North pupil profiling 'incapable of giving relevant information'

An ill-fated assessment method for schoolchildren in the North was today branded an expensive failure which should never have been introduced.

The Pupil Profiling system was a pilot scheme which should not have left the harbour, according to the chair of Stormont’s Education Committee, Mervyn Storey.

The controversial method has been redesigned after it was criticised for failing to provide parents with basic information about their children.

It was meant to monitor pupils’ progress throughout the year and highlight their non-academic skills, but it did not contain hard facts such as how the child was performing against his or her classmates in core subjects.

“Pupil profiling was incapable of giving relevant information to parents about the progress of their children,” said Mr Storey, DUP representative for North Antrim.

“Parents want to know ’Can my child write? Can he read? Where is he in the class? Is he above or below average?’ – these profiles told you none of those things. They weren’t even allowed to say anything critical about the children.

“Worringly, it also allowed a situation to develop where teachers were spending at least an hour putting together reports that were of questionable value and worth.”

Education Minister Caitriona Ruane today announced changes to the assessment scheme which will in effect see a return to traditional end- of-term reports.

The Sinn Féin minister said the new scheme would ensure that parents had a formal record of their child’s academic achievement.

“These arrangements will ensure parents have a formal record of their child’s academic achievements as well as highlighting their other skills, talents and educational progress,” she said as she launched a public consultation on the new system.

“It is important that schools are able to show parents the range and level of skills and abilities our children and young people demonstrate in school.

“The revised curriculum has given teachers the flexibility to tailor lessons to the needs of their pupils and these new reporting arrangements will complement and support that work.

“The new arrangements will set out the minimum areas schools should include in annual reports to parents and will be phased in from the end of the current school year.

“I have been very clear that the purpose of the new annual reporting arrangements is to ensure parents are aware of their child’s progress at school.

“I have been very clear that the purpose of the new annual reporting arrangements is to ensure parents are aware of their child’s progress at school.”

Ms Ruane said the term “pupil profile” had caused confusion and some people wrongly thought it was linked to post-primary transfer.

“That is why we are reverting to the terminology that parents themselves use and referring to the ’annual report to parents’,” she added.

Mr Storey said he welcomed a return to more traditional methods of assessment.

“It is just unfortunate that the minister didn’t listen to the concerns that were raised when this was being planned,” he said.

“The department will try to hide under the pretence that this was a pilot, but it was a pilot that shouldn’t have left the harbour.”

Teachers and parents will be able to give their views on the revised system during the upcoming three-month public consultation on the proposals.