THE ASSOCIATION FOR QUALITY EDUCATION

QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL

Reflections on the current state of education in Northern Ireland and suggestions for the future.

December 2011

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INTRODUCTION

The Association for Quality Education exists to seek to improve the lot of all children in Northern Ireland, not just those with academic gifts. Its whole raison d’être is the promotion and provision of quality education for all. In this brief paper we shall address a range of concerns which, we believe, impinge disadvantageously on the lives of many children in Northern Ireland.

At a time when the high academic standards of Northern Ireland were seen to be placed in serious jeopardy through the abolition of selection for post-primary education, it fell to AQE to honour the wishes of the majority of parents consulted in the Province by providing an alternative in place of the abolished 11+ examination. In order to preserve the academic standards in Northern Ireland, we have established the company AQE Ltd, and, on a very tight budget, it has successfully run two Common Entrance Assessments for 2009/10 and 2010/11 (the CEA), which have been an improvement on the old 11 plus in a number of ways, including:

* the three assessment structure with the best two to count* the Access arrangements* the removal of a grading system with its potential to mark children as failures and its capacity to conceal information, and* the development of age-standardised scores. AQE Ltd has tried to be flexible, transparent and supportive of

both parents and schools and believes that it has demonstrated that it has developed assessment arrangements which have high standards of reliability and validity: the CEA meets international standards, and has reliability values in the high 90s as measured by the Cronbach Alpha.

Northern Ireland’s pupils continue to perform significantly better at GCSE and at Advanced Level than those in other parts of the United Kingdom; in addition figures consistently show that educational outcomes of children of working class or disadvantaged parents in Northern Ireland are significantly better than those achieved by the largely comprehensive systems elsewhere. Yet in spite of such high achievements, much remains to be done in the educational sphere, given the continuing rates of illiteracy and innumeracy throughout Northern Ireland. These rates need to be reduced so that a much larger percentage of our young people may achieve their potential; however the solution to raising our lower levels of educational achievement cannot be found in

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the introduction of changes that would reduce the achievement at the top end of the scale.

In our view the attacks on academic education over the last ten years and the allied attempts to make a direct link between it and underachievement have missed the point and have wasted time and resources in failing to address the real reasons for lack of motivation among some of our young people. This document focuses on wider educational, social and family issues which, we believe, do have direct links with underachievement. We strongly advocate the need for an immediate, in-depth and unbiased study of this important area and a positive, cohesive approach.

Difficult economic times lie ahead. With Northern Ireland situated on the edge of Europe with no natural resources and having lost the heavy industries that once were its source of prosperity, a highly trained and educated workforce is essential for economic survival. We believe that education in Northern Ireland must focus on building on our strengths and on addressing effectively those areas which need improvement. We make a number of suggestions in this paper which, we believe, have the potential to raise standards further. In all our suggestions, we have tried to be realistic and to have regard to the fact that there will not be the finance available for wholesale change.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Association for Quality Education (AQE) has always recognized, appreciated and supported the excellent standards of academic achievement gained by all types of schools year in year out, which are the envy of other parts of the United Kingdom, but we also believe that there are elements in our system where a fresh approach is needed. The following areas are discussed in this paper:

1. Social Mobility and Achievement

Northern Ireland’s education system caters much better for those in the lowest socio-economic groups than anywhere else in the United Kingdom. There are areas of the Northern Ireland, however, where children are the victims of lack of ambition and hope, due to the social conditions in which they live. In the first section of our paper we investigate possible causes and offer suggestions and possible solutions in Appendix A, always recognizing that reasons for underachievement can be varied and complex. Much progress has been made in some disadvantaged areas, and we see a case for a thorough investigation of this success. We also see the sharing of good practice as a very important element in any drive to raise educational standards further and so a considerable part of this discussion paper is spent on this topic with an outline of the Seven Step Framework for direct instruction being included in Appendix B.

2. The curriculum in the Primary Schools and teaching methods

This section considers academic studies which show that traditional teaching methods are best for children in challenging areas and that the use of the Revised Curriculum and an over-emphasis on skills with fewer teacher-led lessons may be leading to lower standards, particularly for those children in the medium and lower bands. It is also noted that there are proposals in England to turn back to more traditional methods of teaching in order to raise academic standards. Again there is in this section an in-depth look at the lessons which need to be learned and changes which need to be made, to prevent standards from falling further to the level of those in other parts of these islands.

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3. Subjects taken at secondary level

These subjects, and how they are taught, are fundamental to maintaining and improving educational standards in schools, colleges and universities, and to sustaining our economy and our place in the wider world. AQE has always encouraged the support of academic gifts, but also believes that there has to be increased support for science and technology, for languages and for traditional subjects, and suggests ways of achieving this goal. We are also aware of the financial restraints and look at areas where savings might be made through, for example, a more considered and practical approach to the Entitlement Framework.

4. The Entitlement Framework

This section looks at the value of the Entitlement Framework for our young people.

5. The Education and Skills Authority

The Association for Quality Education welcomes the indication that the proposals for the establishment of the Education and Skills Authority and outlines some principles which it considers to be essential to ensure the success of this new body.

6. Nursery Education

Fundamental to the well-being of our children is the start which they get on the educational ladder. Families need the assurance that places will be available for their children at this stage of their development.

7. Special Educational Needs.

AQE points out that often the special needs of children with high academic gifts are forgotten; however in this section AQE looks at the problem of the number of children who are identified as having special needs because of a specific disability, but who are not being assessed and

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are not receiving the external help which they need and deserve. We consider that this is another area of concern which requires urgent attention.

8. Time, Space and Money

We are concerned about bureaucracy and about money spent on unnecessary brochures and policies, which so often do not deliver what they claim.

9. The Education Budget

This section looks at the shortcomings of the procedures for the proper scrutiny of proposals and our concerns for the future of education because of the restriction on the amount of money available for front-line services.

Conclusion

AQE acknowledges that solutions are not easy or straightforward and that the challenges may vary from place to place. We also know that this document only touches the surface of so many issues, but we are very concerned that there are policies and practices in place, based more on ideology than research, which will lead in time, if unchecked or unchanged, to a general lowering of educational standards and to the lessening of the life-chances of many children, particularly those in disadvantaged areas. We are aware that problems of underachievement are deeply rooted and touch upon issues much wider than the educational: social, political and economic. We recognize that this discussion document offers only a partial glimpse of the problems and possible solutions, but our hope is that it will be read in depth and with an open mind, and that the recommendations will be accepted in the spirit in which they are given: to provide a better educational experience for all our young people. We commend a number of recommendations of the Research Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers on Literacy and Numeracy.

