Hansard

We discussed that at the education committee in October. The member raises an important point about accreditation. In recent times, there have been some challenges in that regard. I commit to the Parliament today that I will look at that point in more detail. I am more than happy to work with the member on it. Other members have also raised issues about accreditation. We looked at a range of different options for where accreditation could sit. I note that the committee recommended that it be moved to the Scottish credit and qualifications framework. That would not be without challenge. However, I am more than happy to work with the member on that matter.

We recognise the need for a new qualifications body to provide more independence and credibility in how we accredit qualifications more broadly. It is really important that we build back trust with the teaching profession and also with Scotland’s parents and carers.

As the committee has discussed, the bill can be seen as the scaffolding that supports a range of education reforms. Those reforms build on evidence, including findings from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Professor Ken Muir. Of course, a number of non-legislative reforms are already moving forward, including the curriculum improvement cycle.

Furthermore, I want to see more opportunities for Scotland’s teachers to draw on the best research to develop their own practice. That is why we are establishing the centre for teaching excellence, which will work closely with teachers and national education organisations. I am delighted to say that, through a competitive process, we have identified the University of Glasgow as the host institution. I am very grateful to the other institutions that came forward with an interest, showing the world-class strength of our academic institutions across Scotland. It is fitting that the new centre will be based in Glasgow, which was announced as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s new learning city earlier this month. We will now work with the university to take forward the establishment of the centre so that we can, at pace, offer those important opportunities to Scotland’s teachers.

The way that the new qualifications body will work with schools needs to feel different for teachers. To support that, I have committed to seconding a secondary headteacher into qualifications Scotland. That headteacher will lead a dedicated schools unit in the organisation and, working closely with teachers and pupils in secondary schools, they will help to support qualifications delivery. The post will be advertised in the new year, and I strongly encourage interested secondary headteachers from across Scotland to apply.

The establishment of qualifications Scotland and the office of His Majesty’s chief inspector of education in Scotland is fundamentally about improving pupil and learner outcomes and supporting our teachers. For too long, our national education bodies have been distant from the people they serve. Too often, they are perceived as being an impediment to delivering excellent teaching or, worse, as lacking credibility with the profession. For credibility to be restored, pupils and teachers must be at the heart of decision making, and that is exactly what the bill is intended to achieve. The new requirement for the board of qualifications Scotland to include practising teachers and a person with knowledge of the interests of those who are undertaking qualifications will provide greater diversity and challenge.

The creation of the learner and teacher charters, which will be developed with people who use our education system, will further provide greater transparency and accountability by providing the opportunity for greater involvement in decisions that affect and impact education. The bill seeks to enshrine the independence of inspection and move the balance of power from ministers to the inspectorate. Although that is significant, it will not be unfamiliar territory for many of Scotland’s teachers. The move will increase public confidence in the independence of inspection and, perhaps most important, ensure that the strengths and challenges that are identified really drive improvement.

The ways that our schools are inspected also require to be updated post-pandemic. With the previous iteration of “How good is our school?” being published back in 2015, the need for change is clear. Work to refresh the framework for school inspections has already begun, and significant engagement, including with teachers, local authorities, parents and carers, as well as with children and young people, has been at the heart of that process. The bill builds on that and will establish an advisory council that will bring in wider perspectives while maintaining the crucial independence of inspection.

I have listened to the views of stakeholders and committee members that the bill should be further strengthened, and I have responded to the recommendations that the Education, Children and Young People Committee made in its stage 1 report. I agree that the bill’s provisions need to deliver the necessary separation between the awarding and accreditation functions of qualifications Scotland in order to deliver transparency, integrity and fairness. The specific governance and accountability provision in the bill includes the new requirement for ministers to appoint a convener of the accreditation committee. However, as I intimated to Pam Duncan-Glancy, I am open to looking again at how we can further strengthen that provision. The convener will have a new and direct advisory relationship with ministers, along with new commitments for separate accountability and reporting.

Some members and stakeholders believe that we need to go further, which is why I have commissioned the chair of the SQA to advise on how to deliver greater administrative separation between the two functions in qualifications Scotland.