Prof. Siobhán O’Neill says transfer tests having harmful effect on mental health of individual children

Transcript

00:00 Social inequalities and poverty have a fundamental and lasting direct impact on mental health

00:05 and they lead to ACEs and adversities which in turn cause the trauma that predicts mental illness,

00:10 that causes mental illness. And whilst we do need that program for government focusing on well-being

00:15 and child care and anti-poverty strategies are necessary, the role of the education system in

00:21 perpetuating the inequalities that cause mental illness must not be ignored. The recommendations

00:26 of the independent review of education and the plan for the single education system,

00:31 which values diversity and offers choice to parents, would give children and young people

00:37 the opportunity to develop the skills, qualifications and the social capital

00:41 and enable them to stay healthy, achieve their goals and thrive in a prosperous society.

00:46 I've spoken publicly many times about the harmful impact of transfer from the current system of

00:51 transfer from primary to secondary school on the mental health of individual children.

00:56 And also the role that this plays in perpetuating the economic inequalities. And also the harm

01:01 caused by the myth that this test measures in the ability and somehow sorts children into

01:07 appropriate skills. The academic experts who conducted the independent review provide a clear

01:12 pathway to reform the system whilst maintaining parent choice and respecting the diversity of

01:17 sectors, which is very important. This needs to be implemented as a matter of urgency and I think

01:22 they put that as an urgent action to be done within three years. So in my evidence to the

01:28 independent review, I also highlighted the impact of the focus of a narrow range of educational

01:33 qualifications on mental health. Again, the review's recommendations address this and should

01:40 be implemented so that all children can set and achieve their own goals.