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In two appendices we offer in point-form various means by which the problems presented in this paper might be addressed

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CONTENTS

Introduction 2-3

Executive Summary 4- 7

Contents 8

1. Social mobility and achievement 9- 11

2. The Curriculum, PISA and Successful Teaching Methods 12-21 The Revised Curriculum 12-15 The Programme for International Student

Assessment (PISA) 16-18 Teaching Methods For Better Learning 19-21

3. Subjects taken at Secondary Level 22-24 Technical Education 22 Science 23 Languages 23 Specialist teachers for academic Courses 24

4. The Entitlement Framework 25=26

5. The Education and Skills Authority 27-28

6. Nursery Education 28

7. Special Educational Needs (Additional Needs) 28-30

8. Time, Space and Money 30

9. The Education Budget 31-34

CONCLUSION 35-39

APPENDIX A: The Search for Solutions 1 40-43-Addressing the Problem of Low Pupil Motivation

APPENDIX B: The Search for Solutions 11 44-45-Raising Standards for Disadvantaged Children through Direct Instruction: The Seven-Step Framework SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 46-49

1, SOCIAL MOBILITY AND ACHIEVEMENT

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Since 1947 children in Northern Ireland, irrespective of their socio-economic category or residential location, have been able to avail themselves of an opportunity to maximise their achievements according to their ability. Tens of thousands from socially deprived backgrounds have been the first in their families to benefit from a university education, having gained the entry requirements in secondary schools, comprehensive schools, grammar schools and further education colleges. Every year a much higher proportion of students accepted into higher education in Northern Ireland was drawn from the four lowest socio-economic groups than in the United Kingdom as a whole. The success of the system is also reflected in the fact that higher percentages of young people in Northern Ireland enter higher education than in Great Britain, and there is also a significant difference in the percentage of 16 and 17 year olds in Education in Northern Ireland compared with other parts of these islands. This is due to strong standards not just in grammar schools but also in the secondary schools.

AQE, however, believes that we should aim for even higher standards across the board; we are, at present, with our member schools, looking at measures capable of raising expectations further in deprived or disadvantaged areas.

1.1. Reasons for lack of aspiration and social mobility.

Many of the Northern Ireland studies carried out in this area are small in scale, are often based on a small amount of data and offer opinions and reflections from interviews. There is a need for a larger- scale investigation of this issue, in the rural, as well as the urban setting.

The reasons for this lack of aspiration are varied and complex, tend to include some of the items given below and cover a range of age groups.

1.1.1 The Primary Years

Dysfunctional families Parents with learning difficulties Parents with no interest in education Large class sizes in Primary Schools No reading support at home Areas with little or no hope in which education is not valued Lack of church or other unifying influences

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Parents who do not know how to support their children Parents with their own pressing needs Children with behavioural problems Special Educational Needs (SEN) not tackled satisfactorily The lack of use of baseline data/inconsistency of approach Some schools have a large percentage of children for whom

English is not their first language with insufficient support

1.1.2 The years of compulsory Secondary Education

Some of the above Lack of appropriate role models Early motherhood Lack of appropriate home tuition for GCSEs Lack of affordable child care for young mothers hoping to

return to education Social demands of areas Peer influence/group influence

1.1.3 Post-Primary non-compulsory years

Some from 1.1.1. and 1.1.2 Large families (less support for moving to University) Unemployed parents (less support for moving to University)

1.1.4 Male underachievement

Literacy viewed as a feminine pursuit More vulnerable to poor teaching Lack of appropriate male role models Less mature about learning More behavioural problems Not as good attention spans

1.1.5 Within communities

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As has been said, the reasons for educational underachievement are varied and complex, but certainly two main contributory causes would be the family life and the pull of the local area, and again there may be different issues between an urban area and a rural area, but AQE believes that a study of the wider problem is needed urgently. If a family has its own problems and if a young person is pulled away from a chosen course by the lure of his/her peers, it is very difficult to deal with cases like this; however while no perfect solution can be found, AQE suggests some possible approaches. It also has to be remembered that some urban areas are coping better than others. Best practice should be investigated.

What can be done to address poor motivation in pupils? Please see Appendix A.

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2. THE CURRICULUM, PISA AND IMPROVING TEACHING METHODS.

Key to the development of children is the curriculum. In Northern Ireland the Revised Curriculum is used, which encourages the use of less traditional methods of teaching. The Department of Education makes much use of data from PISA, the programme for International Student Assessment.

2.1 The Revised Curriculum.

2.1.1. Primary

It is important that all evidence is considered regarding how successful the teaching of the Revised Curriculum has been in our schools. AQE feels that much more attention should have been paid to Project Follow Through – a study which was carried out in the United States of America over a period of almost thirty years. In addition, attention should have been paid to the local Evaluation Project of the Early Years Enriched Curriculum: EYECEP.

Project Follow Through studied the scores of 75,000 low income children (across 170 communities) in the USA. The study lasted for almost 30 years, cost 1 billion dollars, and monitored the children from kindergarten to grade 3 in reading, spelling, language development and mathematics. The only study of the efficacy of CCEA’s curriculum model was the Queen’s University of Belfast’s School of Psychology study of the Early Years Enriched Curriculum in the Greater Shankill. This study confirmed the findings of Project Follow Through, finding that, for children with low or moderate IQs, the children following the Enriched Curriculum produced lower profile scores than the control group in both mathematics and English. A memorable quote from the School of Psychology’s evaluation was that the “rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer”.

The findings of Project Follow Through can be summarised as follows: Schools which teach by “direct instruction” offer their pupils

the best route out of poverty; Child-centred curricula have a tendency towards damaging

the basic skills and self-esteem of disadvantaged children; Children following curricula founded on constructivist child-

centred principles score much lower than they would have, had they been taught by direct instruction.

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We feel that there is an urgent need to examine all the issues related to the Revised Curriculum as well as the recommended modes through which it is delivered. The copy of the table which is shown below and which was taken from the Evaluation Project on the Early Years Enriched Curriculum (EYECEP), referred to above, shows a worrying trend downwards after the end of year 5. It seems to us that immediate steps need to be taken to consider if the pendulum has swung too far towards a fully skills-based and discovery educational experience. In terms of underachievement in more deprived areas, surely there is a need to pause, reflect and consider the evidence which seems to suggest that children in these areas need a more direct form of instruction?

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In addition,while French children are not required to attend school before the age of 6, more than 90% of 3-5 year olds in France attend an école maternelle. These are proper schools, which follow an academic curriculum, whose teachers have similar qualifications and status to the teachers of older children. A study by Boulot and Boyzon-Fradet, Les Immigrés et L’école (1988), showed that early childhood education in France decreased the difference in educational performance between Third World immigrant pupils, other children from disadvantaged backgrounds and French pupils from more affluent backgrounds. The French experience lends weight to the US evidence that early intervention to promote literacy, with an emphasis on phonic instruction, can compensate for deficits in the intellectual capital provided by a child’s home background. In contrast, delaying reading until it is considered “developmentally appropriate” is a recipe for widening the gap between the educational performances of children with different socio-economic backgrounds. Supporting evidence is found in a longitudinal study by Juel in which he found that:The probability that a child would remain a poor reader at the end of the fourth grade, if the child was a poor reader at the end of the first grade, was 0.88; the probability that a child would become a poor reader in fourth grade if he or she had at least average reading skills in first grade was 0.12. ... The evidence in this sample of children indicates that the poor first-grade reader almost invariably remains a poor reader by the end of fourth grade. ( P440 Juel, C. (1988).  Learning to read and write: A longitudinal study of 54 children from first to fourth grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(P4)).

