to be made. This would be eased when all provision was on one site.

Whatever system is put in place must command the wholehearted allegiance of teachers, parents, pupils, business, industry, commerce and society at large.

It must be thoroughly planned, generously resourced and be seen as investing for the future.

Debate on the development of partnerships with industry and business in funding education must be vigorously promoted with potential benefits identified.

Such a system/structures must seek to create the opportunities which will offer economic prosperity for all and social and environmental development in a more politically stable N. Ireland.

We must move to a system in which:-

- the brightest continue to be challenged and all children achieve to the maximum of their ability;

- equality of status between the Academic and Vocational paths is paramount;

- the concept and definition of 'Vocational' is understood and articulated in its broadest sense eg to include areas such as ICT/Business Studies;

- access to all, parity of status and inclusiveness for all abilities are a reality;

- there is a continuum in curriculum terms to ensure continuity from KS2 --KS3;

- a two-way programme of primary/post primary links is encouraged.

For the above ideals to be realised we recommend a rigorous and radical evaluation of the appropriateness of the Common Curriculum, and the putting in place of a package of curriculum reform which is the result of a genuine consultation process with a wide range of practitioners.

The guiding principles which determine what happens must ensure that:-

- there is equity of access for all;

- appropriate consideration is given to the impact of delayed maturation;

- parity of esteem is accorded to all young people, irrespective of ability;

- the educational experiences of all young people are valid and relevant;

- equality of status between the Academic and Vocational routes is a reality;

- there is a genuine concept of inclusiveness.

Decisions at all stages will be based on:-

- Professional guidance;

- assessment.

- pupil aptitude, ability and choice;

- parental consultation/input.

Whatever system/structures emerge must not be constrained by existing structures. They must meet the educational and other needs of all young people and ensure equality of status and parity of esteem if they are to gain widespread credibility, respect and success in what must become a new educational dispensation.

WRITTEN SUBMISSION BY:
national association of schoolmasters and
union of women teachers

CURRENT SYSTEM

Q.1. Do you believe the current transfer procedure for pupils from primary to post-primary school should remain or be changed? Why?

A.1. The current transfer procedure has been shown in research findings to be inefficient and arbitrary. It does not provide genuine equality of opportunity and results in the majority of children being unfairly stigmatised and demotivated.

Q.2. Do you think some form of selection is inevitable? If so, what form should it take?

A.2. NASUWT is opposed to institutional selection. It agrees that selection within an institution, in the form of setting and streaming, may be justified on educational grounds. The Association would have serious concerns regarding the use of mixed ability teaching in key stages 3 and 4.

Q.3. Do you think the "Gallagher and Smith" report accurately reflects the effects of the Selective System of Secondary Education in Northern Ireland? In what way?

A.3. The Gallagher Report gives a reasonable summary of the effects of the selective system in Northern Ireland.

Q.4. Do you think that sections of society are more/less advantaged by the current system?

A.4. The current system stigmatises those children who are awarded the lower grades. It accentuates the problems of social need and underachievement.

Q.5. If the current selection system was maintained what are your views on selecting by:

a. Setting tests which cover broader areas of the curriculum.

b. Allowing individual schools to set their own entrance tests.

c. Teachers and Principals of Primary Schools making the recommendations.

d. A system of continuous assessment.

e. Parental Input.

f. Combination of the above options.

A.5. a. The inclusion of Science in the current tests creates difficulties in the primary school sector because of the lack of teachers with the requisite expertise in this discipline. This problem would also apply if other teaching specialisms were to be included in the transfer tests.

b. Allowing individual schools to set their own tests would aggravate social inequality and would intensify the levels of stress to which year 7 pupils are exposed at an impressionable age.

c. The experiment, in the early years of the transfer procedure, involving teachers and principals of primary schools in making recommendations was a disaster. It left teachers and principals vulnerable to intolerable pressure from parents and would be a totally inappropriate selection mechanism.

d. A system of continuous assessment would be an effective statement of achievement but would have dubious value as a predictor of future ability.

e. The Association is at a loss to understand what is involved in a system of parental input or how this could ensure objective and equitable decisions.

f. A combination of the above options would be a cumbersome mechanism and would be unlikely to guarantee real equality of opportunity.

TRANSITION TO POST-PRIMARY SCHOOL

Q.1. What age do you believe is most appropriate for pupils transferring from primary to post-primary school and why?

A.1. The Association would have an open mind on whether 11+ or 14+ is the most appropriate age for transfer.

Q.2. What effect do you think the transfer test has on the delivery of the curriculum?

A.2. Because of the excessive coaching and preparation which it fosters, the transfer system has a debilitating effect on the final years of key stage 2.

Q.3. What role do you think parents should have in the process?

A.3. Parents are entitled to exercise choice of post-primary school within the selection criteria operated. If parents were to insist on having the school of their choice, this would make effective educational planning impossible and would result in some schools being overcrowded and other being closed.

EXAMINATIONS AND QUALIFICATIONS

Q.1. What are your views on the same curriculum being taught to all pupils? Should all schools provide the same curriculum?

A.1. The current prescriptive curriculum through to key stage 4 is determined by the needs of the GCE A-level system. There must be flexibility for those pupils who wish to follow a GNVQ route and for those who would wish to concentrate on skills based courses.

Q.2. How important is vocational education? Do you think there are sufficient opportunities for pupils to pursue vocational training qualifications within the current education system?

A.2. Vocational education is of considerable importance but has been marginalised in the present curriculum which is largely dictated by the GCE A-level examination system. This is reflected, for example, in the transformation of CDT into an academic subject, Technology.

Q.3. Do you believe equal emphasis should be placed on academic and vocational achievement?

A.3. It is imperative that vocational education courses are given parity of esteem and treatment with the GCSE and GCE A-level system.

Q.4. How could equal status be obtained for both academic and vocational qualifications?

A.4. Parity of esteem can be secured by means of a programme of joint publicity statements involving the Department, CCEA, the employing authorities, the CBI and the unions.

ALTERNATIVE STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS

Q.1. What are your views of:

a. A comprehensive system (eg the Scottish System).

b. Delayed selection (eg the Dickson Plan in Craigavon).

c. A more differentiated system of post-primary schools (eg in Germany where pupils opt for a vocational, technical or academic school).

Q.2. What manpower/financial implications would arise from each of the above options?

Q.3. What implementation difficulties could arise?

Q.4. Are there other systems/structures which you believe would be suitable? What are the manpower/ financial implications and possible implementation difficulties of these?

A.1.-4. The NASUWT believes that the imposition of one generic system would polarise opinion and would lead to some grammar schools considering leaving the state system. The Association's policy, reiterated at its 1995 Northern Ireland Conference, seeks the abolition of selection and the implementation of a system of comprehensive education in Northern Ireland. NASUWT believes that there should be flexibility of choice on specific comprehensive proposals implemented by means of the statutory consultation involved in Development Proposals.

THE PURPOSE OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

Q.1. What conditions do you believe would enable all pupils to maximise their potential? How could these be achieved?

A.1. There is a competent state of the objectives in the Executive's Programme for Government -

n seeking to provide high quality education to all, with equal access for all;

n seeking to ensure that all our young people have the skills and qualifications to gain employment in a modern economy;

n enabling people to update their knowledge, skill and qualifications; and

n assisting and supporting the socially excluded to enable them to enter or return to the workforce.

Q.2. What objectives should be identified for the education system in terms of social, educational and economic outcomes?

A.2. These objectives can most effectively be delivered if the Executive will commit itself genuinely to a policy of partnership with the key players in education, involving them fully in consultation at all stages.

written submission by:
north west institute
of further and higher education

I refer to your letter of 23 February 2001 and thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Review of Post-Primary Education in Northern Ireland.

The Institute views the current transfer system for pupils from primary to post-primary school as being in need of change. The current system is loaded against pupils from disadvantaged background and the current test methodology creates a concept of failure at an age where it can have an adverse effect on the personal development of the young person.

The Institute notes the "Gallagher and Smith" report and would not dissent from any of its major findings. It is the view of the Institute that young people from a working class background, particularly those from disadvantaged areas, are significantly disadvantaged by the current system. The evidence, in terms of young people leaving post-primary education with low levels of educational attainment, would support this contention.

The Institute does not believe that the retention of the current selection system can be modified by a different mechanism of selection. The continuation of secondary and grammar schools would lead only to a different testing system at the age of transfer and it is the issue of testing which is central to the current debate.

In terms of transition to post-primary school the Institute would suggest that the method of transfer is more important than the age of transfer. The ideal transfer age is probably in the thirteen or fourteen age cohort but such a proposal would lead towards the concept of junior schools, middle schools and upper schools and has a significant resource implication.

In terms of the impact of transfer arrangements on the delivery of the curriculum, evidence from the primary schools suggests that it leads to a significant skewing of the Key Stage 2 curriculum and to mugatory training for the tests.

The Institute is not in a position to make specific comments on the role of parents in any new process until details of that process become public. However, the Institute supports the principle of parental involvement and in a non-test transfer situation it is conceivable that parental input would be significant.

In terms of the post-primary curriculum, the Institute believes that the principle of the same curriculum being taught to all pupils is a cause of the current problem of pupil under-achievement. The Institute would support different pathways being available but those pathways must fit the needs of the young person and fit into the wider remit of economic and community development.

The Institute believes that vocational education is central to the needs and aspirations of many post-primary school students. However vocational education must deliver genuine vocational skills by competently qualified vocational staff. This could be delivered by better linkages with the further education sector rather than by devocationalising the vocational curriculum which is current practice.

The Institute support strongly the concept of parity of esteem between academic and vocational achievement and believes that proposals for future developments might benefit from examining the positive aspects of the dual system of German education.

In terms of the alternative structures and systems outlined in your letter the principle of a comprehensive system is one which would have Institute support but is unlikely to be feasible if voluntary grammar schools continue to exist. The delayed selection option is only beneficial if the post transfer model creates real options, based on the needs of the student cohort, and there is no evidence that this was a result of the Dickson plan. A more differentiated system is attractive but there are cultural aspects linked to the German system which could not be easily replicated in a Northern Ireland situation.

In essence the Institute would suggest that there may need to be wider consultation on other structures but believes that it is difficult to discuss options until there is clear commitment in terms of resources to allow for the delivery of a new system.

