Meeting of the Parliament 07 December 2022
If Mr Rennie will forgive me, I will make a bit of progress.
With the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, I co-convened the national discussion on a vision for Scottish education, providing an opportunity for everyone who is passionate about education to shape a consensual vision for the future. I hope that Mr Kerr took the opportunity to take part in that; I do not know whether he took up the invitation, but it was made to party spokespeople.
I have been humbled by the number of children, young people, early learning and childcare practitioners, teachers, lecturers, support staff, parents, carers and others who took the time to consider what they value about education in Scotland and to give their views. More than 5,400 responses were received, and 26,000 young people took part in online school assemblies, ensuring that the voices of learners will be at the heart of the reform.
However, although the national discussion is the biggest listening exercise that has ever taken place in education, listening is just the first step and, if we are to truly meet the needs and aspirations of our learners, we need to build a consensus for change. Therefore, although the national discussion will provide a compelling long-term vision for education, it is important that we immediately start to work towards that vision. As a result, when it is published next year, the vision will be accompanied by calls to action that set out short, medium and long-term activity, to allow us to start to bring the vision to life.
In October last year, it was announced that Professor Louise Hayward would lead an independent review of qualifications and assessments to ensure that our approach remains fit for purpose and to guarantee the best educational experience for learners. Understanding the views of everyone in the system will be vital in shaping the future of our approach to qualifications and assessments. Professor Hayward is engaging widely and a public consultation is under way. It is an important exercise, and I hope that as many people as possible will share their views. Professor Hayward will also consider carefully the views and ideas that have emerged from the national discussion and incorporate those, alongside her work, into a final report that I look forward to receiving next year.
The reform of our national bodies will ensure that our education system supports learners to thrive, providing them with the best opportunities to succeed. We are establishing three new national education bodies, and work is under way to design how those bodies will be structured. It is vital that the new national bodies reflect and deliver change in how our education system supports education staff and children and young people. For example, the independent inspectorate will be able to provide all those with a stake in education, including Parliament and ministers, with objective assessments and analysis of our system’s strengths and opportunities for further improvement that draw on a sufficient baseline of inspections.