Meeting of the Parliament 18 December 2024
I am pleased to speak on behalf of the Education, Children and Young People Committee about our scrutiny of the Education (Scotland) Bill.
As the relatively new convener of the committee, I came to the bill late on, during stage 1. I am extremely grateful for the work that was done by my predecessor, Sue Webber. I thank her for her stewardship of the committee as it looked in detail at the bill. I have watched some of the evidence sessions and read the material that was submitted to the committee, and I thank all the individuals and organisations that provided evidence, either in person or by responding to our calls for views. I also thank the committee’s clerking team and my colleagues on the committee, including former members of the committee who were involved in the evidence gathering, for their diligent work on the bill so far.
Part 1 of the bill seeks to create a new qualifications body with strengthened separation of its awarding and accrediting functions, and increased influence for educators and learners. It was clear from the evidence that we received that the SQA has lost the trust of learners, their families and teachers. There has been a lack of transparency in the way that the SQA has conducted its business, and it has poorly communicated with many of those who take and teach its qualifications. The committee recognises that the new body will have much to do to win back that trust.