6th November 2020
The Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC) has responded to the debate on how the transfer process should be administered if AQE and PPTC tests cannot proceed as planned in January.
A spokesperson said:
“The NITC are increasingly concerned at the apparent lack of contingency planning for the transfer process, in light of the debate at the Assembly on Monday 2nd November 2020. It remains the case that AQE and PPTC assessments are going to be administered in January of 2021. Given the current context and the predicted trajectory of Covid-19, we stress the urgency of planning for the potential eventuality that these unregulated assessments cannot take place, taking into account the points outlined below”.
Could primary teachers/principals predict scores? NO
It is simply not the case that any scores exist within primary schools to take the place of transfer this year. Primary assessments are formative and not comparable across schools.
Could primary teachers/principals nominate a school? NO
Primary principals can never be asked to nominate a specific school for a child in preference to others. No primary principal recommends any post-primary school above any other.
Could primary teachers/principals host the assessments? NO
Many primary teachers and principals are opposed to academic selection. They cannot be mandated to host unregulated and non-statutory assessments. The notion of hosting tests in primary schools would lead to inequity.
Who is Responsible?
In the Assembly debate on Monday, Minister Weir confirmed that “it remains for individual Boards of Governors to define the criteria they wish to use to select children for admission”. Responsibility for a contingency plan, therefore, lies with the Boards of Governors of voluntary grammar schools, with advice and guidance being available from the Department of Education.
Trade unions have been expressing the need for a Plan B for this year since April but do not believe that there has, of yet, been any concerted effort to seek a viable, alternative form of transfer.
For the sake of our current Year 7 children, we appeal for those with responsibility to make alternative arrangements as a matter of urgency.
NITC:
- INTO
- NAHT
- NASUWT
- NEU
- UTU