2.1.2 Secondary

Although the enforcement of the Revised Curriculum may have been less prescriptive in the Secondary sector, there is the need here also for the more traditional methods not to be forgotten in the drive for a skills-based curriculum. The Revised Curriculum should not preclude both approaches as deemed appropriate for the needs of the pupils. Young people will benefit from both approaches and the balance will shift constantly in the mix of strategies employed. On one hand we believe in the need to keep content firmly at the centre and to keep subject specialisations and subject specialists at the heart of our curriculum, but there is also the

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need to allow the opportunity to challenge through the development of the thinking skills and personal capabilities, which do not allow the young people to become dependent on the teacher all the time and which develop their self-confidence and social confidence.

2.1.3 How teachers view the Revised Curriculum

AQE believes that those who lead in education should pay attention to the concerns of teachers. That being so, the concerns expressed about the Revised Curriculum in Teachers’Voice 20120 and in Termtalk Issue 22 are particularly worrying. It is reported that 48% of the written comments highlighted negative perceptions of the Revised Curriculum and 45% were positive. Large majorities of the respondents felt that the Revised Curriculum had resulted in increased workload in relation to administration (81%), lesson planning (82%) and lesson preparation (83%). 45% of the teachers who responded felt unsure about the revised Curriculum having a positive or negative effect on pupil behaviour and 39% considered that it had not. 61% reported that their pupils did not use InCAS information to improve their learning; indeed 62% felt that parents did not understand how to interpret InCAS information.

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2.2 DENI and The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The Department of Education’s reports draw a range of conclusions concerning the efficacy of schooling in Northern Ireland, based on PISA data. PISA data is used to conclude that attainment is falling over time, that pupils display average measures of attainment, that the attainment gap is wider than in the Republic, that tracking, streaming and academic selection militate against equity (as defined by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child) and inclusion, etc, etc, etc.. It will surprise those who accept the premise of these reports to learn that PISA does not claim to test how well a student has mastered a school’s specific curriculum and in fact warns that the results cannot be used to compare different educational systems.

On page 5 of the Department’s Report of the Literacy and Numeracy Taskforce 2009/10, reference is made to PISA measures of attainment in mathematics. But PISA does not claim to measure a pupil’s mastery of fractions, decimals, geometry, and so on. Rather PISA materials emphasise that “mathematical literacy” is what is being measured. The PISA definition of mathematical literacy is as follows:

“Mathematical literacy is an individual’s capacity to identify and understand the role that mathematics play in the world, to make well-founded mathematical judgements and to engage in mathematics in ways that meet the needs of that individual’s current and future life as a constructive, concerned and reflective citizen”.

Since much of the Department’s Report uses PISA data to “talk down” the achievements of Northern Ireland pupils, it is important to underline that PISA data suffers

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from too much “construct-irrelevant variance” to be used to make valid inferences about the efficacy of Northern Ireland schooling. In short, mathematical literacy simply cannot be “measured” as that word is understood in psychology and education.

In the words of the mathematician Anthony Gardiner: “Mathematical literacy as an appealing alternative to the hard grind of traditional school mathematics, like most other brands of educational “snake oil,” would seem to be a fiction, or snark.” Gardiner also opines: “The neutral observers I know who have tried to make an honest assessment of PISA have all come to the uncomfortable conclusion that there is something seriously amiss at almost all levels of the PISA programme.” An oft-quoted concern about PISA is Alan Smither’s discovery that pupils who haven’t studied science often do better on the PISA science tests than pupils who have.

Again, drawing on PISA, the Minister of Education frequently highlighted Finland’s education system as particularly worthy of emulation. However those who have specifically studied that system have found scant evidence for the child-centred, inclusive model, emphasising equality and social justice that is espoused by the Minister. To the contrary, Simola (2005) traces the success of Finland to conservative traditional teaching methods in which the authority of the teacher is paramount and in which a very thorough and rigorous approach is taken in science and mathematics. Norris et al. (1996, p.29) characterised the typical Finnish classroom thus:

Whole classes following line by line what is written in the textbook, at a pace determined by the teacher. Rows and rows of children all doing the same thing in the same way whether it be art, mathematics or geography. We have moved from school to school and seen almost identical lessons; you could have swapped the teachers over and the children would never have noticed (p.29). …in both the lower and upper comprehensive school, we did not see much evidence of, for example, student-centred learning or independent learning (p.85).

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Simola (2005, p.462) summarises the findings of Norris et al. as follows:

In the eyes of the researchers, Finnish school teaching and learning seemed to be very traditional, mainly involving frontal teaching of the whole group of students. Observations of individualised and student-centred forms of instruction were scarce. Given the enormous similarity between the schools, the observers were convinced of the high level of pedagogical discipline and order.

Contrary to the OECD’s long-standing claim that non-selective systems do better, there were indications in PISA 2000 and the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) that countries with selective systems, if anything, score higher in science. The findings show that we should not get carried away with Finland and do challenge what has been PISA’s narrative from the start, that non-selective systems do better ( The Sutton Trust, November 2010).

Of great concern, however, are the findings of the recent research by Svend Kreiner of the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Copenhagen, which throw great doubt on the accuracy of PISA’s reports since 2000. His research is entitled: Is the foundation under PISA solid? A critical look at the scaling model underlying international comparisons of student attainment. If true, it renders the conclusions of PISA and of other research papers invalid.

AQE acknowledges the place and importance of skills in the modern world, but would suggest that these need to be taught within the proper context of regard for standards and factual knowledge. In the right atmosphere for learning the use of memory will be valued and developed. The ability to apply skills to known facts, rather in a vacuum, to engage in accurate analysis and to draw valid conclusions is very important.

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2.3 Teaching Methods for Better Learning

AQE believes that skills are essential for a modern economy and society, but not at the expense of traditional tried and tested teaching methods that deliver the best results. Rigour needs to return, but in a way in which the children are sensitively challenged and encouraged to move outside their comfort zone to enjoy their lessons

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within a structured environment. It has been observed that many of us are trapped in a culture that insists that any intellectual or artistic experience must be “relevant” before pupils are exposed to it. AQE believes that our children, irrespective of the innate academic ability, must be encouraged to flex their mental muscles. While our pupils have been learning “citizenship” and “personal skills” which are important in themselves, their peers in the Far East are confronted with maths and science problems that are judged far too difficult for our children to attempt. This knowledge gap is already visible in world markets and will become even more severe. In addition we have children leaving school without basic literacy and numeracy skills.

A major purpose of education is to initiate young people into the traditions associated with the various school disciplines. In the words of Oakshott (1965 p.37): “Every human being is born an heir to an inheritance to which he can succeed only in a process of learning”. In a similar vein, Arendt (2006, p.192) argues that it is through education that adults ensure that the younger generation are prepared culturally, morally and intellectually to renew our common world: “Since the world is old, always older than they themselves, learning inevitably turns towards the past, no matter how much living will spend itself in the present.” One significant aim of the school is to acquaint its pupils with their cultural past so that they have the resources to face present challenges and engage with the future. It is the school’s responsibility both to preserve and to renew mankind’s intellectual inheritance. Oakshott stresses that education must support an inter-generational conversation so that the child has access to the legacy of human knowledge and cultural achievements, what Matthew Arnold called, “the best that has been thought and said in the world.”

