9th December 2024
The Education (Scotland) Bill - Stage 1 Report by the Scottish Parliament Education, Children and Young People Committee was published on 3 December 2024
The Bill will set up a replacement the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and establish an independent education inspectorate. The Committee has been reviewing the Bill, and as part of this work gathered evidence to inform its report on whether the Bill should go to the next stage. Connect’s Executive Director Gavin Yates gave evidence to the Committee in October, and you can find more information about this session on the Committee’s website here.
In the report, the Committee agrees with the general principles of the Bill but calls for more amendments to be made before it can become law. The report will now be debated in Parliament for MSPs to vote on the next steps.
You can read the full report here. You can find Connect’s summary of the Committee’s recommendations below.
Qualifications Scotland
The Committee says the parts of the Bill relating to the creation of a new qualifications body, Qualifications Scotland, are very similar to the current SQA, and it needs to be clearer on how the successor body will carry out its functions in a way that will inspire more confidence.
The Bill says Qualifications Scotland will be responsible for accreditation (making sure qualifications are up to standard) as well as awarding qualifications, even though Professor Muir’s review on education reform had recommended these be under separate bodies. While recognising creating a separate accrediting body would be expensive, the Committee says there needs to be stronger separation between the accreditation and awarding functions.
There needs to be a clearer definition of ‘learner’ to reference both children/young people and adult learners, and that the new body has to consult with both these groups, in meaningful and age-appropriate ways.
Connect highlighted the role of parents and carers in supporting their children to the Committee and asked that parents and carers should be explicitly mentioned in the Bill. The Committee recommends that the Scottish Government should set out how parents will be involved.
The Board of the Qualifications Scotland needs to reflect those undertaking qualifications, those delivering them and those using them, as well as the diversity of voices, skills, and experiences.
The Committee raises concerns that the proposals for the Strategic Advisory Council are similar to those currently used by the SQA, and that it needs to be more specific in who will be members as well as reflecting the diversity of Scotland.
The two ‘interest’ committees (Learner Interest Committee and Teacher and Practitioner Interest Committee) as currently proposed will have only one quarter of members as learners or teachers and practitioners. This could mean the majority of members could be from Qualifications Scotland, and the Committee believes this is an oversight.
The learners’ charter and the teacher and practitioners’ charter need to have authority and mechanisms to enforce the standards and expectations they set out in order to make a difference. There should be wide consultation when creating the charters, and rather than Qualification Scotland being solely responsible for creating the charters instead they should be co-produced.
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland
The Committee says there are some concerns about the independence of the proposed new education inspectorate, and that it is important that the Chief Inspector is able to challenge Scottish Government and education authorities.
When speaking with the Committee, Connect’s Gavin Yates called for a whistle-blowing process so that parents and carers could raise any concerns about their child’s school directly with the inspectorate. In its report, the Committee calls for the Scottish Government to consider mechanisms to involve parents and carers more.
The Children and Young People’s Commissioner raised concerns about how currently there is a potential gap regarding who inspects child protection and safeguarding in schools. The Committee says the Scottish Government should clarify who is responsible for this, and if it is to be the Chief Inspector, the Education Bill should clarify this.
The Advisory Council for the inspectorate should be diverse and representative. The Committee report points out concerns it has heard about under-representation from certain groups. The Government should also consider how children and young people’s voices will be heard.
Other Points
The Bill references the need for both new bodies to have regard for Gaelic Medium Education, and the Committee recommends British Sign Language is given the same consideration.
Many giving evidence to the Committee expressed frustration that the proposed Bill does not include wider education reform, especially regarding qualifications and assessments. The Committee says the structures put in place by the Bill should be future proofed so they can adapt to any future changes and asks for timescales for the overall reform package.