In terms of the purpose of the education system the Institute would propose that, at a macro level, education should be structured so as to allow the system to produce suitably trained individuals to deliver the economic and community development requirements of society. At a micro level it should provide a curriculum which allows all young people to develop their potential for making a maximum contribution to the wider society.

I hope the above is helpful but if you require additional information do not hesitate to contact me.

WRITTEN SUBMISSION BY:
NORTHERN IRELAND BUSINESS EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP (NIBEP)

INTRODUCTION

NIBEP is an organisation designed to bring together the worlds of work and of education. Its specific tasks are to enhance the educational experience, employability and entrepreneurial attitudes and skills of young people. It is made up of businesspeople and educationalists who share a common vision of the future.

Our vision sees the fields of industry, trade and commerce as linked in the most fundamental way to the rest of society. As human beings, work is how we structure and define our material environment. As producers and consumers, the level and character of economic activity determine our standard of living. As citizens, the way in which we relate to each other within the world of work and how the costs and fruits of our labours are distributed are central issues for our democracy.

Business, then, is not just about the production of wealth, important as that is. It is also about good and productive human relations, a sensible and sustainable attitude towards the environment, a desire to meet customers' needs and a willingness to contribute to general social development. The effective and profit-making businessperson is one who realises the interdependence of business and community and seeks to harmonise their interests and goals.

It is for these reasons that industry and commerce wish to attract the brightest and best of our sons and daughters to work with us. We need the highest quality work, the wisest decisions and the clearest vision. Yet this is not an elitist position. The modern economy requires higher standards from all and an increasing diversity of skills and abilities. Today, the 'brightest and best' must refer, not to a small elite but to the generality of our young people. In different ways, but with a common emphasis on improved ability to learn and process information, everyone must aspire to develop their potential to the full.

Furthermore, as owners, managers or employees, we are all citizens. We require active citizens - people who are fully conscious of both their rights and their obligations, secure in their own identities but respecting diversity, prepared to excel individually while working collectively. The decisions that citizens make in the world of work may often be as important as those they make in the world of politics. The extent to which the values of active citizenship are implemented in the economy is the extent to which they underpin our activity in the rest of civil society.

Selection at age 11, and particularly by means of the 11+ competition, is educationally and socially divisive creating a serious gulf between a minority of those who are held to be "successes" and a majority of those seen as "failures". This is socially and economically divisive.

n Flexibility and openness. Academic selection at 11 offends directly against this principle. A door is closed on the majority of our children's futures. Although there is a common curriculum from ages 4-14, 65% of our children follow this course within the disadvantaged context of secondary schools. Furthermore, there is a clear effect of hindering the academic advancement of these children. Grammar school pupils tend to pursue a route through 'A' levels to higher education while the structural position and ethos of secondary schools make this route much harder for their pupils.

Many teachers and educationalists believe that 11 is too early an age to make academic judgements about the future of children. Moreover, the nature of the test itself is problematic. It appears that the grading system applied to test results has the potential to misclassify pupils by up to three grades above or below their given grade.[1] The procedure also fails to test higher order thinking because questions are confined to tasks which yield right or wrong answers that can be clerically marked. In addition, the 11+ is the only examination that cannot be retaken. This restricts openness and flexibility and offends against the principle of life-long learning.

Selection at 11 and the nature of the 11+ competition decrease flexibility and openness, restricting the ability of most children between 11 and 14 to develop in the ways that best suit them. The test itself is limited and unreliable.

n Equal valuing and resourcing. In practice, the only measure of value used when assessing our schools is academic. The school 'league tables' are published in order of academic achievement, a school's prestige depends upon its 'results' (meaning academic credits only) and academic criteria dominate the value systems of children, parents and teachers. Yet our school system is divided on academic grounds (though based on a test of doubtful validity) when children are still unformed and their abilities undeveloped. The 'lower' two-thirds of the system, those schools that take the academic 'failures' are therefore structurally undervalued. They are tested against an academic criterion that their pupils are already assessed as having failed.

The Department review makes very clear how this confuses and demoralises teachers. "Secondary teachers felt that they were expected to fulfil a number of different objectives in their schools due to the wide range of ability among their pupils", notes the Report. We think this is quite right, as our emphasis on breadth and variety in education should make clear. However, teachers fell betrayed by the system. "..there was a barely disguised resentment at what they felt was a lack of acknowledgement among the wider public on the challenges and difficulties they faced. Secondary teachers feel that the status of schools is largely influenced by academic performance and that they are judged in comparison with grammar schools on this academic criterion".[2]

Attempts to broaden the curriculum, to develop high order skills some elements of which are not recognised by academic criteria and to provide excellent vocationally directed education are undervalued and constrained. It has been argued by Dr Leslie Caul that the continued existence of selection has constrained efforts to improve vocational education by confining the educational system to a strongly academic framework, "with the dominance of selective schools working at the expense of a non- selective sector".[3]

We do not think that this is the place to engage in full discussion of the funding mechanisms of the school system. Nonetheless, it is our view that the selective process does discriminate against the secondary school sector. As we have seen, to select on academic criteria also means, inevitably and unavoidably, to select on social or class grounds also. Grammar schools, therefore, will, by their nature, have a more advantaged group of pupils and parents. Their desire and ability to assist the schools financially will be much greater. Some grammar schools charge fees, which, on top of their government funding, can have a dramatic effect on their disposable resources.

Furthermore, the impact of selection combined with open enrolment was to increase the numbers, and hence resourcing, of those going to grammar schools.[4] Conversely, the numbers and ability profile of children going to secondary schools decreased. This "produced a less stable context within which secondary schools were operating", says the Department's report, "and added to the difficulties they say the selective system had already created for them".[5] It is clear that under-performance is directly related to the under- resourcing of secondary schools, which raises a major question of equality.

By its very nature, the selective system fails to value educational objectives equally, discriminates against a majority of the school system in terms of resourcing and thereby restricts the variety and level of educational outputs.

n Rounded education. Only a rounded education can produce the rounded personalities we require as colleagues of the future. We have emphasised how a skills mix is now essential and this must include a high proportion of 'people skills'. This is not an argument for the classic liberal 'broad education', much less is it a plea for more narrowly vocational education. On the contrary it is a question of meeting the needs of today's economy through ensuring that pupils have a wide and varied educational providing them with the 'soft' and 'hard' skills they will need in the world of work.

The main implication of this stance is that business has a direct interest in the character of our education system. For it is the main process by which citizens are developed and shaped. Our colleagues of the future are today being formed in the schools of our country. Our views are strong and we articulate them below, but we wish to reject a view that sees this interest as denoting a desire to 'commercialise' education.

Our perspective on education is not that there needs to be narrow vocational specialisation nor that the profit motive should be an overriding value. We need well-rounded human beings, able to lead and be led, and to work in respectful harmony with other people. We also require citizens with a lively appreciation of the fullness of social life and the interconnectedness of the social and economic. We reiterate that modern business does not want regimented toilers but rounded personalities with the ability to bring their initiative and knowledge to bear on workplace issues.

Our approach in the rest of this paper is, first, to examine the needs of and what is valued by the modern economy, second, generate from these the core elements of an educational strategy that could match them, third, examine how the current education system, structured as it is by the 11+ transfer system, measures up to these elements and, fourth, consider what changes or alternatives might answer our needs better.

The needs of the contemporary economy

From our experience and information available to us, it is possible to draw out some major characteristics of the contemporary economy with relevance for the nature of the workforce required and hence for the education system.

There is a high and increasing demand for a skilled workforce. In the latest edition of the Labour Market Bulletin, one article refers to the 'lively debate' in the 80s as to whether technological change would de-skill or up-skill jobs. "That debate is over", declares the author, "skill demands are rising".[6] There are a number of reasons for this and they imply that the process will continue into the foreseeable future. They also point to the changing character of skills required, points we will pick up below.

Technological change is clearly a main motor of up-skilling. As material technology becomes more complex, carries out more complicated processes and is applied in more areas, the need for persons skilled in its production, use and maintenance grows.

The information revolution, created and structured by the developments in information technology, requires an increased ability to assess, collate, manipulate and present data of different kinds.

Globalisation has a clear effect through the increasing international division of labour. High skill content industries, requiring highly educated workforces, will tend to gravitate to those developed countries which have a 'start' in this respect. At the same time, 'traditional' low skill, manual industries are declining or will move to areas of lower labour costs. The proportion of jobs requiring high skills in an economy like ours will therefore continue to be increased by both factors.

Changes in management techniques are tending to put more demands on individual employees and to change the skills required. Some examples are 'delayering'. continuous personal development, team-based working, multi-skilling, 'just-in-time' production and total quality management. Most of these emphasise the need for increased individual skills and also the ability to work collectively.

The increasing importance of the personal service sector. In much of this sector, the product being sold is the packaged and structured skill of one or more individuals, whether, for example, a chef, a personal trainer or a security consultant. Clearly, success in this sector depends on skill level.

Rising consumer power demands that services designed to enhance purchasers' experience pre and post sale or at the point or consumption also increase. In some circumstances, the quality of such services can be an important source of competitive advantage.

All these factors play a part in producing the undeniably significant increase in the skills levels our economy requires. They also point to the following characteristics of skills required.

There is a need for an increased diversity of vocational skills, though with a significant common core. The economy is becoming more diverse, with new products, material and service, proliferating. The extent and character of the skills required in these different areas will grow and change. There is also, however, an increasingly significant common core to many new vocational skills. This core is made up of skills clustering around the areas of literacy, information processing and inter-personal relations.

There is a need for individuals to possess an increased breadth and flexibility of skills. The new economy places greater demands on the individual. Workplace tasks are becoming more complex requiring each worker to have a more extensive and flexible armoury of skills. The number and variety of tasks demanded in particular jobs are increasing. Furthermore, in a lifetime of work, an individual is likely to be employed in a greater variety of specific jobs. Careers are now much less likely to be pursued within one pattern of job specific skills.

'Soft skills', largely within the areas of interpersonal communication and personal abilities, values and attitudes, are becoming as important as technical skills. What have hitherto been mainly thought of as management skills - 'getting things done through other people' - now extend much further into the generality of jobs, if defined as 'getting things done with other people'. The ability to communicate effectively with and motivate other people is now much more widely valued. Furthermore, personal qualities such as motivation, leadership, enterprise, judgement and initiative are becoming relevant in a greater range of occupations. Reasoning, making judgements and decisions, planning and managing work processes and 'operationalising' ideas are more significant in an increased number of work locations.

