Scotland’s new education secretary has written to the country’s teachers setting out her priorities and promising “real improvement“ out of the ongoing education reforms.
These changes include the reform of assessment and qualifications and the replacement of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and Education Scotland.
In the letter, Jenny Gilruth references her own “decade working in education before entering politics” and thanks teachers for having “stepped up” during the pandemic.
The former modern studies teacher, who replaced Shirley-Anne Somerville as education secretary in the cabinet reshuffle that followed Humza Yousaf’s appointment as first minister in March, acknowledges that the educational landscape now is “markedly different” compared with when the push to close the attainment gap was first launched by former first minister Nicola Sturgeon in 2015 - but makes clear the government’s continuing commitment to that effort.
In the letter, she says the cost-of-living crisis “further necessitates our relentless focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap”.
Gilruth promises ‘high-quality support’ for teachers
When it comes to the new three education agencies due to replace the SQA and Education Scotland, she says they “will need to work better to meet the needs of our young people”- but they will also need to work better to support “educators”.
Ms Gilruth says that high-quality learning and teaching “is crucial to help disrupt the impact of poverty in our education system” and that the government will ensure that “teachers and practitioners across the education system can access the high-quality support and professional learning they need”.
She adds: “Our new national education bodies will be central to this, with clear roles and responsibilities to support this work collaboratively across the sector.”
Ms Gilruth concludes by saying: “As the cabinet secretary for education and skills, I am committed to working with you to make sure the next steps on reform deliver real improvements, with partnership with our teaching profession as my guiding principle.”
The letter to Scotland’s teachers from Jenny Gilruth can be read in full here.
