Meeting of the Parliament 28 February 2024
I gave some of that information when I responded to the previous intervention from Pam Duncan-Glancy’s colleague. I will legislate for the creation of the new qualifications body in the coming weeks, and we expect it to be operational from 2025.
There were previously requirements associated with the original approach to unit assessment, which accompanied the introduction of the current national qualifications. That is really important—it is the bread and butter of what teachers do every day. However, in my opinion, those standards were accompanied by overly bureaucratic standards that required to be overcome by every pupil for every unit, and were for every teacher to input to the SQA.
How we administer continuous assessment matters. We do not want a rerun of those box-ticking or overly administrative approaches, which add to teacher workload and do nothing to improve outcomes for children and young people. Continuous assessment can support good progression. We know that there are challenges between nat 4 and nat 5, and particularly in relation to the jump on to higher in certain subjects. Getting that right through curriculum improvement will support Scotland’s teachers and improve outcomes for Scotland’s young people.
The best part of being education secretary is undoubtedly having the opportunity to visit Scotland’s schools. In my engagement with our secondaries, I am always struck by the extensive range of qualifications that are now on offer. For many, that has been a welcome move that has opened up non-traditional pathways. Professor Hayward’s second substantive recommendation in relation to the number of qualifications that we have in our schools is about a rationalisation of that offer. My view is that a degree of rationalisation is needed to support clearer pathways for our young people and for the teachers who are working hard to support them. In that respect, I am supportive of the review’s proposal to rationalise the existing range of courses.
I am conscious of the time. I have not yet had an opportunity to talk about the opportunities that are presented by project-based learning or, more broadly, about how we can accredit the personal pathway element. I look forward to hearing views from members on those other two elements that would accompany any move to a Scottish diploma.
Undoubtedly, change must be carefully planned. Many teachers are now asking questions about the practicalities of how that might work in our classrooms. It was right and proper that we paused legislative reform last year to build in the opportunity for our teachers to fully engage with the report’s proposals—because, without them, reform cannot work.
I fully agree with Liam Kerr, who said earlier this month:
“it is the responsibility of the Parliament to address those challenges by setting them out clearly and trying to work in a cross-party way to find the solutions”—[Official Report, 6 February 2024; c 74.]
That is what I am trying to do in respect of the recommendations on the independent review of qualifications and assessment. I look forward to hearing the views of colleagues across the chamber in advance of the formal Scottish Government response.
I move,
That the Parliament welcomes It’s Our Future, the final report of the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment; notes the report’s recommendations, including proposals to change the balance in assessment methods in the Senior Phase; acknowledges the substantial engagement from teachers on the Review’s recommendations since publication; agrees that it is crucial that the Scottish Government ensures a fair and credible qualifications and assessment system that enhances learning and teaching and creates improved outcomes for young people; reaffirms the need to make significant progress in the reform of the qualifications and assessment landscape in this parliamentary session, with initial changes starting in 2024; agrees that these reforms must be taken forward with young people and teachers, with changes clearly understood by parents, carers, employers and further and higher education institutions; recognises that the process of education reform must not solely be about qualifications and structures, but also about continuously improving Scotland’s 3-18 curriculum framework to ensure seamless progression and to support pupils and teachers in classrooms, and agrees that trusted professionals working in Scotland’s schools must be provided with the necessary support to enable the adoption of any proposed new approaches to assessment.
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