Elements of an educational strategy

From the above discussion, it is possible to outline the broad elements of an educational strategy. It is our view that, in principle, the strategy should come first and the structures that best implement it should then be developed. We understand the constraints that the fact of existing structures puts upon us all, but we insist that structural issues should not predominate in the discussion. We also ought to note that we do not regard formal education as the only way in which people are prepared for the world of work; we understand that the kind of workforce we have described above will only be produced by a culture of lifelong learning. It is our policy to support and encourage such learning, within and outside the workplace.

We begin by listing the desired outputs of an educational system from the economic point of view.

n A high and increasing proportion of people leaving school with high level qualifications and certified competencies. We need as many highly qualified people as ever and many more very well qualified and skilful people.

n A wide variety of vocationally relevant skills represented in the population leaving school each year.

n People with a common core of high-level competencies. Each person needs high standards of literacy, knowledge of information technology and understanding of inter-personal relations.

n Flexible individuals with a wide range of knowledge and competence.

n People who are well motivated, but who like, respect and can work with other people in all their diversity.

n Citizens with a lively sense of democracy, the importance of human rights and equality and a preparedness to participate in constructive debate and decision-making. Active citizenship is no longer something to be tolerated or regarded as an optional extra in industry. Today's workers need to have initiative, ideas and enterprise and to understand the vital fact of interdependence amongst all sort of humanity. School must help their pupils prepare for their aspect of life.

We think that the above desired outputs imply a clear set of principles for an educational strategy:

n All-round high achievement. The 'productivity' of the educational system must constantly increase. The skills of staff, the resources available in the classroom, the school estate itself, the range of experiences and skill opportunities available to pupils - all should be subject to constant improvement. We need a culture of excellence, at all levels, in all subjects and for the testing of all competencies.

n Social Inclusion. We use this term to express the principle that schools must aim to achieve success for each and every pupil. It is economically and socially divisive for there to be a high proportion of 'failures' produced by the school system. The education process should aim to achieve the maximum possible extent of high achievement at every level and in each area.

n Flexibility and openness. The above kind of achievement will only be possible with maximum flexibility in the school system. This means, on the one hand, openness to a varied learning culture, including out-of-school experiences, many of which can be offered by employers, seeing itself as the beginning of lifelong learning. On the other hand, it means minimising the extent to which, at any stage and in any area, doors are closed to further achievement. Any evidence adduced to justify the closing of any educational route to a person must be of impeccable integrity and accuracy.

n Equal valuing and resourcing. The outputs of the education system must be of uniformly high quality but of great individual variety. Within the world of work different skills and qualities are dependent upon their combination to be effective and productive. This interdependence should lead to equal valuing of them and the ways in which they are produced. We need diversity and variety in our schools, but all the different aspects need to be equally supported, particularly in terms of resourcing.

n Rounded education. High-level specialisation is necessary in some skill areas in order to acquire the depth of knowledge and experience necessary. There is a serious opportunity cost, however, if it means missing out on the 'roundedness' of education. For us this means a number of things. It is partly about keeping in touch with the "two cultures", as C P Snow called them, of science and the arts. It is partly about recognising the value of, and combining where possible, both the academic and the practical. It is also partly about understanding the pervasive impact of the information revolution, the skills of literacy in the broadest sense that it demands and the potential and limits of the technological advance that drives it. Finally, it is also about understanding the significance of human interaction and communication both in work and in life in general. The implications are, first, that the education system needs to provide this roundedness in its structure and, second, that specialisation should generally be either deferred until it is unavoidable or deliberately accompanied by opportunities to keep in touch with other areas and skills.

Selection at age 11 tested against the principles of an educational strategy

n All-round high achievement. The evidence presented in the Department of Education report and elsewhere suggests that our selective system in Northern Ireland leads to significant under-achievement. In terms of the standard academic criteria - numbers of Year 12 students gaining the equivalent of five or more GCSEs at grade A* - C - selection appears to produce a long tail of low-achieving schools. In general, selection disadvantages the entire secondary school sector, with lower resources, demoralised teachers, children who feel characterised as failures and under-valuing of non-academic success. Two thirds of our schools - and their pupils - are prevented from achieving their full potential. Amongst other problems, this can add to industry training costs when recruits have deficiencies in basic numeracy and literacy skills.

We note below that selection at 11 has a distorting effect on the primary school curriculum with the later years dominated by preparation for the test. This is bound to have a detrimental effect on achievement of some children at least at this early stage in their development.

Selection at age 11 clearly fails to produce all-round high achievement

n Social inclusion. The evidence is that whole areas of our educational system are unproductive or are, indeed, producing 'failures'. This is far from the ideal of seeking high achievement for each pupil. The situation is socially worse and more dangerous because selection on academic criteria also reinforces social segregation. The evidence is that secondary schools contain a much higher proportion of socially disadvantaged pupils than grammar schools. All the negative features of demoralisation and sense of failure noted in the literature compound that social disadvantage. Secondary school teachers report that their first task is to try and re-instil in Year 8 pupils a sense of self-worth and self-esteem destroyed through the negative impact of selection at age 11.[7]

Furthermore, though secondary school pupils start off graded lower academically by the 11+ their experience of second level schooling will put them at a further relative disadvantage to those attending grammar schools. Gallagher and Smith calculate this effect to be worth 16 GCSE points - equivalent to three passes at level C.[8]

This reality has a particularly negative effect on the vocational motivation of the young people who end up in secondary school. Their horizons are reduced and their vision of their future careers is curtailed. Sir George Quigley has argued that in reinforcing the 'class divide', the selective system has a negative impact on the economic aspirations of more than half of the population of Northern Ireland.[9]

All of these features are exacerbated by the effect of the growing number of parents who withdraw their children from the tests. Ironically, this increases the 'pass rate' in the 11+ as the proportion allocated within each band is based on a percentage of the number of children in the year, not of those that take the test. As a recent ruling by the High Court has made clear, the 11+ is a competition rather than an assessment exercise. This is one of the causes of the shift of pupils and resources to the grammar school sector described below.

Selection at 11 effectively prevents this kind of education. The problem starts in primary school. There is much evidence of the distortion of the last two years of the primary curriculum as all the emphasis goes on preparing for 'the Test'. The Education and Training Inspectorate has concerns that the upper stages of primary school are unduly influenced by the Transfer Procedure. "The main concern is that teaching styles and strategies are narrowly geared towards test preparation and that, in consequence, pupils are not receiving the broad and balanced experience envisaged by the statutory curriculum".[10]

Secondary and grammar school Heads of Department confirm that pupils come to them with a narrow understanding of the curriculum. 'Teaching to the Test', means that second level schools almost have to re-run the previous two years teaching to get their pupils up to standard in terms of a broad understanding of the curriculum.

At second level, the binary system undervalues a rounded education in two ways. In the grammar schools, the emphasis on academic excellence alone tends towards concentration on the more 'academic' subjects and, in general, leaves little space for those studies that can put academic knowledge into context. In the secondary schools, there is still a push to achieve academic distinction, given the narrow criteria for educational success we have described. Alternatives are more available, but are also undervalued. Pupils see more vocational or practical skills based courses as second class alternatives condemning them to a working life of routine and boredom. Motivating people in these areas becomes particularly difficult; when the reality is that we need high achievers in these sectors too.

'People skills' get hardly any emphasis in this value system, dominated and determined by selection on academic criteria. We make it quite clear that, as employers, we value the skills and experience that children gain in sports, of all kinds and all levels, in the arts, in all forms of personal expressions and in social service. Given the fact that, as we have stressed, the ability to work with people is a prime core skill, these areas should not be pushed to the margins of the curriculum. They are not optional extras, they are essential.

Selection at age 11 narrows the educational curriculum and helps prevent the development of a rounded education necessary to provide the mix of skills and experiences our economy needs.

Tested against the principles of an educational strategy that would deliver the abilities and skills our developing economy requires, selection at 11 and the 11+ in particular fail on all counts. It is a poor test, it is carried out too early and its consequences so distort the education system that it is currently failing to provide what we as a society need for the future: an increasingly skilled, motivated, responsible and flexible citizenry.

Alternative Strategies

We have made our opposition to the selection at 11 clear. In approaching the question of alternative strategies, we would like to be active participants in the debate, rather than partisans for a particular structure. We believe that, above all, it will be important to break the restrictive effect of narrowly academic criteria on the education system and to give higher comparative value to additional skills and to combinations of skills. Clearly, we would also wish to see any educational strategy embodying the principles we have enunciated above. In that light, we can perhaps make a few initial points in relation to alternative strategies.

First, we are opposed to selection at age 11. That means that selection must either be delayed or done away with. Second, as we are opposed to purely academic selection at any age, the delayed selection process, as practised in Craigavon, holds little appeal. Third, we value the high academic standards to be found in our grammar schools, especially their sixth forms, as well as the varied opportunities available in secondary schools and colleges of further education. Fourth, we look for more variety, more specialisation to achieve high standards (within a 'rounded' context), more choice and more flexibility.

If those points are a summary of our desired specification for a new system, we realise that any change incurs costs. We are keenly aware of the impact of structural disruption upon education and that our system has suffered a succession of changes in the recent past. In so far as is possible, we would wish to keep the best of the present system yet, with a minimum of structural disruption, make the changes that we believe are necessary for all our futures. As an organisation we would wish to be fully involved in debate around the nature of any proposed structural developments.

The purely financial costs of change must be fully borne by the public purse without deleterious effect on the funding of schools. Like any other decision on resource allocation, this will involve opportunity costs, but we believe it is hard to overestimate the priority of education.

We also understand that removing selection at 11 is not a panacea for all the shortcomings of our educational system. Development of the curriculum to meet the needs of the emerging new economy is also necessary. We welcome the proposed changes in the curriculum that give greater emphasis to the development of employability skills and the increased flexibility that disapplication can provide. It is our view that the current review of the transfer test should coincide with the review of the curriculum to maximise the educational benefits that may arise. The strategic principles we have enunciated, especially with regard to openness, flexibility and opportunities for life-long learning, as well as the necessity to develop a broad understanding of particular issues and skill sets within a wider context, have as much relevance to overall curriculum development as to selective and structural issues.

A particular point we would like to make is that the strategic involvement of stakeholders in the education system, particularly parents, is limited. While school level engagement of parents is extremely important, we do not believe it is sufficient. We suggest that the establishment of overall Parents Council for the primary and secondary sectors would be a progressive development.

