Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 25 October 2018
25 Oct 2018 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Education (Primary 1 National Standardised Assessments)
That has been the consideration in my mind. I could have come here and said that we will do nothing, and that we will not have an independent review. However, I am instead instituting a process that might result in evidence being marshalled that says that we should not proceed with P1 assessments.
I am trying to persuade Parliament of the importance of taking an evidence-based approach to the issue. Such an approach was lacking from the previous debate. There is competing evidence on the issue, and I want to have that considered independently so that at no stage do we take a decision that could in any way damage the educational wellbeing of children and young people in our society.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Ken Macintosh)
NPA
The next item of business is a statement by John Swinney to give an update on primary 1 national standardised assessments. The cabinet secretary will take qu...
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (John Swinney)
SNP
In the period since the debate on P1 assessments, I have considered the arguments that were made and have taken time to discuss ways forward with colleagues ...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
We will move now to questions.
Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I thank the cabinet secretary for his statement. I draw his attention to a comment that he made on 15 March 2001, while criticising the then Scottish Executi...
John Swinney
SNP
Presiding Officer, there are a number of points in there and I will need to take time to deal with them. First, I do believe that the will of the Parliament...
Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I thank the cabinet secretary for early sight of his statement. The cabinet secretary says that he wishes to respect Parliament’s will but that is just not ...
John Swinney
SNP
When Mr Gray uses the language that he has just used, he betrays what is at the heart of his agenda, which is the politics of all this. That is all that Mr G...
Iain Gray
Lab
Neither can you!
John Swinney
SNP
I acknowledge that and I have acknowledged it throughout the process.
Iain Gray
Lab
Stop it, then.
The Presiding Officer
NPA
This is not a conversation, Mr Gray.
John Swinney
SNP
That is why I am putting in place an independent review to consider the issues and, by reconsidering the evidence, to do what Mr Gray voted for in the parlia...
Iain Gray
Lab
The whole motion was to stop and review.
Johann Lamont (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
The whole motion.
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Mr Gray and Ms Lamont—please.
John Swinney
SNP
Mr Gray should not have authored the motion with Liz Smith. If he wanted to stop the tests and not raise the issue of reconsidering the evidence, he should h...
Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
I thank the Deputy First Minister for the advance copy of his statement and remind him that some of us have taken a consistent position against the testing o...
John Swinney
SNP
Mr Greer is absolutely correct to say that the Green Party has taken a consistent position of opposition to the assessments, and I acknowledge that, as I hav...
Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD)
LD
I thank the Deputy First Minister for his statement. The review that the Deputy First Minister has mentioned previously was steered by Education Scotland—by...
John Swinney
SNP
I may not have made this expressly clear, but the review will not be carried out by Education Scotland; it will be carried out independently of Government an...
Gail Ross (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
SNP
Can the cabinet secretary outline what support the Scottish Government is giving the teachers who are currently administering the assessments?
John Swinney
SNP
A variety of training and briefing events have been made available to individual teachers. We have obviously taken into account some of the feedback from the...
Alison Harris (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
The Parliament voted to scrap P1 tests and the Deputy First Minister was adamant that we in Parliament were wrong. He has now commissioned a lengthy review. ...
John Swinney
SNP
I have already introduced a number of changes to the second year of standardised assessments, for 2018-19, based on the feedback that we have had from practi...
Clare Adamson (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)
SNP
I thank the cabinet secretary for his statement. I particularly welcome the review that he is putting in place. The P1 assessments have no doubt given rise t...
John Swinney
SNP
That has been the consideration in my mind. I could have come here and said that we will do nothing, and that we will not have an independent review. However...
Johann Lamont (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I say gently to the cabinet secretary that while it may be a comfort zone for him to impugn the motives of people who raise these issues, the reason why thos...
John Swinney
SNP
Johann Lamont frequently accuses me of impugning people’s motives. Maybe I have to look at how I communicate about some of these issues. I do not impugn the ...
Maureen Watt (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
SNP
Will the cabinet secretary set out what advice was sought by Aberdeen City Council from Education Scotland regarding the council’s decision to halt national ...
John Swinney
SNP
I am not aware of any advice that Aberdeen City Council has sought from Education Scotland. I would not ordinarily be aware of such advice, because Education...