The Scottish government has made it clear that it is planning to run “the traditional exam diet” next year but the education secretary has revealed that he believes “there is every need for us to openly explore whether exam diets are the way of the future”.

In the latest edition of the Tes Scotland podcast, John Swinney says there is “a really strong argument” to reform the way the achievements of pupils in secondary school are assessed and that he would be happy to “engage and explore on those questions”.

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Mr Swinney also reveals during the podcast - which was recorded on Friday - that it is “likely” that school staff will have to follow “physical distancing requirements” when schools return after the summer, even though the plan is for no social distancing among pupils. He adds that, for most pupils, he believes, “there is no tangible case for wearing face masks in school”.

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Mr Swinney says, however, that wearing a mask may be appropriate for some senior students who are “essentially young adults”, and that there are “questions about staff”. He adds that the government was waiting for guidance from its scientific advisers on the issue.

Face masks are due to become mandatory in shops in Scotland on 10 July.

During the podcast, Mr Swinney also speaks about his family’s experience of homeschooling; making parliamentary statements remotely from his son’s bedroom; and the time his nine-year-old appeared in the background of a meeting of the Covid-19 Education Recovery Group - which is responsible for planning how schools will reopen - in his snorkelling gear. His son, Matthew, had been going on a virtual school trip.

Responding to a question about why the Scottish government has apparently barely seemed to consider a move away from high-stakes exams - given that there are hopes in some quarters that one potential silver lining of the coronavirus upheaval could be more innovative qualifications - Mr Swinney says: “There are two points there I would want to separate. One is the question of running an exam diet in 2021 and the other question is, what’s the most appropriate way of assessing the achievements of young people?”

He continues: “I think people would expect, in the ordinary course of events, for us to be sustaining an exam diet. On the second question, however, I think there is every need for us to openly explore whether exam diets are the way of the future.

“I think there’s a really strong argument for there to be reform in the way that is undertaken and I’m certainly very happy to engage and explore on those questions because there are very valid arguments for taking forward the assessment of the achievements of young people through mechanisms other than by having exams in the format that we have.”

More information on the Tes Scotland podcast can be found here.