In conclusion, we do not have a naïve belief that competition, selection of learning routes and assessment of attainment levels can be eradicated from an education system. Nor do we think that desirable. Competition should, however, be about the possibility of achieving excellence in a wide range of contexts rather than an all-or-nothing, win-or-lose contest. Selection should be much more about choice amongst equally valued options and assessment of attainment should be objective within a spectrum of skill mixes and achievements. An educational system that achieves these things will be one that meets the needs of industry and will be fully worthy of our children.

WRITTEN SUBMISSION BY:
northern ireland council for integrated education

1.0 Introduction

1.1 NICIE, in its capacity as the representative body for integrated schools welcomes this opportunity to contribute to the current debate on the effects of the selective system of secondary education in Northern Ireland.

NICIE acknowledges the diligent work on the part of authors Gallagher and Smith that led to the production of this wide ranging yet accessible report and furthermore applauds the effort of the Review Body to consult with all members of the community through the organisation of public meetings and the promotion of open dialogue.

1.2 Development of Responses

In order to draw together the range of opinions on this topic from across the integrated sector, NICIE itself has entered into a lengthy consultation process with its member schools. NICIE is aware that many integrated schools have already made submissions to the Review Body (Appendix 1) but would draw the Body's attention to the fact that this paper represents the current position of NICIE.

In addition to consulting with member schools NICIE also established a small working party to consider the formulation and drafting of this response as well as commissioning a short-term piece of research through Queens University which summarises the strategies used in integrated colleges to deliver an all-ability education. A summary of this research will be forwarded to the Review Body as soon as it is available.

1.3 Purpose of Education

NICIE welcomes Gallagher and Smith's comments that a starting point for discussion ought to be the "social, educational and economic objectives young people should achieve from their education experience". NICIE feels strongly that the focus for this debate should be the needs of all our young people and that school structures should ensure that no pupil leaves school the worse for his/her experience.

The NICIE Statement of Principles (see Appendix 2) states that the core aim of the integrated school is to "provide the child with a caring self-fulfilling educational experience which will enable him/her to become a fulfilled and caring adult".

A society which imposes a selective system on its young people, one which discriminates in favour of the top 35%, can not expect its adults to be the skilled, socially interactive citizens that we would like to see contribute to the development of a post-conflict society in Northern Ireland. If society desires such citizens it must ensure that our young people leave school with not only employable skills and aptitudes but also a strong self image, an open mind and an ability to adapt and evolve within a rapidly shrinking world. This focus on whole child development is central to the operation of every integrated school.

1.4 Integrated model of all-ability education

When Lagan College, the first integrated school, was established in 1981, the founding parents had already acknowledged the inherent weakness of a selective system which effectively categorised and stigmatised children at age 11 as successes or failures. Lagan was built on the foundations of the integrated all-ability principle which has successfully been re-visited in those integrated schools which followed in Lagan's footsteps. There are now seventeen integrated colleges throughout Northern Ireland.

Of the thirteen which were developed as brand new schools, nine have already established sixth forms and the remaining four will do so when their student profile develops to the appropriate 16+ level. It is the intention of most second level integrated colleges to offer a full and varied curriculum for all its pupils from the ages of 11-18. NICIE would again wish to draw the Review Body's attention to the fact that over the last 20 years integrated colleges have successfully delivered all-ability education in a non-selective environment and would present these schools as a model to be considered further within the selection debate.

2.0 Current System

2.1 It is increasingly apparent that the current transfer procedure for pupils from primary to post-primary should be abolished.

n The present system of selection in reality is not about assessing the suitability of children for different types of education, nor fundamentally at all about the educational needs of children. It exists rather to control competition for a limited number of places in selective schools. It is not therefore based on any sound educational principles.

n The present system of selection violates principles of equality and inclusion and therefore directly contravenes both the Belfast Agreement (in particular "Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity" page 16, paragraph 1) and the Draft Programme for Government (in particular "Investing in Education and Skills" section 4.1 and 4.2).

2.2 Having consulted with our schools, NICIE is satisfied that the Gallagher/Smith report accurately reflects the effects of the Selective System of Secondary Education in Northern Ireland. It is unfortunate though that the report did not explore those schools in Northern Ireland presently operating on the basis of all-ability intake.

2.3 The identified tail of underachievement referred to in the report clearly places many of our young people at a disadvantage. It is a poor reflection on our social inclusion policies that a high proportion of those young people are recognised as coming from communities which experience high levels of social deprivation. Given that all children follow the Northern Ireland Curriculum throughout their time in second level education there is no need to select them into different second level schools. The best quality teaching and learning should be made available to all pupils.

2.4 Only if the whole educational community embraces an all-ability system can individual schools deliver real inclusion. NICIE contends that children in all-ability schools benefit from a learning experience which gives them self-esteem and transferable skills to equip them for employment within the wider European market and a broader social experience for life in the 21^st century.

2.5 NICIE affirms that the current selection system is inherently flawed and unfair. Various suggestions have been made with regard to determining other means of selection, for example, continuous assessment, parental input, individual school entrance tests. NICIE feels it could not lend its support to any alternative method which would simply continue to propagate a fundamentally defective system.

APPENDIX 1

Integrated Schools submitting written responses:

Primary
Bangor Central CIPS	Castle Street, Bangor, Co Down
Braidside IPS	87 Frys Road, Ballymena, Co Antrim
Bridge IPS	Ballygowan Road, Banbridge, Co Down
Enniskillen IPS	Drumcoo,, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh
Hazelwood IPS	242 Whitewell Road, Newtownabbey
Portaferry CIPS	High Street, Portaferry
Rathenraw CIPS	Rathenraw Estate, Stiles Way, Antrim
Saints & Scholars IPS	Killuney Park, Portadown Road, Armagh
Windmill IPS	30-32 Old Eglish Road, Dungannon, Co Tyrone

Colleges
Down Academy	12 Old Belfast Road, Downpatrick, Co Down
Drumragh Integrated College	1 Donaghanie Road, Omagh
Integrated College Dungannon	21 Gortmerron Link Road, Dungannon
Hazelwood Integrated College	70 Whitewell Road, Newtownabbey
Lagan Integrated College	44 Manse Road, Castlereagh, Belfast
Oakgrove Integrated College	Stradreagh, Gransha Park, Londonderry
Priory College	My Lady's Mile, Holywood, Co Down
Slemish Integrated College	Larne Road, Ballymena

The NICIE Mission Statement is:

"To promote the concepts and principles of Integrated Education and to help make available and support Integrated Schools in Northern Ireland for all children, parents and communities who opt for them."

appendix 2

nicie statement of principles

We the representatives of the integrated schools and their supporting trusts, gathered together as members of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education, define integrated education in the Northern Ireland context as

"Education together in school of pupils drawn in approximately equal numbers from the two major traditions with the aim of providing for them an effective education that gives equal recognition to and promotes equal expression of the two major traditions. The integrated school is essentially Christian in character, democratic and open in procedures and promotes the worth and self-esteem of all individuals within the school community. The school as an institution seeks to develop mutual respect and consideration of other institutions within the educational community. Its core aim is to provide the child with a caring self-fulfilling educational experience which will enable him/her to become a fulfilled and caring adult."

WE AFFAIRM

1. that parents have the basic rights in determining the nature of their children's education as set out in the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the second Vatican Council's Declaration on Christian Education;

2. that Christianity and Humanism alike demand that children be brought up to respect those who differ from them in creed, culture, race or class;

3. that children being brought up to live as adults in a plural and divided society should be educated in a context where they will come to know, understand, respect and appreciate those who differ from them and to recognise what they hold in common as well as what divides them;

4. that children brought up in a plural and divided society should be nurtured in their parents' religious and national traditions and identity, while respecting the identity and appreciating the traditions of others;

5. that children should prepare to take responsibility for their lives as adults;

6. that children should be helped to develop self-confidence and self-respect so that they can develop confidence in and respect for others;

7. that children should learn to use and trust non-violent methods of resolving conflict;

8. that children should be encouraged and helped to be open in social relations despite difference in creed, culture, race, class, gender or ability; and

9. that children should be encouraged to identify with those less fortunate than themselves, the oppressed and victims of injustice.

In the development of integrated schools for Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland we are committed to the principles that we:

10. must seek to make them places where parents feel happy to send their children, where parents will feel secure knowing that the religious and cultural values and beliefs of their families will be respected in the school;

11. must ensure that they are founded with the consent of the parents, recognising that separate school systems for Catholics, and Protestants are a basic right for families, parents and children who want them;

12. must ensure that there is opportunity for each child to be nurtured in his or her parents' religious and cultural traditions;

13. must seek to secure and sustain deep parental participation in the life and work of the school, and in particular in its government, in the formulation of its policy, in the creation of a working partnership with the teaching staff, and the promotion of good relations with the local community;

14. must plan the schools so that their integrated character is protected from the natural segregative tendencies of a divided society;

15. must ensure that each integrated school community welcomes, respects and cherishes the children of parents having other or no religious convictions while remaining loyal to its own essentially Christian character; and

16. must ensure that the integrated school is open in its relationships with Catholic and Protestant schools and with the local community.

PRACTICAL GUIDELINES

In applying the above principles the governors, staff and parents of all integrated schools in Northern Ireland must make every effort to implement the following guidelines.

EQUALITY

There shall be equality of status within the schools for the two main ethno-religious communities of Northern Ireland.

There shall be equality of respect and treatment for all children, regardless of creed, culture, race, class, gender or ability.

These commitments to equality shall be fostered both structurally within the Board of Governors, the staff and the pupils and culturally within the overt and hidden curriculum of the school. To achieve these ends all reasonable steps shall be taken to ensure that:

(a) at least 40% of the first year intake in any year are pupils of the Catholic tradition and at least 40% of pupils are of the Protestant tradition;

(b) at least 40% of the teaching staff are of the Catholic tradition and at least 40% of the Protestant tradition;

(d) the Catholic and Protestant communities within the schools are accorded equal respect and standing;

and furthermore to:

(e) promote the learning of shared culture, beliefs and traditions;

(f) promote the learning of what is specific to the other tradition;

(g) nurture within each pupil what is specific to his or her own tradition;

(h) promote an atmosphere in which pupils will neither conceal or flaunt their own cultural identities;

(i) ensure that no symbol likely to be seen as offensive or divisive shall be displayed in the school premises or worn by pupils;

(j) ensure that when inviting well-known visitors to the school they are selected even-handedly, having regard to the perceptions of the two major communities within Northern Ireland;

(k) be democratic in all relationships between staff, parents and governors and, where possible, make decisions affecting school life on a consensual basis.

