If we were to judge from media reports we would be forgiven for thinking that the issue of the future of post-primary education was beyond resolution.

I do not believe that it is. It is my view that with a calm and sensible approach we can find a way through.

That is why I fundamentally disagree with the hectoring and bullying tactics that have been deployed by the Education Minister over recent times.

Threatening schoolteachers and firing off angry press statements attacking other parties is not the best way to achieve cross-community consensus.

The post-primary issue is too important for people to play politics with.

What we are working towards is the very best education system, in all its aspects, to serve our children into the future — this cannot become some squalid Orange versus Green argument.

Neither should any proposals be aimed at dismantling or setting at a disadvantage any section of our education system.

The DUP wants to work with the other parties to achieve a system of education that is truly holistic — serving the interests of every single child in the Province.

We support the concept of genuine academic specialist schools.

The Minister has supported specialist schools in areas such as music, sport and performing arts, yet she has continued to exclude the specialism of academic excellence.

Parents, teachers and receiving schools deserve clarity at this time. The DUP proposes that for a period of up to three years a CCEA test developed to agreed specifications should be used for post-primary transfer.

Schools would apply to use the CCEA test to match pupils and no tariffs as suggested by the Minister would be imposed on grammar schools. The assessment should be carried out in the children’s primary school.

Our proposed three-year period would afford an opportunity to build consensus and find final resolution on the long-term method for transfer.

Any new system must allow for the continuation of academic selection, as recognized in law, and would have to be operational by Autumn 2012 with pupils transferring to post-primary schools from September 2013 on that basis.

The old 11+ examination drew criticism for its high stakes nature, susceptibility to coaching, poor differentiation of results, lack of relevance to day-to-day teaching and the long period waiting for results. Any ultimate replacement test should seek to address these criticisms.

An example of one means would be computer adaptive testing which also allows for greater question innovation, easier scheduling and instantaneous results.

We propose the establishment of an agreed panel of experts with experience of selection |procedures nationally and internationally that could advise the Department and Assembly on |the development of the optimal arrangements for Northern Ireland.

We support acceptable solutions such as the Dickson Plan. This period could be used to examine the feasibility and resource implications of extending more widely other existing practice.

A mechanism must also be investigated for placing a cap on grammar school intake, which would involve negotiation with individual schools.

In a time of falling school rolls, this would maintain and enhance the ethos of grammar schools as centres of academic excellence while protecting secondary schools, and helping to focus attention on strengthening the core skills of pupils who will go into employment through modern apprenticeship schemes for instance.

Underpinning pupils’ basic skills is essential in the drive to developing effective progression into employment and building the skills of tomorrow’s master craftsmen and women. This is central to the Executive’s vision of a skilled workforce and an important step in bolstering our economy.

The uncertainty created by the Minister has led to schools from both main sec tions of the community taking decisions themselves in the interests of their pupils |and to dispel the fears many parents are feeling due to the Minister’s inaction.

The DUP believes that consensus can still be achieved on the transfer issue but a genuine commitment is required from the Minister to find a realistic accomm- odation in the context of the confirmed legal position.

The DUP is seeking a way forward that meets the needs of all our children. That cannot be delivered through the unreasonable behaviour and intransigent ideology shown by the Minister.

As Chairman of the Education Committee I am committed to working with all key stakeholders in this debate to find a way forward that everyone can support and which will see Northern Ireland continue to deliver the best results at GCSE and A-level and the most appropriate education experience for every child who goes through the province’s school system.