Constructivist learning theory, with its roots in Piaget and Vygotsky, underpins the Revised Curriculum. Constructivism is based on the belief that children can create meaning for themselves. Unfortunately, however, constructivism can be refuted on the basis of widely-endorsed ideas dating back to Plato. How many teachers

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and parents are aware of the fact that the theory that underpins teaching and learning up to the end of Key Stage 3 in Northern Ireland may be flawed? By contrast, in traditionalist models, meaning is a property of a long-established collective tradition of systematic thought – such as mathematics, English, geography and so on – and not the property of any individual. The thinking which underpins the model proposed here is that of one of the intellects of modern times, Ludwig Wittgenstein. In what follows, the more recent writings of the polymath and world-class physical chemist, Michael Polanyi, will be used to provide a more accessible rationale for the model.

According to Wittgenstein and Polanyi, knowing is an art, learned through apprenticeship in an established tradition. School children are viewed as learning their craft in the hope that one day they may even change their tradition. Traditions change very slowly but they are nevertheless dynamical entities. The idea of tradition-free inquiry is meaningless. In Polanyi’s view, no human mind can function without accepting authority, custom and tradition, and a lot of what children learn in school they accept on the authority of their teacher. As Polanyi puts it, “No intelligence, however critical or original, can operate outside a fiduciary framework” and that framework exists in a tradition into which the child is acculturated. It is through this deliberate initiation that the child gains access to meaning in the various school subjects. Indeed, in offering responses to the teacher, the child is participating in the practice and contributing to the stability of its meanings. Traditional models stress the role of the teacher as an authority in his or her discipline (authority won through a long apprenticeship) and in the traditional model the child begins by trusting the guidance offered by the teacher before he or she can be said to know. Unlike the idea behind the child-centred model, knowledge resides in traditions rather than in individuals: Thus, knowledge is not merely social; it is communal, for traditions persist only in communities that embrace, whether tacitly or explicitly, a particular tradition as an orthodoxy. If knowing is rooted in submission to tradition and authority, it follows that belief

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precedes knowing – even in the practice of science. (Polanyi, 1969, Knowing and Being) In supporting traditional methods of teaching, AQE is not suggesting a return to the past, nor is it presenting a case for any rigorous, stereotyped, harsh regime in which children are afraid to speak their minds. The model advocated, while it may mean less play, will also mean more boundaries, more direct teacher-led lessons but above all increased levels of real learning. This, we believe, is what children need, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds where there is often little guidance and little control outside the school environment. The proposed shift in emphasis would be more beneficial to all children, but especially to those in disadvantaged areas. Traditional skills build on the past and the present; the Revised Curriculum focuses too much on the present and puts too great a burden of expectation upon the child rather than the teacher.

The Seven-Step Framework for Direct Instruction provided in Appendix B gives an outline of the guiding principles of teaching to be observed in order that high-quality learning may take place.

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3. SECONDARY LEVEL SUBJECTS

3.1 Technical Education

There is no doubt that the problems highlighted so far, arising from the curriculum and underachievement in disadvantaged areas and the curriculum, are central to the concern for raising educational standards in certain areas of the Northern Ireland. However we wish to raise some other matters which also impinge upon the life chances of our young people. Examination statistics show that the differentiated system of education in Northern Ireland caters well for the development of our children, adjusting pace and content to suit different stages of development. Children with academic gifts have good opportunities to fulfil their potential, but there are those who question if the same opportunities are available for young people whose talents are practical or technical. Indeed many see the lack of technical education as the missing link in our education system.

It is right that all children should have a solid understanding of the basic subjects in the first three years at secondary level; however by the age of 14, there needs to be some mechanism for identifying and developing children who have obvious practical skills. We urgently need

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an assessment which will identify those gifts. The questions which then need to be asked are:

Are the resources in schools available to develop these gifts? Can financial inducements be made to encourage top class

graduates to enter the teaching profession? Are the qualifications available of a sufficiently robust

nature to make the achievements acceptable at university level?

Are the arrangements for apprenticeships suitable? Are the links between industry and education strong enough?

3.2 Science

It is encouraging to note that, in Northern Ireland, Biology and Mathematics were amongst the most popular Advanced Level subjects last year, that entries for STEM subjects remain healthy with increases seen in ICT (20.8%) Technology (11.2%) and Physics (9.8%) at Advanced Level and that one of the most popular subjects at GCSE was Double Award Science.

Although there is encouragement in these figures, AQE believes that there should be no complacency but rather a drive to raise participation rates to the higher levels of earlier attainment, with increased numbers doing Triple Award Science at G.C.S.E.

Some elements which might help would be: The use of science graduates or undergraduates in voluntary

work with schools, e.g. in deprived areas. A science bus for Primary Schools to stimulate early interest. Ways to encourage some of the very best science Advanced

Level pupils towards the pure or applied sciences.AQE believes that we need to work hard to ensure that there are

specialist science subject teachers in schools. In the rest of the UK, 25% of schools do not have a specialist Physics teacher. If numbers of specialist science teachers drop to a certain level, it is very difficult to raise them again for quite some time, leaving pupils in the interim at a very serious disadvantage.

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3.3 Languages

There was some encouraging news from CCEA last August showing that all languages saw an increase in entry levels, with Spanish entries rising by 10.8%; however participation rates are still low and in the U.K. generally the numbers of pupils taking French and German this year are still both just more than half the number involved in 1999.

Expert and first rate communication is crucial to our economy. Recent moves by the UK Minister of Education to include foreign languages once again in the list of compulsory subjects in the prescribed curriculum demonstrate a high awareness of this fact. Here in Northern Ireland measures also need to be taken to improve the present situation. Many language teachers see recent specification changes as having a negative impact on the language skills of their pupils. Clearly, time and effort urgently need to be invested in a further exploration of this whole area.

3.4 Specialist Teachers for Academic courses

AQE believes that it is important that traditional academic courses should continue to be taught by subject specialists across the board. The dearth of such specialists has caused real problems for comprehensive schools in Great Britain. The phrase “anyone can teach ______” is erroneous and is simply not an option. The teacher who has been trained to the highest level in his/her subject can not only take Advanced Level pupils to new heights but can also inspire pupils in Form 1 to enjoy their subject and to develop a life interest in it. Unfortunately if the number of specialist teachers drops below a certain level, it is often very difficult to reach these heights again. Our children need the very best teachers, not ones filling in on an ad hoc, “can do” basis.

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4. THE ENTITLEMENT FRAMEWORK

Collaboration where it is voluntary and seen as valuable in developing the curricula offered is worthwhile. The concept of encouraging individual autonomous schools working together, where there is need, in order to ensure that the young people in a particular area have the opportunities to study valuable subjects is also very worthwhile; this may be particularly appropriate, though not exclusively, in more rural areas. However the question has to be asked: was this the real purpose of the Entitlement Framework or was this supposed curricular development simply another lever for rationalisation? Set alongside the policy agenda for the abolition of selection, the sustainable schools policy and the proposed Education and Skills Authority, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Entitlement Framework was more about the schools estate than about the curriculum. The drive to have each school offering a minimum of 24 GCSE courses and 27 Advanced Level courses leads one to the same conclusion. AQE sees no educational basis for the demand of the Entitlement framework for 24 courses to be available to a young person at GCSE level or 27 at Advanced Level. There is no research nor precedent offered to explain these numbers. In addition any imposition of this entitlement will be very difficult for rural schools.