RELIGION

The school shall provide a Christian rather than a secular approach and context.

(a) The children shall learn together all that we can reasonably expect them to learn together.

(b) Where the school population includes significant numbers of children of a particular religious community, separate provision should be made to prepare such children for sacramental and liturgical participation in that specific religious community if their parents so wish. In addition the school shall encourage ministers of such religious communities to visit the school, take a pastoral interest in the children and get to know the parents and teachers.

(c) In a manner appropriate to their age and ability, pupils shall be introduced to the ideas, beliefs and practices of the major world religions and humanist philosophies.

(d) All parents should be encouraged to allow their children to follow the common elements in the religious curriculum.

(e) Where parents do not wish their children to be given any specific sacramental or liturgical preparation their wishes shall be respected and proper alternative provision shall be made for their children.

(f) In the selection of prayers, texts (c), (the text of the Lord's Prayer), readings and music for school assemblies and gatherings, care shall be taken to ensure equal prominence for the two major traditions and fair representation of other groups of significant size within the school community.

(g) Where there are significant difference in liturgical practice between the two major communities (eg in the making of the sign of the cross) children should be encouraged to continue with their normal practice.

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

The school shall promote and encourage parental involvement at all levels of school life.

(a) There shall be Parents' Council to mobilise and organise parental support and participation and to advise the Board of Governors of matters of concern to the parents.

(b) The Governors shall consult the Parents' Council when drafting or redrafting their statements of curriculum policy and discipline policy.

(d) The Governors shall consult the Parents' Council before determining the school calendar, start and end times of the school day, school uniform, homework policy and other such matters of evident import to parents.

(e) The Governors shall establish appropriate arrangements and procedures for individual and collective communication between parents and

(i) the principal;

(ii) other members of the teaching staff;

(iii) the Governors themselves.

(f) The Governors shall take steps to ensure that parents understand their obligations to play a full part in school life, for example:

(i) by regular attendance at school functions, meetings and events;

(ii) by helping during the school day;

(iii) be helping on school outings and at school events;

(iv) by taking an active interest in their children's schoolwork and homework;

(v) by encouraging their children to show respect for parents, teachers and other pupils by their manner and in their care for their appearance;

(vi) by seeing that their children attend school regularly and punctually; and

(vii) by taking part in fund-raising activities for the school.

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY

(a) The school shall wherever possible be coeducational and all-ability in character and shall seek to educate each child according to his or her educational needs.

(b) Resources and teaching strategies shall be organised to accommodate the all-ability nature of the school. In particular the school shall provide special help:

(i) for children with particular learning difficulties; and

(ii) for children at the top of the ability range.

(c) The school curriculum shall reflect not only the external demands of the Northern Ireland Curriculum, the inspectorate and the economy but also the all-ability character and integrative purpose of the school itself. In particular the school shall make provision for:

(i) a history syllabus which reflects the historical roots of the two major communities within Northern Ireland so as to illuminate both their separate and shared history;

(ii) music and dancing which reflect the culture of both major traditions;

and, on an optional basis, for

(iii) Irish language;

(iv) Irish games.

(d) In selecting texts for English language, literature and drama, care shall be taken to illustrate the contributions both of writers born in Britain and those born in Ireland, North and South.

(e) The school curriculum and the manner in which it is delivered shall encourage the development of autonomous individuals with the capacity to think, question and research.

statement of principles charter

We, the representatives of the integrated schools and their supporting trusts, gathered together as members of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education, define integrated education in the Northern Ireland context as:

Education together in school of pupils drawn in approximately equal numbers from the two major traditions with the aim of providing for them an effective education that gives equal recognition to and promotes equal expression of the two major traditions. The integrated school is essentially Christian in character, democratic and open in procedures and promotes the worth and self-esteem of all individuals within the school community. The school as an institution seeks to develop mutual respect and consideration of other institutions within the educational community. Its core aim is to provide the child with a caring self-fulfilling educational experience which will enable him/her to become a fulfilled and caring adult.

WE AFFIRM THAT

1. parents have the basic fights in determining the nature of their children's education as set out in the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the second Vatican Council's Declaration on Christian Education;

2. Christianity and Humanism alike demand that children be brought up to respect those who differ from them in creed, culture, race or class;

3. children being brought up to live as adults in a plural and divided society should be educated in a context where they will come to know, understand, respect and appreciate those who differ from them and to recognise what they hold in common as well as what divides them;

4. children brought up in a plural and divided society should be nurtured in their parents' religious and national traditions and identity, while respecting the identity and appreciating the traditions of others;

5. children should prepare to take responsibility for their lives as adults;

6. children should be helped to develop self-confidence and self-respect so that they can develop confidence in and respect for others;

7. children should learn to use and trust non-violent methods of resolving conflict;

8. children should be encouraged and helped to be open in social relations despite difference in creed, culture, race, class, gender or ability; and

9. children should be encourage to identify with those less fortunate than themselves, the oppressed and victims of injustice.

In the development of integrated schools for Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland we are committed to the principles that we must:

10. seek to make them places where parents feel happy to send their children, where parents will feel secure knowing that the religious and cultural values and beliefs of their families, will be represented in the school;

11. ensure that they are founded with the consent of the parents, recognising that separate school systems for Catholics and Protestants are a basic right for families, parents and children who want them;

12. ensure that there is opportunity for each child to be nurtured in his or her parents' religious and cultural traditions;

13. seek to secure and sustain deep parental participation in the life and work of the school, and in particular in its government, in the formulation of its policy, in the creation of a working partnership with the teaching staff, and the promotion of good relations with the local community;

14. plan the schools so that their integrated character is protected from the natural segregative tendencies of a divided society;

15. ensure that each integrated school community welcomes, respects and cherishes the children of parents having other or no religious convictions while remaining loyal to its own essentially Christian character; and

16. ensure that the integrated school is open in its relationships with Catholic and Protestant schools and with the local community.

written submission by
northern ireland council for the curriculum,
examinations & assessment

Executive Summary

The Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) provides advice to the Minister for Education on curriculum, assessment and examination matters, conducts key stage assessments, GCSE and GCE examinations, and administers the transfer procedure tests on behalf of the Department of Education.

CCEA also has a regulatory role in relation to standards in GCSE, GCE and GNVQ examinations offered in Northern Ireland. CCEA provides information and produces teaching materials relating to the implementation of curriculum requirements and assessment arrangements for grant-aided schools. In seeking to produce materials to support teachers and to address other professional development issues, CCEA commissions and undertakes research and development projects.

The Council is made up of 19 representatives of the teaching profession, business and trade unions, each appointed by the Minister for Education.

CCEA is currently involved in a major review of the school curriculum and expects that this new curriculum will start to be delivered in 2003. We believe that this curriculum will drive the enormous changes required in what is taught in our schools to prepare our young people for the challenges of the 21st century. We anticipate that it will encourage a new approach to learning and to teaching, and it will be supported by new, and more comprehensive assessment regimes.

In particular CCEA looks forward to a wide range of vocational and academic options being made available to all pupils, and to the development of new, and internationally recognised qualifications.

CCEA recognises the wider outcomes that the community expects from education. Society demands that education helps deal with the impact of social deprivation, and CCEA advocates a radical new approach to early years education to target social exclusion.

CCEA believes that an innovative approach to the curriculum can deliver the educational outcomes which the community desires, and strongly advocates that school structures should follow the curriculum. The new curriculum should encourage the development of institutions which are different in emphasis but which have uniformally high standards.

CCEA shares the widely held concerns about the Transfer Test and the related procedures. In the longer term CCEA believes that all key educational choices should be made on the basis of an informed election involving parents, children and teachers.

In the short term CCEA recognises that some schools will continue to be oversubscribed and some means of transferring pupils between institutions will be required.

CCEA believes that some changes should be made to both the timing and style of the current Transfer Test immediately. However, we will be seeking to develop a new, more comprehensive and more relevant assessment regime to complement the new curriculum. This new assessment regime must be capable of providing first class information for teachers, children and their parents to ensure that the best pathways through education are identified for every child.

1. Introduction

1.1 Fundamental changes are occurring in almost all aspects of our society. There have been significant shifts in the place of the family in society, in the influence of the churches, in the patterns of work and recreation and, recently, in the system of government. Our economy is changing rapidly. The new economy will be built on knowledge - ideas, creativity, and the ability to change these into products and services.

1.2 Increasing prosperity in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland has brought much improved living standards to most of the population. At the same time there remain major problems of social deprivation and inequality of opportunity. There is increasing disparity between the wealthiest and the poorest. There are structural problems in the balance between the different sectors of the Northern Ireland economy and weaknesses in the match between supply and demand in the skills in the workforce.

1.3 Running through all of the current processes of change is the theme of increasingly rapid technological development. We have become culturally attuned to accepting that what may have been miraculous yesterday will be ubiquitous to-morrow. These developments will be revolutionary.

1.4 It will be perhaps the greatest challenge that our education service has ever experienced to adapt successfully to these dramatic processes of change and to continue to meet the high standards that we ask of it. In this context the present review of post-primary education is well timed. However this should be only part of a root and branch review of our education provision, running from early years, through formal education to lifelong learning.

1.5 Our objective must be to create a first class education service which caters for all. In recognizing what is important in the labour market, we must encourage our young people to become active citizens with a stake in society. We must provide them with not just an opportunity to work, but to have well remunerated and highly satisfying employment as a result of a well founded education. Leading this process of change in the school sector will be the curriculum.

2. Nature of the Submission

2.1 Given the context of change set out above, We begin by identifying what it is that society now requires of its education service and what this means in terms of the outcomes that we expect in our young people. From that, links will be drawn to the strategy of the curriculum review and the direction in which it is moving. Then consideration will be given to the possible implications for the structure of post-primary education. CCEA firmly believes that this is the correct sequence. We should design school structures to match the curriculum, rather than tailor the curriculum to fit a particular structure.

3. What Society requires from Education

3.1 There have been concerns expressed in recent years from people working in the education service that too much is expected of them in curing society's problems. The widespread breakdown of the traditional family unit and falling church attendances are examples of rapidly changing social norms. Schools have been put in the front line as providers of social and moral guidance. We need to clarify what we expect schools to achieve in this area.

