The team of experts that will shape reform of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and Education Scotland has been revealed.
It had previously been announced that Professor Ken Muir, the former chief executive of the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), would lead the group.
Now, over the next six months, his team will explore how approaches to inspection, curriculum development (both currently the remit of Education Scotland) and qualifications could look as the country slowly emerges from the Covid pandemic.
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The expert panel - for each of whom the government has included short biographies - led by Professor Muir includes:
The panel will meet at least once a month between now and January 2022.
Details, including remit and membership, of the expert panel and advisory group established by @KenBMuir to support his work on education reform have been published. https://t.co/9EImxzRqDx
- Shirley-Anne Somerville (@S_A_Somerville) August 19, 2021
There have been a number of calls in recent months for figures such as Khadija Mohammed and Walter Humes - both recent contributors to Tes Scotland - to play a bigger role in the debate around the future of Scottish education.
While their inclusion will be welcomed by many, there has already been some early criticism about the lack of classroom teachers on the expert panel. There will, however, be an advisory group in which many teachers are due to be involved.
A tweet in response to the announcement read: “How about some teachers who are actually delivering these courses? Honestly!” Another responded: “Exactly what I was thinking! Maybe speak to people at the chalk face!”
One tweet from a teacher read simply: ”Class teachers, principal teachers?” In response, another teacher wrote: “Unfortunately always the way with such groups it would seem. However, one or two notable exceptions to the usual faces on this list.”
1/So an expert panel has been appointed to support Ken Muir who has been appointed to advice @scotgov on the reform of the SQA and Education Scotland
Over half of the panel has written for us, spoken to us, or been featured in @TesScotland in some way in recent times https://t.co/u1tFVERhiY
- Emma Seith (@Emma_Seith) August 19, 2021