The additional requirement for one third of the courses to be academic and one third vocational also makes no educational sense, especially when some vocational subjects offered may not be accepted for

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admissions to certain courses by some universities. It is worth noting that currently measures are in place in England and Wales to eliminate vocational courses which are deemed of little or no value and to raise the standard of the GCSE courses; it would not be good if Northern Ireland falls further behind in these regards. In some cases the current pressure towards collaboration in Area Learning Communities may represent a way of ensuring that pupils in small schools have access to a good variety of subjects. In the case of many others, it may mean a financially wasteful strategy in which children travel between schools at great expense, wasting valuable time to gain access to courses of unproven value.

Professor Alison Wolf of the University of London has done an extensive study of vocational courses and of what employers are looking for out of courses. Her views are based on an extensive survey of employers’ views. Her report to the Education Committee at the House of Commons was very well received and in her oral evidence, she stressed the following points:

A good academic education is the most important vocational preparation that anyone can have- even more so now;

We, as a nation, have no business putting young people on to tracks that are completely sealed off, even if they are not a dead end in the sense of not leading to anything;

There are many vocational qualifications that have no market value;

The single most important thing that we can do for young people is to make sure that none of them leave school without good English and maths skills; it is suggested that one can integrate literacy and numeracy into practical programmes, but the reality is that, in most cases, they get integrated to the point of completely vanishing; people without GCSE English and maths A to C at 16 should not give them up;

Young people should have a common core up to, say. 16 but we need to ensure that, when they do vocational courses, it is with high quality equipment and true vocational teaching;

There has been a completely extraordinary move in which every qualification has become formally equivalent on a particular scale; schools have a strong incentive to find something that is easy to deliver, perhaps because it overlapped almost completely with something that they were already doing, so that they could get two for the price of one, because it would count formally as a GCSE. The idea was

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everything would finally be worth the same as everything else, which would get rid of a hierarchy of prestige;

Employers should be far more involved at college level in the whole business of doing the examining; if a vocational certificate is being awarded, there has to be an employer involved who should be paid;

A subset of vocational qualifications should be developed to be formally recognized as truly excellent; the pre-16 education should retain an academic core

The system is just not functioning and it is not a question of tweaking; what has been created over the past 20 years is untenable.

Professor Wolf raises very serious issues. When these are added to the expense of creating and maintaining 24 or 27 courses, and to the fact that many vocational courses are not accepted by many of our top universities, then there needs to be a very serious look at what we are offering our young people and what is of real or lasting value to them. Entitlement should be what will give them the very best deal.

5. THE EDUCATION AND SKILLS AUTHORITY

The Association for Quality Education welcomes the indication that the proposals for the establishment of the Education and Skills Authority embrace several principles which it has advocated since ESA was first mooted.

While AQE will scrutinize carefully the details of the amending legislation in due course, it is particularly gratified that there will be no change to the method of appointing Governors and that, where it is already the case, Boards of Governors will continue to have powers to employ and dismiss members of staff.

Giving statutory effect to these provisions will mitigate some of the main concerns previously expressed by the voluntary grammar sector.

Indeed AQE considers that post-primary schools in the controlled sector should be able to exercise similar powers of employment if they wished to do so provided the Department of Education was satisfied that they had the necessary administrative structures in place. AQE suggests that this should be given serious consideration by the Minister, before he tables his amending legislation.

There are six keys to the success of ESA. The position of the Chair of the Board is crucial. In our

judgement, the successful applicant should be someone who is widely respected, with a deep understanding of education,

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particularly someone who has the experience of the pressures of the classroom at first hand. This person must be one who will maintain a tight control of the finances.

The Board should also be composed, in the main, of those who have some experience in education: people who are forward-thinking but also realistic and practical, not bound to experimental ideas but committed to processes which have been shown to work.

The responsibilities of the ELBs at local level need to be replaced by structures which will serve and support the schools (perhaps led by HMIs) with particular responsibility for tracking and supporting young people who are under-achieving.

It is promised that much money will be saved by the introduction of ESA. Here transparency is required and an undertaking that the full amount of money saved will go to the front line – the needs of the children.

Key to the raising of standards are the policies which schools are required to deliver. If the policies are ineffective or wrong, there will be no progress. Herein lies a problem: ESA will be responsible for raising standards; the Department of Education is to be responsible for policy-making. Will ESA act in cases if present policies are hindering progress?

Finally ESA has to address the key issues as soon as possible; over the past ten years too much time has been wasted.(1)Firstly ESA should acknowledge publically and on a

regular basis the strengths of our education system where Northern Ireland schools year in year out outperform their counterparts in other parts of the United Kingdom in the public examinations.

(2)Secondly, there are growing areas of concern which need to be addressed soon; examples include cuts in funding to schools, lack of finance for SEN, pupils leaving school with low standards of literacy and numeracy and underachievement in disadvantaged areas.

The establishment of ESA will be challenging, but it represents a golden opportunity for Northern Ireland.

6. NURSERY EDUCATION

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AQE believes that Nursery Education for all is central in the development of our children and feels that, at this important stage in the children’s upbringing, parents need assurances and information early on that places are available for their children. Proper procedures should be in place to prevent the situation where parents discover that promised places are not available.

7. SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS (SEN) - ADDITIONAL NEEDS

In any educational system children who have particular needs should be catered for individually and promptly. AQE has sought through its Access arrangements to help children with disabilities, who have applied to sit the CEA. It is clear that there are difficulties in the process of attempting to address the needs of children with SEN at Primary School level. There is no doubt that there are far more cases of need than ever before and the number is increasing, due, it is judged, to better diagnosis. The system employed in Primary Schools seems to work well up to Stage 2. If a teacher starts to think that a particular child is in need of extra help, then the child is moved to Stage 2. The child’s name is put on the Special Needs Register, an individual Education Plan is drawn up, the Teacher with responsibility becomes involved and extra help is given from within the school. For many this works well and they catch up with their peers. A review will in due course be carried out with regard to the Education Plan and the child’s progress, and if it appears that little or no progress has been made, the child is moved on to Stage 3 and is referred on, as one who needs additional support from outside the school. At this point the problem starts: schools are allowed very few referrals, perhaps one for every hundred children in the school. Many children in need do not get the help that they deserve. Some major problems exist at Stage 3. 1. It is often a very hard decision for the SENCO and the Principal to decide an order of priority. 2. Many children who could benefit most from the extra help do not have a chance to receive it. The quota system for referrals is viewed as unfair. Often the ones referred are those with strong behavioural problems or are very weak academically, while those with a specific need like dyslexia, do not have the chance of this extra help (which can often bring very quick results) and may not ever quite catch up.

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3. The question of finance and the wise use of resources arises. More children are being identified as in need of assistance due to better diagnosis and better awareness on the part of teachers and parents. However, given that £10 million was lavished on a proposed but as yet non-existent Educational and Skills Authority (ESA), it seems very wrong that many children at Stage 3 who would benefit greatly from outside specialized assistance are not granted it. 4. On occasions an unacceptable length of time can elapse before there is a response to a referral. There was for a while a situation where no new professionals were becoming available because of an increase in the length of their course and this did lead to a backlog. Generally, however, the response time can be longer than it should, while an acute shortage of Speech Therapists and other allied professionals exacerbates an already unsatisfactory situation. 5. Many primary teachers are having to cope with large classes, among which are children who are receiving support, children who need extra support but are not receiving it and as well, in some cases, children for whom English is not their first language. This is a very difficult situation for many Primary School teachers.

