Member's statement: Post-primary Transfer

Member's statement by Mr Nick Mathison on 28 January 2025.

MLA

Mr Nick Mathison

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

28 January 2025

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Post-primary Transfer

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4763547

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I highlight the need for reform of our system of post-primary transfer in Northern Ireland. Over the weekend just past, P7 pupils all across Northern Ireland received their Schools' Entrance Assessment Group (SEAG) test result. Some will have got the outcome that they hoped for, while others will not have, so I begin my remarks by saying well done to all those who sat the test. They will have worked very hard and experienced a lot of pressure, and, regardless of their score, they should be very proud of how they navigated the process. There will be many children who chose not to take the test, and that is a big decision to make in a system that applies huge pressure on children to do so. I emphasise the point that their potential opportunities are not diminished as a result of that decision. We need to consider undertaking urgent reform of the system. It is completely out of step with a modern, progressive approach to education. Reports over the years have built up a substantial body of evidence that the test is not the best way in which to manage the post-primary transfer process. Most recently, the independent review of education made clear recommendations in that space, stating:

"The current process perpetuates a socio-economic division between selective and non-selective schools."

On that basis, the review recommended:

"the current arrangements should not continue."

That recommendation was stated clearly and unequivocally, and it was made with good reason. The influence of the transfer test pervades almost every aspect of our system. It results in grammar schools, year-on-year, applying admissions criteria that are not recommended by the Department's guidance. It skews the curriculum for Key Stage 2 pupils, who are often taught to attain in a test and not through a broad curriculum. The test is not approved, monitored or scrutinised in any way by any part of the Assembly. It is entirely privatised, yet it dictates the education journey of so many of our children.

As already referenced, it embeds socio-economic divisions in our schools. It also impacts on where our children attend school — taking them away from the schools that are closest to them in their communities — and skews the balance of schools that admit pupils with special educational needs. The case for change is clear. The 'A Fair Start' report was clear in its recommendations that the system is one of "systemic inequality". I urge the Minister to engage meaningfully with the issue and not to dodge it or say that, because there is no consensus, we cannot look at it. When there is a systemic inequality in our society, a lack of consensus should not dictate whether we take action. The Minister needs to begin the conversation about how we can deliver reform. It is not about criticising schools or parents: we are all navigating a flawed system. The case for change is clear: there is systemic inequality that should not be tolerated, and it is time for the Minister to take real action to begin the conversation on how we can deliver change.

517 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:52 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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