When it was announced, late yesterday, that John Swinney would be stepping down as education secretary to take on the new role of cabinet secretary for Covid recovery, he put out a tweet listing his achievements leading education for the past five years.

There were a record number of young Scots from deprived backgrounds going to university, he wrote; by August, nursery children would be entitled to double the time in pre-school; and there were 3,000 more teachers in Scottish schools.

He also talked about increasing the proportion of pupils in positive destinations and said that progress had been made closing the gap. (More on that claim to follow.)

Some of John Swinney’s key moments:

Controversial exam assessments to be scrapped over workload concerns

Scotland’s Education Bill is shelved

Controversial ‘Named Person’ policy is scrapped

New three-year pay deal agreed for teachers in Scotland

Exams cancelled in Scotland due to coronavirus

SQA results: All downgraded results to be withdrawn

John Swinney survives no-confidence vote

Progress on closing the attainment gap ‘limited’

Mr Swinney conceded that “there is more to be done to advance Scottish education” but said he was “proud of the strength and quality of our system”. The comments that followed oscillated between good riddance, and those thanking him for his “hard work and dedication” and “integrity”.

THREAD : Over the last five years it has been my privilege to be Scotland’s Education Secretary. I want to thank everyone involved in education for all that you do to support young people achieve their full potential especially during this difficult last year. 1/5

- John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) May 18, 2021

There is rarely a consensus in education and the success - or not - of Mr Swinney’s tenure, it seems, is no exception. However, the feeling among teachers that we are careering towards another results fiasco has probably tipped the scales in favour of Camp Good Riddance.

Not unexpected, and time for a change. While I have not always agreed with policy directions, I have found @JohnSwinney to be constructive and open minded in my dealings with him - always willing to listen. I wish him well in the challenges of his new role https://t.co/ZiyVMFEde8

- Mark Priestley ?? (@MarkRPriestley) May 18, 2021

Back in May 2016, when Mr Swinney came into the role, it felt like a highly significant appointment. First minister Nicola Sturgeon had told the country to judge her on education and he was her right-hand man - the so-called safe pair of hands. Handing him the education brief was a clear signal of intent and it thrust education into the political spotlight.

That kind of scrutiny comes with pros and cons but there was genuine enthusiasm among the profession. His predecessor, Angela Constance, had never found her groove. She lacked confidence and didn’t seem on top of her brief. She spoke at education events but was reluctant to take questions.

In contrast, Mr Swinney would address a conference - be it of headteachers or education directors - and always had time for questions afterwards. He made history as the first education secretary to be invited to speak at the EIS teaching union’s AGM (although he was heckled over pay - an issue laid to rest, albeit temporarily, in 2019 when, after 12 months of negotiations and threats of strike action, teachers secured a total increase of 13.51 per cent over three years).

In the early days, Mr Swinney was known for being prepared to listen and came out of the blocks quickly. One of the big issues of the day was the workload being created by unit assessments - for both teachers and pupils - and, by September, he had announced these would be scrapped.

But the wheels started to come off when his landmark education bill - designed to hand more power to schools - was shelved in 2018. And then, in 2019, the controversial Named Person policy was scrapped after years of legal wrangling and accusations that it was a “snooper’s charter”, which would undermine parents and breach privacy.

In more recent times - especially given the Covid pandemic and Swinney’s key role helping to coordinate the government’s response - questions have been asked if the combined job of deputy first minister and education secretary is simply too big.

In a seven-month period, he faced two votes of no-confidence - one in August last year over the exams fiasco, when Labour’s education spokesperson Iain Gray described him as a “part-time education secretary”, and one in March over his deputy first minister role, when he came under fire over delays from the Scottish government in handing over legal documents to MSPs probing the handling of harassment allegations made against former first minister Alex Salmond.

So, what about that key pledge to close the attainment gap?

Mr Swinney claims progress but Scotland’s auditor general found, in a report published in March, that progress was “limited” and “falls short of the Scottish government’s aims”. And that’s before we take account of the impact of the pandemic.

So, the extent of any improvement is debatable - but one achievement we should celebrate is the the current focus on improving the life chances of disadvantaged pupils.  

On Friday, in Tes Scotland magazine, EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan is featured in our weekly Q&A. Mr Flanagan started teaching in 1979 and he remembers that, in the 1980s, pupils leaving school without qualifications was par for the course; even in the 1990s, the impact of poverty was “just shrugged off as ‘that’s life’”.

It is a timely reminder that prioritising those pupils who face the greatest barriers because of the circumstances they grow up in has not always been Scottish education’s key goal.

So the focus is there but it will be up to Mr Swinney’s successor - Shirley-Anne Somerville - to truly make progress.

The first item on her to-do list, though, has to be preventing another qualifications debacle.

And the best way to do that? Listen to the teachers.

Emma Seith is a reporter at Tes Scotland. She tweets @Emma_Seith