Levels of Progression: Industrial Action

Oral Answers to Questions — Education – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 2:00 pm on 30 November 2015.

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Photo of Oliver McMullan Oliver McMullan Sinn Féin 2:00, 30 November 2015

5. Mr McMullan asked the Minister of Education to outline the progress made to resolve an industrial action over levels of progression in schools. (AQO 9206/11-16)

Photo of John O'Dowd John O'Dowd Sinn Féin

Over the last number of weeks, I have met the NITC — the Teaching Council — representatives on three occasions. I am encouraged to report a shared acknowledgement that teacher judgement is the best means of determining and reporting on a child’s progress, and a growing acceptance that the application of standards through moderation is intended to assist teachers to use the levels of progression in the classroom with confidence. I have listened to the views and concerns of the NITC, and they have listened to mine. More importantly, I have demonstrated that I am prepared to act to address them.

With that in mind, and given our common ground, it is my view that there can now be no possible justification for the continued industrial action in that area. Therefore, on 22 October I wrote to the Teaching Council, which represents all the unions, to set out the significant steps I am prepared to take on the end of key stage assessment arrangements from 2015-16, recognising that the assessment arrangements must evolve as they embed. In return, I requested that the NITC agree to bring the current industrial action in relation assessment to an end, which will allow us to move forward together.

I am encouraged to note that the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) has now suspended its industrial action in relation to statutory assessment. I understand that the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) and the Ulster Teachers' Union (UTU) have written to schools that were successful in the first call for applications for the shared education signature project to advise that they can now comply with the assessment process. I encourage those teaching unions that are still on industrial action to give the matter their urgent attention.

Photo of Oliver McMullan Oliver McMullan Sinn Féin 2:15, 30 November 2015

Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for his answers. Will he outline which unions, if any, have responded to his proposals?

Photo of John O'Dowd John O'Dowd Sinn Féin

The unions that have responded in a positive manner are the NASUWT, the INTO and the UTU. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) has advised me that it will continue with its industrial action, and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) was not involved in that specific industrial action.

We have made progress. If other unions follow the examples of these unions thus far, it will give us space to continue discussions. It will also allow the assessments to begin. As I have said repeatedly in my discussions with the unions, we need to allow the process to begin. The process will evolve over a period of time to ensure that we achieve the best education possible for our young people and have the correct way of recording and using data for that purpose. That is what we all want.

Photo of Peter Weir Peter Weir DUP

Given that, at the heart of it, there seems to be a lack of confidence in levels of progression as a means of assessment; when the Minister talks about an evolving situation, is one of the bits of evolution that has to occur an examination of alternative means of assessment as we move forward?

Photo of John O'Dowd John O'Dowd Sinn Féin

I am not keen to examine alternative means of assessment when we have not used the current assessment processes that are in place. I have been able to deal with the vast majority of genuine concerns that have been raised by the unions about levels of progression.

As I said to Mr McMullan, for the process to evolve it has to begin. I welcome the fact that a number of unions are suspending their industrial action. We will let it begin, discussions between my Department and the unions will continue, and we will achieve an assessment process that meets the needs, first and foremost, of our young people, and of our education system, our teachers, our Department of Education and all other bodies.

I was in Wales and Scotland recently and had the opportunity to discuss various forms of assessment with the Welsh and Scottish Ministers. They vary. In Scotland, they use a test and may move to a singular test. Wales uses an assessment process as well. There are different examples as to how it can be achieved. I welcome the suspension of industrial action by some of the unions. To give confidence to the system, let us get the process moving forward and ensure that we end up with an assessment that we are all satisfied with.

Photo of Sandra Overend Sandra Overend UUP

I thank the Minister for a response on the matter. I could not hear all the answer, with the speakers in this part of the Chamber, but I wonder could he —

Photo of John O'Dowd John O'Dowd Sinn Féin

The rowdy corner.

Photo of Sandra Overend Sandra Overend UUP

It is more to do with the sound system than my colleagues. Will the Minister clarify whether there is a change to what schools will have to do as part of the statutory process going forward?

Photo of John O'Dowd John O'Dowd Sinn Féin

Yes. I have had discussions with the unions and have listened to their concerns. Moderation was a concern.

I outlined to schools that moderation will now take place within the school and among a cluster of schools in that area to ensure that each school's marking regime is fair, adequate and understood by the schools around it. The level that the school uses for each element of work will actually be worked out, first, within the school and, then, among the schools surrounding it.

What is the data used for? There were concerns among the unions that the data would be used as a blunt tool to target schools as underachieving. I have reassured the schools that that will not be the case. I have asked for data to be returned to my Department in a way that will not allow me to identify individual schools but will allow me to identify trends across our education sector to be used to ensure that our policies are correct and are achieving the traction that we all want to achieve. Those are just two areas.

There are concerns about the workload around the portfolio. I have engaged with the unions around that. I believe that the measures we have put in place will ease the pressures on the teachers' workload as well.

There are many different views on what type of assessment you should use. Some would argue that you should use a simple test, and there are systems that use a test. In Scotland, the different authorities may use slightly different tests, and there may be a proposal to bring forward a single test, but the concerns raised there are my concerns around the test: you teach to the test. What I am trying to achieve is an assessment that is based on the professional judgement of the teacher on work from the curriculum that the child will do in the class.

Teachers were concerned that maybe they would score it right but the school down the road would not. I think that, if we bring schools together in clusters and they discuss and debate what a level 2, level 3 or level 4 looks like, there will be confidence among schools that it is being scored correctly. As I have constantly said and have said during this Question Time, we need to have the assessment in place for it to evolve into what we want it to achieve. Now that the unions have suspended their industrial action —

Photo of Robin Newton Robin Newton DUP

I remind the Minister of the two-minute rule.

Photo of John Dallat John Dallat Social Democratic and Labour Party

I thank the Minister for his answer. Will he agree with me — perhaps in simple English, using words of no more than two syllables — that the levels of progression were used as an accountability measure, which eroded any possible use they might have had as an assessment or learning tool?

Photo of John O'Dowd John O'Dowd Sinn Féin

What is wrong with a Department of Education or Education Authority having an accountability mechanism? How do we ensure that our young people receive the educational opportunities they should receive? I make no apologies whatever for seeking accountability tools. I have sat in front of the unions and told them that I make no apologies for seeking accountability tools. It is how those accountability tools are used that is a cause of concern to the unions. The unions, in fairness to them, are not shying away from accountability either. It is about how and for what purpose accountability is used. They were concerned that levels of progression would be a blunt tool to identify schools as underachieving and, therefore, all the power and force of the Department of Education would fall down upon them. I have assured the unions that that is not the purpose of them. I have put changes in place that will ensure that that is not the purpose of them. The purpose of levels of progression is to ensure that our young people's education is up to the standard that it should be — measured by teachers.