3.2 In terms of the needs of the economy, it is clear that there are concerns among employers that education is not meeting their requirements, as illustrated by this extract from "Strategy 2010 Economic Review Strategy Recommendations", March 1999:

"Economic development in Northern Ireland has no strategic focus which has been translated into education and training imperatives. Solutions to the performance gaps cannot be effectively delivered without addressing the links within education, and between education and the workplace.. While education is as much about personal development as it is about earning a living, nevertheless people, governments and employers have a right to expect education to be 'fit for purpose'."

3.3 In "Learning for Tomorrow's World" DE, October 1999 there are indications as to what this fitness for purpose ought to mean:

'it will be important that those emerging from education should also have the wider attributes which society and employers increasingly expect - for example, problem-solving skills, the ability to work with others and a capacity for independent learning. It may be necessary to develop new means of assessing progress in these less tangible but important areas .."

3.4 The T&EA has linked this same concern with the development of wide-ranging skills with learning throughout life in "Lifelong Learning", T&EA, 1999

'If NI businesses are to meet the challenges of the new millennium with better skilled and more adaptable employees; if the basic skills of its people as a whole are to be raised to equal those in other countries; if individuals are to be given the opportunities for personal development and communities are to be helped to respond to social and economic change, then it is essential to create a new learning culture for all where people regard acquiring skills or updating existing ones as part of everyday life'.

3.5 We need for a new "contract" that sets out society's expectations of schools and teachers and CCEA intends that the curriculum review on which it is now embarked will form the basis of that new "contract". In doing so it will be conscious of recent developments within the field of education.

3.6 These developments include the increasingly accepted concept of multiple intelligences, initially developed by Gardner (Frames of mind : the theory of multiple intelligences). This has come to replace the previous model of a single intelligence closely linked to aptitude for academic study. Also, research into the development of the brain in young people has demonstrated the links between learning processes and the different stages of brain development, and the strong influence of the context in which it takes place. In its work on the curriculum CCEA must demonstrate what we have learned from this research, and how it can have practical applications.

3.7 In response to these educational, social and economic challenges, CCEA has developed a new curriculum and assessment framework which has already received a high measure of support. This framework will provide the basis for the most revolutionary change in schools in the last 100 years. There are three interdependent objectives:

Learning programmes should provide opportunities for each young person to develop as:

- - an individual;

- - a contributor to society; and

- - a contributor to the economy and the environment.

3.8 In the first of these, the needs of the individual should be addressed in a way that promotes their capacity to function in terms of literacy and numeracy, to understand and appreciate the world they live in, and to create.

3.9 The second is about the development of young people into aware and responsible citizens, capable of sustaining family units, democratic structures and understanding issues concerning equality and justice.

3.10 In the third, the focus is on the range of personal, interpersonal and functional skills that young people need to become successful employees or employers in a world of environmental threats.

3.11 CCEA believes that, at the core of the changes that will be emerging from the review, will be a seismic shift in the balance between "knowing" and "doing" in the curriculum. That is not to undervalue the importance of knowledge and conceptual understanding, but the needs of society in the 21st century will also require that we develop in young people a range of broadly based competencies rather than simply imparting to them a body of knowledge. In its publication "Opening Minds: Education for the 21st Century" the Royal Society of Arts says:

"If we are to transform education so as to serve the needs of the future, a new strategy must be found. The reforms of the recent years have focused largely on standards and structures. These are important - standards especially; but they have almost nothing to say about whether the system can help students become more capable of meeting the more complex demands that will be made of them in the future.

The RSA believes that real transformation can only be secured if we are clear what it is that students need to learn, that is what purpose education should serve. Reforming the curriculum so that it is competence-led, instead of information-led, is we believe the most effective strategy for doing this. .. Defining the necessary competence framework would effectively redefine what we mean by a well-educated person, as well as meeting the need for transparency of purpose."

4. Nature of the Outcomes

4.1 Our current qualifications system for school leavers is, by and large, knowledge orientated. There have been changes to the examination system with the introduction of coursework and greater attention given to understanding and application of knowledge. Nonetheless the traditional focus on reproducing subject matter that has been learnt for the purposes of examination remains central to the GCSE and GCE qualifications taken by most of our 16 and 18 year-olds.

4.2 However the development in the 1990's of the GNVQ qualification demonstrated that a different approach is feasible. The original units in GNVQ's were developed on a competence framework and the assessment was largely dominated by the collection of work in the student's portfolio that illustrated how he or she had demonstrated those competencies during the course. In addition, success was conditional on the student achieving a certain level of proficiency in the key skills of Communication, Application of Number and Use of IT. While some reform of the assessment regime has been shown to be necessary in order to ensure acceptable reliability, the philosophy remains of encouraging students to manage their own learning and to develop team working and problem-solving skills.

4.3 The number of young people achieving qualifications is important, but these qualifications must be useful and relevant. It is also at least as important to consider the impact of programmes and styles of study for young people particularly in terms of their motivation and the resultant transferable skills.

4.4 Evaluation of the new GNVQ qualifications drew attention to the problems of the assessment regime referred to above, but also recorded much improved levels of student motivation. The Education and Training Inspectorate have remarked, in particular, on the extent of this improved motivation following the introduction of the Part One GNVQ aimed at 14 to 16 year olds.

4.5 Teachers reported high levels of satisfaction from teaching the new courses, but also emphasised that they were very demanding of teachers and required an entirely different approach in the classroom.

4.6 CCEA believes that changing to a competence-led curriculum will require a new approach to teaching and learning. We should draw from the experience of GNVQ, encouraging teachers to become facilitators of learning rather than imparters of knowledge. Increasing use of ICT in the classroom is likely to make that transformation easier, but there is much work needed (of which the New Opportunities Fund training is the start) to ensure that teachers feel confident in moving in that direction. Significant training and other support for teachers will be required, including, critically, a fundamental shift in teacher training. All of this must be done in a way which encourages and motivates teachers.

4.7 The changes now taking place in GCE and GNVQ and the introduction of the separate Key Skills qualification will have the effect of bringing academic and vocational qualifications closer together in structure and in name. The intention is to ensure that the two types of qualifications are accepted as of equal standing. In this there is support from HE, at least as seen in the revised UCAS system. CCEA believes that such parity of esteem is essential and needs to be reflected in attitudes to the education of younger children as well.

4.8 It is worth noting at this point the present position regarding the outcomes of education in Northern Ireland. The main positive features are:

n high levels of attainment in children leaving primary school compared with England and Wales as evidenced by Key Stage 2 teacher assessments;

n high overall levels of academic achievement by comparison with England and Wales as evidenced by examination results;

n a shorter "tail" of pupils leaving school with no qualifications (a much changed position over the last 10 years);

n a high proportion of school leavers taking up places in HE.

However, there are a number of negative features:

n the curriculum is too narrow;

n the curriculum is the same in different types of schools;

n the curriculum is too academic - there is no parity of esteem for vocational studies;

n vocational routes to further and higher education are unclear

n the pathways into FE/HE for young people with special needs are especially difficult.

4.9 The quite proper satisfaction to be drawn from the positive characteristics must be further tempered by the knowledge that there is still evidence of substantial underachievement in some of our schools and there are well-established links between low attainment and social deprivation. CCEA is also concerned that some of our young people leave school with average academic outcomes to pursue inappropriate courses in further or higher education. We feel that there should be more places for post-18 education and training. However this provision should be relevant to both the young people themselves and to the needs of the economy. Young people need top quality advice when critical decisions are being made about career options. CCEA notes the objectives of the new Connexions Service in England and Wales - to make explicit for individual children the links between what they do at school, and their options for further education and in the labour market, including through work experience.

CCEA is aware that the Training and Employment Agency is currently reviewing careers advice provision in Northern Ireland.

4.10 It is important, therefore, that in looking to the future, we recognise that:

n current levels of success in the present knowledge-based system are not automatically guaranteed in a changed competence-based one;

n success in such a new system will require different approaches to teaching that will be challenging to all schools.

n in the process of change we must seek to retain the undoubted strengths of the present system - we have a very high proportion of excellent schools and a highly committed teaching force;

n we must seek to ameliorate the impact of social deprivation on education, inasmuch as it is in the power of educators to do so;

n there are substantial financial rewards to individuals from studying for and gaining qualifications;

n we must deal with problems of underachieving schools from whatever sector;

n we must provide a range of qualifications as outcomes of our education system that reflect the range of skills and competencies that young people will need, whether these qualifications are academic or vocational in nature;

n we must involve all of the stakeholders in the decision making process.

4.11 In the next section CCEA will consider how it believes that we can take forward such an agenda in the context of the outcomes of the curriculum review.

5. How do we achieve these outcomes?

5.1 Earlier, reference was made to the new understanding of the learning process and new ideas about the nature of intelligences. These developments have their sharpest focus in relation to the earliest years of education. This stage will be considered first, followed by the primary and post-primary phases.

Early Years

5.2 In Northern Ireland the statutory age for starting school is 4. This is slightly earlier than the rest of the UK and considerably earlier than the rest of Europe. Formal instruction in reading and writing commences at that stage. Many parents regard the early acquisition of a reading book by their child as an indication of rapid progress.

5.3 Research by Lilian Katz, Christine Pascal, Ferre Laevens and others shows that a later start to such formal instruction may be beneficial to most pupils, especially boys. A carefully structured programme, which is designed to prepare children to learn, would lead to more rapid progress when formal learning does begin.

5.4 Among the anticipated benefits, should be the closing of the present "gender performance gap". The current problem is being made worse because boys are asked to begin formal reading and writing before they are ready to do so. Failure leads to demotivation, and sadly for some boys this is regularly reinforced throughout their formal schooling. We believe that a changed approach in early years should lead to a general improvement in standards of literacy and numeracy, including a major reduction in the numbers of those leaving primary school with difficulties in these areas.

5.5 Another objective is to create time for young children to establish good peer relationships and pupil teacher relationships before the process of formal learning begins. Building confidence and self-esteem in this way is, from evidence found elsewhere, likely also to reduce the impact of social deprivation on progress.

5.6 Any alternative programme will need to be very carefully explained to teachers, parents and others as one that is of benefit to all pupils and not just those who may be relatively late developers.