6. There is strong support among a number of Primary Principals for the “ring-fencing” of money to be used specifically for SEN. They feel that, as they know their pupils well, they would be able to make much more effective use of the resources available.

We realize that we are raising more questions than we are providing answers, but we are seeking to highlight the problem and request that the whole area of Special Needs be investigated as soon as possible. If some children do not receive the help that they need and deserve, then there is probably little hope of them ever catching up in the future.

It should also be borne in mind that very bright children also have their own kind of special needs. AQE Ltd., through its robust CEA, has sought to preserve a system which provides such children with entry to the level of educational challenges upon which they will thrive and develop.

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8. TIME, SPACE AND MONEY

Despite pronouncements to the contrary, this generation of teachers has been subject to a greater amount of burdensome bureaucracy than ever before. Examples of standard good teaching practice have become major policy issues. Schools have been receiving a regular supply of documents and wonder if they are all necessary. They also see that money has not been used wisely - e.g. £10 million was wasted by the Minister on ESA, with officials being employed for ESA and receiving large wages much before any law was passed to bring this body into existence. A simple rationalisation of the Education and Library Boards, without the proposed structures, bureaucracy and controls of ESA is all that is needed.

AQE, which has developed an efficient assessment system for the transition from primary to secondary level, has managed to carry out the CEA process for around £250,000 per annum. Schools need to be given more freedom as well as assurances that the Department is keeping a tight rein on resources (for example the way in which money is spent by CCEA).

9. THE EDUCATION BUDGET

For the proper and professional support of our education system, there is a number of important pre-requisites which needs to be in place. It is clear to all that, due to general budgetary pressures, cuts are needed in various areas of the education sector. It is also clear, however, that there have been serious flaws in the build-up to the production of the draft Education Budget.

It seems to us that the following elements are necessary for the public good, for the maintenance of democratic principles and for the possibility of the best possible outcomes for all concerned.

9.1 Pre-requisites for proper educational management

The Minister for Education should do his/her best to meet with the Minister for Finance early and regularly and, through discussion and appeal, do all in his/her power to get the best deal for education.

The Minister for Education should have ready in good time the details of his/her requirements and be prepared to discuss them with the Minister for Finance.

The information provided to the Education Committee should be full and detailed, containing all necessary figures,

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calculations and breakdowns of the material, with full clarity.

The Minister for Education should provide the Education Committee with the necessary information in sufficiently good time to allow for:

proper discussion; proper scrutiny; proper consideration; feedback and suggestions; discussion on suggestions.

The Minister for Education should ensure that the timing is such that Schools and Education and Library Boards know in good time, well before 1st April, what the actual grant figures are likely to be for the next academic year.

Unfortunately, very few of these procedures seem to have happened as they should. Instead they have been opaque, rushed, unprofessional and unworthy of a modern dynamic parliament, with insufficient time for proper scrutiny by the Education Committee. If cuts are to be made, then schools and Library Boards need to know as soon as possible, so that all possible contingency measures can be taken.

9.2 Other concerns

9.2.1 The levels of these cuts are beyond those experienced in Northern Ireland before and would present an extremely difficult task for any Education Minister; however there are additional areas of concern.

Northern Ireland already suffers from a high proportion of Education funds being retained by the central administration which means that, compared with England, a much smaller proportion of these funds is released here to be spent directly by the schools. By contrast, in England the central retention level is only 10%, with the result that schools there benefit from receiving up to 90% of the funding available and so the value applied in the Common Funding Formula for an English pupil is far ahead on the value accorded in grant terms to a Northern Ireland pupil.

9.2.2The Minister for Education in the last Assembly continued to retain an abnormally high percentage of funds in the centre and the budget plans

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assume that after the central bodies make their limited cuts, the schools must make up whatever cash shortfall is left.

9.2.3In England and Wales the budget is for 0.1% real growth in spending on schools. There the intention also is to cut the non-school expenditure by 33% in a number of ways, including rationalising the administration estate, staff reduction and the abolition of the GTC. DENI predictions suggest that schools in Northern Ireland will receive significantly less funding in 2014/15 than the amount required to maintain the provision at the 2010/11 level.

9.2.4There seems to be a lack of appreciation that it will take time to achieve savings from school closures and amalgamations and that such a process often involves costs in terms of new facilities for amalgamating schools.

9.2.5The drive towards the Entitlement Framework and Area Based Planning remains despite the costs in terms of transporting pupils between schools and despite the absence of any academic evidence to suggest the desirability of such a large range of subjects.

9.2.6There has been very little discussion on the impact of the cuts on the schools, and as a result significant aspects of changes to be incurred have not been adequately considered e.g.:

The loss of minority subjects which are of considerable value in the workplace e.g. a second language

Loss of some schools which are important to their communities (although inevitably, some non-viable schools will close)

Larger class sizes The dilution of the specialist knowledge available to pupils,

with teachers having to teach a broader range of subjects Increased discipline problems Increased workload causing difficulty for schools in

providing extra-curricular activities which contribute to the personal development of pupils.

All schools have very serious concerns about the amount of money available to them and, as a consequence, the deep cuts in staffing which will result, making the maintenance of standards very difficult.

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9.2.7There is not enough information on the savings proposed and very little evidence of clear thinking as to how these can be achieved e.g. the abolition of the GTCNI as in England, the streamlining of examination bodies, the creation of one Education and Library Board, in place of a grandiose version like ESA with its expensive bureaucracy.

9.2.8There is great concern in some schools about cuts in transport for children in the local rural areas; these cuts will disadvantage parents and children, will limit severely their choice of school and will affect the intake of some schools. This has to be contrasted with the money being spent on transport in order to deliver the Entitlement Framework.

AQE has great concerns about the future of education in Northern Ireland, and the many problematic aspects of the Education Budget have the potential to increase the problems even more. In the longer term, the issues raised will not just affect pupils, parents and schools, but will have a wider impact on our economy in terms of pupils leaving with fewer skills and qualifications.

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10. CONCLUSION

AQE believes in quality education for all children at all levels. While welcoming constructive change and innovation, we are wary of new-fangled policies which may be ephemeral and transitory, and which are likely to have anything other than a positive impact on the lives of children. It is our firm conviction that any policy change needs to adopt a measured and balanced approach, having regard for all research rather than simply endorsing whatever elements support a particular and preferred view. We wish to retain all that is best in our current system of schooling while allowing the schools to develop to meet the needs, abilities and aspirations of all our young people in a better and life- changing way.

Our education system achieves standards already which are higher than the targets set for the comprehensive system in England, while our lowest achievers obtain results that are at least as good as their counter parts in Great Britain. Many school returns in England and Wales about 5 GCSE figures have been inflated by counting the Intermediate GNVQ in ICT as 4 GCSE passes. Furthermore, while exhibiting the same correlation between socio-economic status and educational performance as every other country in the world, the education system in Northern Ireland has provided better opportunities for the less well off than the comprehensive/independent school mix that exists in Great Britain.

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Nevertheless AQE acknowledges that there are areas of concern, feels that a number of major issues - not least finance, the curriculum and underachievement in some urban settings - needs to be addressed and suggests that a major study is needed in order to prevent standards from falling. We have included some suggestions throughout this paper, as well as in Appendices A and B below, and would be willing to discuss them in detail.

