IT is regrettable to see that, yet again, teachers are being scapegoated for the poor flow of information between primary and secondary schools (TES, January 25). Many of the transfer problems are caused by mechanisms over which teachers have little say. This association’s Years 5-9 education advisory committee proposes three areas for improvement:
* more earmarked funding to guarantee that primary and secondary teachers have adequate time to work alongside each other and share good practice. This is particularly the case for key stages 2 and 3;
* information systems need to be rationalised and made more coherent; and * teachers need to be confident that the data being transferred is both valid and reliable.
Finally, it would be helpful to highlight some of the things pupils actually achieve when they make the transition from primary to secondary school rather than constantly harping on about what they don’t achieve.
Peter Smith General secretary Association of Teachers and Lecturers