A new education bill for Scotland has been published, a year later than initially planned.
It reveals that the replacement body for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) will be called Qualifications Scotland, and also be known by the Gaelic name Teisteanasan Alba. SQA, it is understood, will cease to exist from autumn 2025.
The Education (Scotland) Bill - due to become an act in 2025 - also outlines changes around school inspection in Scotland, with duties currently performed by His Majesty’s Inspectors of Education (HMIE) to go to a Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland instead.
As part of post-Covid reforms, it has long been trailed that inspection would be removed from Education Scotland and given to an independent new body instead, with this also expected from autumn 2025.
Some concerns have already been raised about the bill. EIS teaching union general secretary Andrea Bradley, for example, said it was “disappointing that, despite the recommendation from two independent reviews, the Scottish government has again rejected the need for separation of the awarding and regulation functions of the new qualifications body”.
The bill was introduced yesterday and an overview on the Scottish Parliament website explains that it was a response to “a range of reports and reviews”, including the 2021 review of Curriculum for Excellence by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and Professor Ken Muir’s 2022 report Putting Learners at the Centre: Towards a Future Vision for Scottish Education.
‘Central’ role for teachers in new qualifications body
Under Qualifications Scotland, education secretary Jenny Gilruth said today, teachers and students will be “central to decisions taken on qualifications and assessment”.
Qualifications Scotland will have to publish both a “learner charter” and a “teacher and practitioner charter”, the latter setting out how it will “act on teacher and other practitioners’ concerns with qualifications or assessments” and how teachers can be “better supported”.
These will have to be reviewed within five years, while an annual report will have to show what Qualifications Scotland has done to meet “the expectations set out in its charters”.
There will also be a “teacher and practitioner interest committee”, which will “advise Qualifications Scotland on the exercise of its functions from the point of view of those providing teaching or training of Qualifications Scotland qualifications”. It will largely - but not entirely - comprise people who provide such teaching or training.
Meanwhile, a “learner interest committee” will perform a similar role on behalf of students taking Qualifications Scotland courses. It will be largely made up of people who are doing, or who have recently done, a Qualifications Scotland course.
The bill also states that Qualifications Scotland will have to hold at least one meeting each financial year that is open to the public.
Wide variation in potential costs
The revamped national education bodies are expected “to carry out broadly similar functions” to their predecessors and recurring costs are, therefore, “in the most part expected to be similar”.
However, the cost of establishing the new bodies over the four years 2025-26 to 2028-29 is put at anywhere from just under £1 million to over £30 million.
More precise costs appear hard to gauge because specific details about the new bodies have still to emerge. Staffing costs could be significantly higher for an independent inspectorate, for example, and there is the question of whether the new inspectorate will have its own office space or continue to share with Education Scotland.
The new qualifications body will have between nine and 13 “members”, who will serve up to four years but could be reappointed for a further period of time. These will include a chief executive, a chair and a convener of an accreditation committee.
The other members could include school students, as there must be “at least one member who [has] knowledge of the interests of persons undertaking a relevant qualification” who will consider what “best meets the needs of children and young people”.
There must also be at least two members who are registered teachers and two who are teaching staff at further education colleges. At least one member must “have knowledge of the interests of the staff of Qualifications Scotland”.
The bill also states that anyone who is an SQA staff member “immediately before the transfer date” when it is replaced by Qualifications Scotland will become an employee of the new body on that date.
Annual report on performance of Scottish education system
Away from Qualifications Scotland, the new office of Chief Inspector of Education - replacing HMIE - will have to publish an annual report showing the “performance of the Scottish education system”.
The bill states that “references to things that were previously done by or in relation to HMIE will now apply to things that are done by or in relation to the Chief Inspector [of Education]”.
While not part of the new bill, the Scottish government has today stressed that Education Scotland’s role will also change as part of the reform process, “including taking a lead on curriculum design, delivery and improvement”.
Almost three years ago, in June 2021, the education secretary at the time, Shirley-Anne Somerville, announced that the SQA was to be replaced.
In the same statement, she also revealed that Education Scotland was facing fundamental change, with its dual inspection and curriculum-development roles being split and the responsibility for inspection going to a different organisation.
The move followed concerns about how the two bodies had performed during the Covid-19 pandemic. A parliamentary motion backed by a majority of MSPs in March 2021 stated that neither was “fit for purpose” and that both the SQA and Education Scotland had “lost the confidence of teachers, pupils and parents”.
In June 2023, shortly after the publication of the landmark Professor Louise Hayward review of qualifications and assessment, Ms Somerville’s successor, Jenny Gilruth, said she was delaying reform of the SQA and Education Scotland by a year. She wanted to take into account “four substantive reports” published “within four weeks”, as well as to hear more from teachers about their views.
An Education Reform Bill due by the end of the 2022-23 parliamentary year would now be brought forward in 2023-24, Ms Gilruth indicated - meaning today’s bill has appeared with just over three weeks to spare.
In September 2023, SQA chief executive Fiona Robertson indicated that there would be no new qualifications body before 2025 and that the first exams overseen by the replacement for the SQA would be in 2026.
Frustrations over pace of Scottish education reform
The current school year has seen a constant stream of complaints from many in Scottish education about the slow pace of reform.
In February, Ms Gilruth attempted to ease such concerns by insisting that reform stemming from the Hayward review would start by the end of 2024.
Today, Ms Gilruth said: “I am determined to drive further improvements across Scotland’s schools, and the changes being set out in this bill will strengthen the national education landscape to better support pupils and teachers.
“The governance processes for the new national qualifications body will ensure the knowledge and experience of pupils and teachers are central to decisions taken on qualifications and assessment.”
She added: “Greater independence for the new inspectorate body will see the power to set the frequency and focus for inspections moving from Scottish Ministers to His Majesty’s Chief Inspector. This is a significant change and will increase confidence in the independent role of inspections in assessing and identifying strengths and areas for improvement across our education system.”
The SQA welcomed the new bill as a “reform milestone to build further momentum behind our ambitious transformation”.
SQA chief executive Fiona Robertson, who is also Scotland’s chief examining officer, said: “It provides clarity that will enable us to accelerate our programme of improvements, innovations and partnership building.
“That programme is already building on our strengths and delivering positive change across our organisation, improving how we serve Scotland’s learners and educators, and building strong foundations for Qualifications Scotland.”
She added: “I also wish to thank colleagues across SQA. They have continued to deliver for learners during a period of some uncertainty. We remain committed to delivering now and building for the future.”
Shirley Rogers was appointed as SQA in December 2023 and, subject to parliamentary approval, will assume that role within Qualifications Scotland.
She said: “Today’s announcement marks a significant step forward on the road to a new qualifications body and provides a real catalyst for change.”
Ms Rogers added: “We will continue to work with and for learners, parents and carers, as well as our hard-working teachers and lecturers across Scotland’s schools and colleges, to make sure that we seize this generational opportunity.”
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