Primary Phase

5.7 In its initial proposals for the curriculum framework, CCEA has suggested that the change to a skills-based curriculum should begin with the application of a skills framework across all areas of the primary curriculum. More flexibility will then be given to teachers to choose the content that will provide the contexts within which these skills will be developed.

5.8 In the earlier reference to the objectives of the curriculum, stress was laid on the need to ensure that each child is functionally competent in literacy and numeracy. CCEA sees this emphasis as being wholly commensurate with the new approach, as competency in reading, writing and number is fundamental to a young person as an individual and as a member of society and as a contributor to the economy and the environment.

5.9 Research indicates relatively high levels of problems with literacy and numeracy in the Northern Ireland population, although there is evidence that the situation is better with younger age groups. Nonetheless, CCEA believes that it ought to be feasible to eradicate such problems almost entirely before children leave primary school.

5.10 Later in this submission reference will be made to the impact of the present Transfer Tests on the curriculum in upper primary school. At this stage it is sufficient to say that protracted rote learning for tests of this nature is incompatible with implementing the type of skill-based curriculum that CCEA believes now to be appropriate.

Post-primary phase

5.11 In CCEA's initial proposals for Key Stage 3, the framework continues to be one of a statutory entitlement across a wide range of curricular areas. To traditional subject headings have been added areas such as citizenship and personal, social and health education. Explicit reference has also been made to the skills needed to enhance employability. Currently, working groups are devising the proposals for the new curriculum orders within this framework. In doing so they are working to a brief that emphasises the central importance of skill development.

5.12 CCEA intends that, in each of these areas, support for teachers will be provided by model schemes of work. It will be these, as much as the new orders themselves, that will influence the process of change in terms of the new focus on skills and the types of teaching and learning approaches that will foster them.

5.13 Within the post-primary phase, it is again intended that teachers will have greater flexibility. This flexibility should enable pupils with different aptitudes and abilities to have different emphases within their curricula, differences that will be likely to lead to them taking different pathways once they reach Key Stage 4. CCEA believes that, at present, as the curriculum is specified almost totally in terms of the traditional academic subjects, schools are finding it difficult to create the necessary flexibility that will allow for the full range of differences among children.

5.14 At Key Stage 4, CCEA is now consulting on a proposed framework based around a statutory minimum entitlement consisting of:

n The Key Skills of Communication, Application of Number, Use of ICT, Improving Own Learning, Problem Solving and Working with Others;

n Personal development, including Citizenship and Career Management;

n A vocational or work-related element;

n A science or technology element;

n A creative element.

5.15 In addition, there will be a statutory requirement relating to Religious Education and it is expected that almost all pupils will take a modern language as well as one or more courses from the area of environment and society.

5.16 This is the first time in the UK that there will be a curriculum specified that is not based around a list of subjects. The intention, by setting this minimum entitlement, is to enable schools to develop a range of different pathways for different students. In some cases the pathway will be one that has a strong focus on academic subjects, while in others the principal emphasis will be vocational (in the widest sense of that word).

5.17 Referring back to the earlier mention of multiple intelligences, CCEA would stress that choice of pathway should not be seen as a reflection of a student's "ability" in the narrow sense that that word is frequently used. It is as important for options, in terms of different pathways, to be available to those currently in grammar schools as it is in secondary schools.

5.18 Opportunity for choice for young people must be accompanied by the best possible advice. Strategy 2010 recommended that career guidance provision should be enhanced to provide more informed decision making on the part of students, parents and teachers. The document went on to say :-

"Most schools have made considerable improvements in careers advice provision. Many young people, however, still drift through education in an uncertain way and those professionals currently offering advice too often have little experience of careers outside education or the public sector. With better information on skill needs and training priorities, as advocated above, careers guidance in schools will have a clearer focus. Provision in schools should be complemented by a careers service which is business-based and can offer independent, timely and well informed advice, particularly for those not following the academic route. There is no reason to assume that this service should reside within the public sector".

Qualifications

5.19 The success of these changes will depend on there being an appropriate range of highly regarded qualifications available to recognise attainment across this range of different pathways. It is expected that all pupils, probably from the age of 14 will have recognition of their competence in all six of the Key Skills.

5.20 In order to reflect the change of emphasis, even within the academic context, from content to competence, the nature of the assessment processes themselves will need to change. It will be necessary to have more emphasis on observation, group work and project work. Current developments in the application of ICT to assessment should assist these changes. They should also increase the opportunities for pupils to be partly responsible for their own assessment and, thereby, to take more responsibility for managing their learning.

Further and Higher Education

5.21 Qualifications must be appropriate for our young people in the context of our society and economy. But they must also be recognized outside Northern Ireland. Our job in CCEA will be to ensure that our local qualifications retain their current very high quality and international standing.

5.22 Developments of the type described above in curriculum and teaching approaches in schools will have to be matched with significant changes also in further and higher education. There must be appropriate routes available for young people emerging from the different pathways in post-primary education. Entrance criteria into institutions of further and higher education will have to reflect the change from content dominance of school leaving qualifications.

5.23 The Westminster government's recent decision to turn GNVQ (Advanced) into the Vocational Certificate of Education and the proposals to create the Vocational GCSE will assist in matching qualifications to pathways. The Graduation Certificate now being considered may well help in consolidating the key skills as the cornerstone of the qualifications system for school leavers. Furthermore, the introduction of the Foundation Degree may result in the creation of new courses that increase the options available to young people who want to develop further into a vocational area which they have studied at school.

6. Implications for Post-Primary School Organisation

6.1 Any major changes to the structure of post-primary schools should be undertaken with the utmost care not to put in jeopardy the very high standards of academic achievement and pastoral care evident to-day. Changes should be based on careful research and analysis that will establish, as clearly as is feasible, that there will be genuine improvement as a result. The Curriculum recommendations are being developed in the current post-primary environment. They are designed to transform that environment and its outcomes.

6.2 Structural change will take place in the context of a curriculum revolution, enormous changes in teaching approaches, and significant impact of new technology. Great care must be taken in the implementation of such a huge agenda for change.

6.3 In the context of improving the employability of young people, the speech by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, on 24 January 2001, demonstrates that the Westminster government is now fully committed to a major programme of change along the lines outlined above. In it he said:

"The extension of vocational and technical education... Introduces further diversity into the school system, allowing schools to build on their strengths, particularly where they have a relevant specialism. It opens up new choices for young people, enabling them to pursue individual programmes of study better suited to their aptitudes, abilities and enthusiasms. From 14 onwards, young people will be able to choose new vocational programmes, leading to high standard, well-understood and recognized qualifications."

6.4 The implementation for the revised curriculum is due to begin in September 2003. CCEA envisages a phased introduction. It will take some years before the changes are fully in place. Likewise, teaching approaches will only gradually begin to reflect the increased emphasis on skills and to make full use of the burgeoning availability of technology. CCEA expects that it will take at least 5 to 7 years to effect the radical agenda for change in curriculum and assessment, and in approaches to teaching and learning that it believes to be necessary.

6.5 CCEA also notes that predicted population changes will see a significant decline in the number of children attending post primary schools within 10 years. This is very likely to lead to reduction in the number of schools.

6.6 CCEA's recommendations for the revised curriculum are likely to call for wider provision for all children in post primary schools. This is also likely to create pressure for some of the smaller schools which are already finding difficulty implementing the Curriculum 2000 changes in their sixth forms. In this respect it may be helpful for further work to be done in order to establish, in the new context that will emerge from the process of curriculum change, what the optimal school size might be, or at least to identify a minimum size that is viable.

6.7 The current Transfer Test also causes significant pressures in Primary Schools. These pressures impact not only on children facing a "high stakes" decision at 11 years of age, but also in the teaching in schools. In the Northern Ireland Cohort Study, initiated by CCEA and carried out by NFER, it is reported that:

"..so frequent and widespread were the Transfer Test's impediments to the desired curriculum outcomes, that it seems appropriate to conclude by asking whether the exigencies of the Transfer Procedure could ever be compatible with the fundamental aims of the Northern Ireland Curriculum."

6.8 We speculate that the perceived "high stakes" nature of the selection process is, to a large degree, created by parents' poor view of the range of choice on offer - particularly since they lead to the same academic curriculum. The changes proposed by CCEA are intended to create more balance, to develop fully vocational and technological options for all, and to create the opportunity for highly academic students to combine depth of study with more life and work related skills. These changes, if combined with greater flexibility between institutions, will significantly alter the nature of selection for the better, shifting the balance more towards "informed election".

6.9 Apart from the curriculum impact of the current Transfer Tests CCEA is also aware of the recent research which calls into question the reliability of the grading process, if not the tests themselves.

6.10 CCEA believes that there are both long and short-term implications of curriculum change for school organisation.

6.11 CCEA believes that in considering change, a number of key principles should be set down in advance, and that they should include ensuring that:

n any change should be aimed at "optimizing upwards" towards the best that is currently available;

n alienation of young people from education, especially between the ages of 11 to 14, is combatted;

n feelings of rejection in children because of the outcomes of selection are fully understood and eliminated;

n in all that we do we must boost the self esteem of children;

n young people are presented with serious but appropriate challenges.

Long term implications

6.12 CCEA does not believe that the curriculum changes in themselves point specifically to a single form of school organization. However, both banding by ability (streaming) within institutions and selection for institutions are envisaged as the practical realities of effectively managing choice, capability and standards. The outworking of a more flexible curriculum is anticipated to be more differentiation between institutions and therefore more meaningful choices for students.

6.13 At present parental pressure for grammar school places ensures that most of those schools are oversubscribed and a process of selection is therefore required. CCEA advocates a process of planned change. The current selection process will, over a period, change into a process of informed choice involving parents, pupils and teachers - a choice which may be between institutions with different offerings but the same standards.

6.14 We envisage a wider range of options to be open to all children than is the case at present. We are not, therefore, advocating two types of curriculum, one academic and the other vocational, provided by two types of institution. A system of that nature would limit choice rather than enhance it. Rather, we foresee diversity among institutions, with some degree of specialisation, but all operating to the same standards.

6.15 Not all schools will be able to provide all of the possible pathways. Hence, it is expected that some schools will specialise, perhaps with an emphasis on science and technology, or on languages or on the creative arts. There may be some schools that have a bias towards a major vocational area, be it engineering or sports, leisure and tourism. The impact of such specialization would mostly affect post-14 pupils.

6.16 We believe that parents should, as far as possible, have a meaningful choice when choosing a school for their child and also that there should be strong parental involvement in decisions about pathways made within schools.

