Meeting of the Parliament 24 June 2025 [Draft]
Mr Greer is quite right in relation to higher history, but he did not point out that, although the SQA does not accredit or regulate our school qualifications, those qualifications are subject to quality assurance by the very body that determines what they are and that awards them, which is the SQA. That is why it is crucial to create a separate regulatory and accreditation function, so that we can look at whether we want to accredit or regulate those qualifications in the future.
We are legislating today for Scotland’s young people’s future, and not moving that function from the qualifications body now, under the bill, means that, without separating the accreditation function from the awarding function, we cannot necessarily take those decisions in future. That is why we should have taken—and must take—the opportunity to do that with these amendments this afternoon.
Setting up a new body such as curriculum Scotland—a single arm’s-length organisation that could steer what is taught, guarantee the standard of certificates that flow from that and drive continuous improvement—is a remedy. School-based qualifications are not currently accredited, as Ross Greer just explained; they are simply considered for quality by the body that awards them, which is the SQA. We have seen what happens when the SQA thinks that its qualifications are high quality. External scrutiny is resisted until assessors whistleblow, the press exposes the scandal, and Parliament and Government have to intervene, as was the case with higher history. The bill is a chance to change all of that.
Some people have said that those who have been clear that a separation of functions is needed do not understand what accreditation is for, because SQA-awarded qualifications are not accredited. Ross Greer alluded to that in his intervention. However, that misses two key points.
First, trust in the system means that a body that awards qualifications should not regulate them. Structures matter.
Secondly, regardless of what is accredited now, at a time when we are claiming to reform the system, we should not miss an opportunity to do so in a way that is entirely fit for the future.