Commenting on the announcement from the Labour Education Minister that primary school banding will be delayed until 2014, Angela Burns AM, Shadow Minister for Education, said:
“I welcome the Minister’s decision to take his primary school banding plans back to the drawing board.
“From the start, banding plans have been dogged by questions from leading experts about their usefulness as a resource when as many as a third of primary schools are excluded.
“It is important to be able to access accurate and consistent data on the assessment of young people’s literacy and numeracy skills, but unfortunately, these plans were hastily cobbled together without sufficient engagement with teachers and parents.
“I hope the Minister will take this opportunity to engage with teachers, governors and parents about how more information about school standards can be made available to increase parental choice.”