6.17 Improved choice may be achieved through promoting inter-school links and also school-FE links. Such collaborations may not create a wider range of options within institutions, but would make it possible to offer more possibilities in terms of pathways to the young people in each of the institutions involved. These links could provide good pilot studies for more widespread structural change.

6.18 CCEA has considered the question of transfer from one phase of education to the next and the age at which it should take place. Options include the continuance of the present transfer from primary to post-primary at age 11; the extension of primary education to a later age; or a two stage process along similar lines to the so-called "Dixon Plan" arrangement in Craigavon.

6.19 CCEA is not convinced that there is sufficient evidence to establish which of these options is preferable. We recommend that further investigation is carried out, in order to see if a change from the present age of transfer is desirable, bearing in mind the altered curriculum and assessment context in which such a change would take place.

6.20 In saying this we are conscious of the real concerns that exist about the present Transfer Test, and the management of the Transfer Process. Apart from the curriculum impact of the tests on Primary Education, the paper by Gardner has questioned Grade reliability in the Test itself. In the longer term we envisage the selection process evolving towards a process of informed election. However, it is clear that in the short term changes need to be made to the Test itself and the management of the Transfer Process.

Short term implications

6.21 Long term CCEA envisages that the new curriculum, and the related new assessment schemes will allow for decisions on post-primary education to be made on the basis of informed election involving parents, pupils and teachers (including the receiving institution), aiming to match a range of attributes and capabilities to a range of opportunities. This recognizes that not all children are the same and that institutions will differentiate themselves.

6.22 In the short term, because some schools will continue to be oversubscribed some means of organising the transfer of children between institutions must be found, particularly if the system continues to allow for parental preference.

6.23 As already stated CCEA shares the widespread concerns about several aspects of the current Transfer Test. Additionally we are concerned about the management of the Transfer Process itself.

6.24 We do not understand why the tests must take place so early in the school year, eg. GCE candidates sit examinations in June, receive results in August and take up places in new institutions in September/October. We do not understand why parents and children are required to visit post-primary institutions without knowing the outcomes of the current tests.

6.25 If the current Transfer Tests need to be maintained in the very short run, rapid improvements must be made to grade boundary reliability. CCEA believes this to be achievable.

6.26 CCEA is absolutely committed to developing more relevant and reliable assessment regimes, but these will not be available until 2003/2004 at the earliest. The principle will be, given the impact on a child's future that as much information as possible should be used in arriving at decisions. This points to the involvement of the child's teacher. It also points to the timing of the process being as close to transfer as possible - the end of Primary 7.

6.27 A previous attempt to involve teachers in the selection process in 1978-81 was judged a failure However, we have since gained much more experience of teacher assessment in primary schools, and its regulation, through the Key Stage assessment arrangements. There may be a case for re-visiting the government's original intention, when introducing Key Stage assessment, to use it also for selection purposes. There may also be a case for considering the involvement of post-primary teachers in the process as well as the children's own teachers. These are issues that CCEA would wish to begin studying in some detail if we are asked to advise on the nature of a possible replacement procedure.

7. Summary

7.1 The worlds of work and society are changing rapidly and education must prepare young people to deal with these changes. Society requires that education contributes to improvements in economic performance and social inclusion.

7.2 Whilst the current reviews of the school curriculum and post-primary education are very important they should form only a part of a complete review of education provision as a whole.

7.3 Our current education system delivers high academic standards but we are concerned about the relevance and lack of breadth of what is currently taught and assessed.

7.4 There is a well established, internationally recognized link between educational outcomes and socio economic background. Research suggests that the impact of social deprivation is best offset by interventions at the earliest possible stage. CCEA advocates substantial investment in a radical new approach to early years provision to target social exclusion.

7.5 Education reform must be based on desired individual educational and societal outcomes. These outcomes will be driven by curriculum design, teaching methodologies, assessment regimes and qualifications.

7.6 The new curriculum will seek to achieve a better balance between knowledge and skills, will encourage a new approach to learning and will require a new approach to teaching.

7.7 The new curriculum will be supported by new assessment regimes and lead to more relevant, yet internationally recognized qualifications.

7.8 The new curriculum will ensure that a wide range of vocational and academic options is available to all pupils.

7.9 The new curriculum will allow for the development of institutions to provide differentiated offerings but at uniformly high standards.

7.10 CCEA shares the concerns of others about the current transfer test and has concerns about the management of the Process.

7.11 Speculation exists as to whether transfer at an age other than 11 would produce better outcomes. CCEA proposes that any such change would need to be preceded by further research, and we are happy to participate in such research.

7.12 Long term, in the context of a new approach to the curriculum and to methods of assessment, we anticipate that all decisions will be taken on the basis of an informed election by parents, pupils and teachers.

7.13 In the short term, because some schools will continue to be oversubscribed, some means of organising the transfer of children between institutions must be found, particularly if the system continues to allow for parental preference.

7.14 In the very short term improvements can be made to the current test and the transfer process, prior to the development of a suitable assessment-based process.

written submission by:
NORTHERN IRELAND HIGHER EDUCATION COUNCIL

As part of the Committee's consideration you asked for the views of the Northern Ireland Higher Education Council (NIHEC). The Council discussed this request at its most recent meeting on 28 March and has concluded that although, strictly speaking, this falls outside its remit it should nevertheless offer some comment, given that the supply of higher education students is mainly from this sector.

The Council has therefore asked me to convey the following points which the Committee may wish to note in formulating its recommendations on the issue:

n the importance of developing clear pathways of progression to higher education through secondary and further education sectors;

n the emergence of the Northern Ireland Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (NICATS) as a significant development in the system;

n the need to ensure that whatever system is proposed in the outcome of the review that the performance of schools and individual pupils must be maintained and enhanced;

n the need to ensure a co-ordinated approach by all education providers to widening participation in higher education from under-represented groups;

n recognition of the close relationship between the universities and the teacher training colleges, and the need for the system to produce and retain well-trained teachers, especially in the areas of science and technology; and

n the importance of a flexible approach to secondary education through which pupils' differing abilities and aptitudes can be recognised and developed, for example, the concept of a joint sixth form between schools.

Northern Ireland has a relatively high Age Participation Index of around 44% of pupils entering higher education. It is considered important that those elements within the existing system enabling this to happen are identified so that they are not dismantled, with resulting detrimental effects to maintaining and improving this performance.

On the other hand, it was felt that although there has been some reduction in the numbers regarded as under- achieving within the post-primary sector, this still represented a significant issue that should be acknowledged and addressed through whatever new system is proposed.

I trust the Committee will find these comments of some help in its deliberations. Should you wish clarification of any of the points raised I will be happy to oblige.

JOHN A COOTE
Director

WRITTEN SUBMISSION BY:
THE OPEN UNIVERSITY

introduction

The Open University has been providing higher education and training in Northern Ireland since 1970 and currently receives HEFCE funding for 3600* students in the Province. This provision covers a wide range of courses from access to postgraduate degree level and is open to people in the community who do not hold standard university entrance requirement qualifications. Financial Assistance Funds (FAFs) and Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs) are available to encourage people to participate on some of these courses. Within the University's Faculty of Education and Language Studies (FELS), teacher training programmes are offered to people who wish to become teachers or who are already teaching and wish to update their skills in primary and secondary school teaching. The Open University has a long and unrivalled record of contributing to the training and development of all of those involved in the UK's education services. The outstanding features of the Open University's programmes relating to schools are:

The University's initial teacher education programme has extended the opportunity for teacher training to a wider range of people;

n from the outset of the initial teacher education programme, experienced teachers in schools have helped student teachers to develop their competence and have had a full part in assessment;

n providing a curriculum suited to each child and the important part played by language in the whole curriculum have been key features of the initial teacher education programme;

n the University' large MA in Education programme has enabled serving teachers to improve their own practice in the classroom, in curriculum development and change, in management, in understanding child development and in implementing inclusive educational aims;

n the University's eight faculties provide teachers with a convenient way of updating their subject skills through study of individual courses from our degree programmes.

Details of programmes are contained in our School of Education's Professional Development and Education Booklet which we have included for information with this response.

It is the excellence of the Open University's research in areas such as Education which supports the international quality of OU teaching programmes and which gives it its distinctive capability as a world leader in distance and on-line supported learning. The high quality of these teaching and learning programmes, offered on the basis of openness and accessibility to all, combined with local level experience of first-hand teaching of teachers in Northern Ireland enables the Open University to bring objectivity and international expertise to this response.

The Open University was founded to make education more accessible to people and in the belief that people should be given the opportunity and encouragement to reach their own potential. It is our belief that the same ethos can be applied to the education of our children and adolescents.

*The Open University also has over 4,500 students registered in the Republic of Ireland.

REVIEW ISSUES

THE PURPOSE OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

Q.1. What conditions do you believe would enable all pupils to maximise their potential? How could these be achieved?

Q.2. What objectives should be identified for the education system in terms of social, educational and economic outcomes?

The Open University wishes to begin its response by addressing the last of the issues listed in the Review document. "The Purpose of the Education System." Since 1969, a generation has witnessed the Open University expand to over 135,000 students registered world-wide all of whom can relate to the OU's core values.

"To be open as to people, open as to places, open as to methods and open as to ideas."

With regard to openness as to people, it is our experience that many people who have previously failed in the education system, can and do, given the right support and encouragement, achieve success at a later stage. This is a feature of our student body and a reflection of the quality of our support system. Over fifty per cent of OU graduates are from social classes 'D' and 'E'. Its academic regulations and structures have evolved to reflect a developing view within the University of what being "Open as to People" should mean for a heterogeneous student body. In the light of this experience it is our considered view that the Northern Ireland Assembly's Education Committee must take an "Open as to People" view in the formulation of its eventual response. It should be commended for seizing the opportunity to review the current system, but this must not be wasted. An "Open" approach to the new system must be based on the right of every young person to have access to the broadest curriculum possible, and have the fullest support to guide them through the educational pathway which gives them the fullest opportunity to develop their own skills, abilities and aptitudes.

To achieve this the post-primary system needs to recognise and engender some of the objectives which the Open University regards as fundamental for a purposeful and rounded educational experience. It is important that, through their education, young people should feel part of society and be ready to take on responsibilities in the world of work. The post-primary system must ensure that young people feel they have rights and have been given every opportunity to enable them to improve the quality of our citizenship and to make a meaningful contribution to society in general.