Our educational leaders have often said that there is no pre-set agenda with regard to the future of our education system; yet the attempts to denigrate its success and to portray the alternative – comprehensive education accompanied inevitably by an independent, fee-paying sector – in a positive light, betray a certain mindset. No one doubts the need for reform, but surely the way forward is to build on our strengths rather than repeat the mistakes of Great Britain?

AQE Ltd. has stepped into the vacuum left by the abolition of the 11plus and has sought to produce assessments which reach high standards of reliability and of validity. We remain willing to play our part in helping to address the issues outlined and have already started, with the AQE associated schools, to address the issue of reaching young people in deprived areas.

It is our opinion that there is excellent material available which makes positive suggestions for a way forward. However there is little point in having this material, if there if a lack of an overall effective strategy and of sensitive leadership. A lot of money has been spent on research, on booklets (often glossy) and on meetings, but there is little to show for this “on the ground”. Money will be very restricted over the coming years. We have given a variety of suggestions for the way ahead. The real and immediate task is to establish a short-list of realistic, attainable, affordable measures, based on reliable research, which will make an immediate and permanent impact on the lives of our children.We suggest a start to be made with the following.Primary Schools

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The setting up of base-line data Early intervention Appropriate use of synthetic phonics A more traditional curriculum Consistent follow-up A more accurate way of recording levels is needed Strong school leadership An ongoing, overview and support from without

All of this can be done at no extra cost, but there needs to be a consistent overview of the individual children in need of support.

The second influential factor is the parental attitudes to their children’s education. This is a difficult area to reach, but some schools have developed effective programmes. Here there is no doubt that extra money would be needed, with, for example, the retention of the Extended Schools Programme, but AQE believes that we should never underestimate the effectiveness of voluntary support of the type that we mention earlier. The engagement of parents is very important. Much can be done without a lot of extra money.

Most Primary Principals would see the need for Reading Recovery; this would require finance but it works and can lift the struggling and give them the confidence that they need. If children can’t read by the time that they leave Primary school, they are unlikely to flourish at post-Primary level, regardless of type.

The final suggestion which would help greatly is in the use of SEN money, making finance ring-fenced to allow the schools to make the most efficient use of the resources.

Secondary SchoolsSecondary SchoolsThere is much valuable research highlighting the main factors

which can raise standards, including strong leadership, high expectations, target-setting etc. However it seems that much that is valuable gets lost amid educational jargon and an ongoing proliferation of initiatives, documents and new-fangled ideas that are not necessarily well considered. In addition there does not appear to be any overarching direction or leadership. Again, while acknowledging that the quality of teaching and of School leadership is at the heart of all attempts at improvement, we highlight a small number of factors, which if implemented consistently across schools, would raise standards in literacy and numeracy.

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A pause on initiatives, new documents and suggestions, to give Principals and teachers some much needed space

Close attention to the transition from Primary school Baseline assessment on literacy and numeracy for all at the

start of Form 1 (or the use of the CEA for all children, for diagnostic purposes, in addition to its present purpose)

Ongoing, close monitoring by Inspectors Early intervention Specific help at the point of need, even at the expense of other

subjects Traditional teaching methods (see the seven step framework) Enthusiastic and innovative teaching A specific pedagogical framework which each teacher will

follow ( on questioning, discipline, ICT, methodology etc) An adaptable timetable for those struggling with English and

Maths Homeworks to be regularly set, marked and monitored A serious look at the value of controlled assessment

None of these elements will involve extra finance and may reduce costs. The following two items would involve costs.

For those who struggle with the basics, there needs to be contact with the homes. General presentations for parents as they move into contact with a school community as their children move into Form 1 could also be developed into the offer of classes about life skills.

Undergraduates or unemployed teachers could be used as mentors for children who struggle during the first three years.

Fostering all the talents

AQE believes strongly that more must be done for those young people who have technical or practical gifts. There is no doubt that this opportunity, linked closely with the last section on Secondary education, would give many young people encouragement and hope, would affect their general attitude to other aspects of their school experience and would change patterns of underachievement for the better. Indeed for the future well-being of this Province, measures need to be taken to improve the skills’ base. This will however involve expenditure. Here are some measures identified by AQE,

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Measures at the end of KS3 to identify practical skills An assessment at the end of KS3 for all pupils to identify

these gifts An earlier vision of the challenge of the workplace Much more practical support from business and industry A comprehensive review of apprenticeships Use of the lost skills from our industrial past Development of a new communications GCSE in English and

Mathematics, entitled “Fit for the workplace”. The possibility of movement between schools at 14

Equally important is the place of science and of languages in the curriculum. This has been discussed briefly earlier. There is an urgent need to take measures to secure and to improve the place of the “hard sciences” within our schools. With these subjects, as with languages, if the numbers of specialized teachers and of children taking the subjects drop, it is very difficult to climb back to former levels. The other danger which must be resisted is the “dumbing down” of the content in order to attract more pupils to take these subjects.

In the drive for the acceptance of the Entitlement Framework, new vocational subjects have been promoted. However, it is the case that some universities, particularly the Russell Group, will not consider some of the modern vocational Advanced Level subjects for admissions to some of their courses, because the syllabuses do not have sufficient academic content. Rigour must be maintained. We have seen in England and Wales that the “dumbing down” of subjects has been used because of the pressure of league tables and of targets, in order to give the impression that standards are rising. It is interesting to note that, in England and Wales, there are now proposals to assess the effectiveness of a range of vocational subjects and to eliminate those with little or no value.

AQE offers all these suggestions because it believes that the best has to be offered to all our children for their own sake and that only the best will do in order to maintain our education system as the envy of the rest of the United Kingdom. For too long the value of the educational experience offered to some of our children has been affected adversely by a drive to insert individual political dogma. We have given much thought to many of these issues and realise that our list of suggestions is by no means an exhaustive one. We also realise that we do not have all the answers, but we would be willing to discuss the issues in depth at any time.

Our hope is that this document will be read in detail and that there will be a positive attempt to address these issues with leadership and with action. A proper and right “Entitlement Framework” would begin to address the needs of so many children in our society, starting with the pre-school experience, moving through a coherent approach at the Primary stage to Special Needs, early identification and consistent follow-up of children who are struggling, a reliable and tested curriculum, measures within the

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community and homes to support and encourage the young people, and ending with appropriate opportunities at the Secondary stage to provide not just for those with academic gifts, but for those with practical gifts. We are presently failing to meet too many of those needs. It is time to face up to the imperative to provide a quality education for all, moving forward for the sake of all children and for the sake of the whole of society.

APPENDIX A: THE SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS 1.

Addressing the Problem of Low Pupil Motivation

As we know, the problem of poor motivation for learning and the resultant failure on the part of the pupil to engage productively in the learning process stubbornly refuse to go away, with persistently worrying rates of school-leaver illiteracy and innumeracy. Solutions must be found, both for the well-being of our population and the healthy social and economic development of Northern Ireland.

