Press Releases21 Jun 04

Costello Report is 'a positive development'

COSTELLO REPORT IS 'A POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT'

Monday 21st June 2004

Statement from the Church of Ireland General Synod Board of Education NI

Proposals for post primary transfer in Northern Ireland.

This Board welcomes the proposals of the Costello Report as a positive development which could point a way forward for new post-primary provision in NI. In particular this Board warmly endorses the vision of the proposals which is strongly focused on the child and coincides with our Christian understanding that each child should be highly and equally valued.

It is acknowledged that many NI schools have achieved a high level of excellence and consistently out-perform equivalent schools in GB. However there are also weaknesses. Our education system does well for some pupils but not for all. Too many pupils leave school with few or no qualifications and there are serious inequalities of access to courses of study. For too long we have been content to applaud academic achievement, while those whose gifts are not academic have been much less highly esteemed.

We support the principle within Costello whereby a variety of schools and colleges work together to provide pupils with access to a much wider range of subjects. The development of partnerships should enable the strengths of each type of school to contribute to the enrichment of the educational experience. The potential for cooperation across the denominational spectrum in NI is also something of which the Board of Education NI is strongly supportive.

We support the removal of the transfer test. It has been too blunt an instrument to determine academic ability and one which has deepened social divisions. The principle of informed parental choice is one which we believe offers an equitable and child-focused approach to finding the best educational pathway. It will require alongside the pupil profile a major enhancement of guidance available to parents and necessitate significant additional resources. We acknowledge that in some areas there will be oversubscription to popular schools and consider it is therefore vital that the research to establish the future admission criteria is commenced immediately.

We have noted the recent press reports indicating concerns of some from a grammar school background. We understand these apprehensions, however we believe that while there must be a place for the best that an academic school ethos can provide, there is a wider picture to be held in view. The vision of the proposals is of a range of schools working in a cooperative way to provide pupils with a diversity of learning opportunities and skills. The world of work which children will enter in the coming decades will be very different from the one previous generations experienced and this will require pupils to possess or develop the capacity to acquire a much wider range of skills and qualifications.

Collaboration is the most effective way forward for schools for another very significant reason. The school population has declined and will continue to fall markedly in the next decade. This will have an effect on school provision which we must now begin to take seriously – working together is essential to preserve the best our schools can offer.

In giving our support to the proposals we recognise that time is of the essence and there are still areas of uncertainty to be clarified. For this reason we urge the Department of Education to take forward the various pieces of research and begin the work of the Strategic Advisory Group at the earliest opportunity.

Whilst there are many detailed matters still to be resolved, as Christian educators we take the view that these proposals deserve a fair hearing and further development. We encourage all involved to take bold steps together and apply our collective imaginations and skills to enable all our children to realise their fullest potential.