Below is a list of suggestions to help address three different but clearly related aspects of this problem. Each point is made only briefly but AQE would naturally be willing to discuss any or all of these and to offer further amplification. The suggestions below focus on the following:

1. Within Schools at Primary or Secondary levels2. Within Areas Beyond School Parameters3. Male Underachievement

1. Within Schools –

Primary Appropriate curriculum

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Appropriate use of synthetic phonics Reading schemes Reading Recovery – this was highly effective A return to more traditional methods of teaching Much more direct instruction Use of the Common Entrance Assessment (CEA) for all (for

diagnostic purposes) Use of Computer Adaptive Testing (for diagnostic purposes) The effectiveness of Reading Levels data should be

examined Use of unemployed teachers, perhaps on a reduced salary, in

Reading Recovery schemes in Primary Schools Regular support for children who are falling behind in

reading, writing and mathematics so that problems may be identified early and not allowed to accumulate. This should include on-site specialist support, if judged necessary.

Formal homework clubs, perhaps through the churches Imaginative use of voluntary support Increased links with post-primary schools Smaller class sizes, particularly in infant years. Reassurance for small rural schools Increased male presence Use of university students as volunteers for reading support Formal early intervention and continued follow up. Use of volunteers from secondary school pupils Science buses to tour Primary Schools

Secondary

A number of the above Development of technical gifts, which can be motivational if

linked to the core subjects taught A review of apprenticeships More emphasis on science, especially the separate sciences Use of lost skills (from our industrial past) Use of science undergraduates or post graduates through

universities Links with business and industry Rather than using specialised schools, STEM money

(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) could be used specifically in disadvantaged areas

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Instead of an Entitlement Framework of a greater number of subjects, there should be a close focus on key subject areas

More attention to languages With university places becoming increasingly hard to get,

more thought needs to be given to other routes into the work place.

Return to traditional teaching, with a more restricted range of subjects

Development of a new robust communications GCSE in English and mathematics, entitled ‘Fit for the workplace’, to address problems faced by business and industry

Additional real investment in the post-primary sector, targeting areas of greatest need - literacy and numeracy

Greater support for Secondary Schools regarding expanded provision for Sixth Forms

Spread of best practice of imaginative use of the choice of subjects offered

Links between industry and education to be strengthened and more use to be made of those with first-hand experience in industry and commerce

Stress on inter-school sport, enrichment courses etc

2. Within Areas Beyond School Parameters - What can help?

Education for parents, through local communities, churches, schools – life skills, reading support and monetary skills

Churches have links with education and may be able to provide support

A formal network of Homework Clubs Help with Special Educational Needs Extra money to secondary/primary schools for outreach in

disadvantaged areas – twilight classes for parents and pupil support.

Development of Community Action Groups Use of parents with functional skills Further development of the “Big Society” with increased use

of voluntary assistance Use of best practice Use again of Extended Schools Project with specific

reference to helping families

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3. Male underachievement

← The Primary school← Types of books used Appropriate play materials Increased male presence Use of ICT, Information and Communications Technology

( although this is no panacea ) Maths problems Flexible style to meet individual needs Early intervention More effective use of data Strategies for parental involvement Males taking reading Use of humour Sport Types of after-school clubs

The Secondary School

Lessons well planned and organised Use of questioning The types of books used Class groupings ICT in mathematics ( not a panacea, but very useful ) More practical technology, with workshops for woodwork,

metalwork Short-term targets and goals Tackling the anti-swot culture Appropriate learning strategies Humour Care in plenary sessions Positive use of competitions within lessons Support, structure and effective interaction A highly structured environment, without stifling creativity Short focused tasks Close monitoring Notes etc in diagrammatic, as well as language-based form Immediate feedback that is specific

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This list is not exclusive. Within some disadvantaged areas, underachievement due to lack of hope or aspiration is being tackled successfully. This is an urgent need not only for a general survey to establish areas and levels of underachievement, but also to identify the most successful remedial strategies. Equally urgent is the need for the spread of good practice. Problems span school life, home life and community life, and solutions need to involve education and health: we suggest the setting up of trial action zones where various bodies will join up to address the very early years and pre-school education, leading on to early support and, if needed intervention, in the lower primary years.

APPENDIX B: The Search for Solutions ll

Raising standards for disadvantaged children:Direct Instruction – the Seven Step framework

(i) Before the lesson is prepared, the teacher should have a clear idea of what the learning intentions are. What, specifically, should the pupil be able to do, understand, care about, as a result of the teaching?

(ii) The teacher needs to establish the success criteria for the lesson. The pupils need to be informed about the standards of performance which constitute acceptable achievement in the lesson. The success criteria help the teacher model what successful learning “looks like,” indicating the levels of mastery to which pupils will be held accountable.

(iii) There is a need to build commitment and engagement in the learning task. The lesson should begin with a “hook” or “mind capture” to grab the pupils’ attention. The aim is to put pupils into a receptive frame of mind before the learning intentions are shared.

(iv) The teacher should attend to input, modelling, and checking for understanding in presenting the lesson. Input refers to providing the information needed for pupils to gain the knowledge or skills, in an engaging form. Modelling is where the teacher shows pupils examples of what is expected as an end

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product of their work. The critical aspects are explained through labelling, categorising, and comparing to exemplars of what is desired. Checking for understanding involves monitoring whether the pupils have grasped what is to be learned before proceeding. It is essential to check that pupilshave grasped the core ideas of the lesson before guided practice begins.

(v) This step deals with guided practice. This is the opportunity for each pupil to demonstrate his or her grasp of the new learning by working through an activity or exercise under the teacher’s direct supervision. The teacher moves around the room to determine the level of mastery and to provide feedback and individual remediation as needed.

(vi) This step deals with the closure part of the lesson. Closure involves those actions and statements by a teacher that are designed to bring a lesson to an appropriate conclusion; the part wherein pupils are helped to bring things together in their own minds, to make sense of what they’ve just been taught. Closure is used to cue students to the fact that they have arrived at the end of the lesson, to consolidate, eliminate confusion and frustration, and reinforce the major points to be learned. Thus closure involves reviewing and clarifying the key points of a lesson, tying them together into a coherent whole.

(vii) Finally: Independent Practice. Once pupils have mastered the concept or skill, it is time to address reinforcement practice. This is provided on a repeating schedule so that the learning is not forgotten. It may be homework or group or individual work in class. It is important to note that this practice paves the way for generalisation. Through application in a range of different contexts, the skill or concept may be applied to any relevant situation and not only the context in which it was originally learned. The advocates of Direct Instruction argue that failure to take this seventh step is responsible for most pupil failure to apply what has been learned.

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2. PAPERS PRODUCED BY A.Q.E. AND ITS ASSOCIATED MEMBERS

A Response to the Burns Report 2002

Real Choice 2003

Northern Ireland’s Education System: the facts 2003

The Battle for Quality Education 2004

A Positive Alternative to the Costello Report 2004

14+ - Why Not? 2004

Our Vision for future Post-Primary arrangements 2005In Northern Ireland

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The Education (Northern Ireland) Order: 2006An Analysis of the Government’s Proposalsfor Post-Primary Education

Filling the Vacuum 2007

The Demographic Context 2007

Matching Pupils to Schools: A Twenty-First 2007Century Solution

Options 2007

14+: The compromise that is not a compromise 2007

The Revised Curriculum 2009

Quality Education for All 2011 (Discussion paper on the state of education in Northern Ireland)

More is Less 2012 (Discussion Paper containing reflections on Post-16 Choices in Northern Ireland)

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