Chamber
Plenary, 05 Apr 2001
05 Apr 2001 · S1 · Plenary
Item of business
Examination Diet 2001
We would not expect people who had marked a paper last July to mark it again in the autumn or winter appeals. What is important is that the people who are involved in the appeals are experienced markers and adjudicators. They would have been involved last year, but they would have been considering different scripts to those that they would be asked to consider in the appeals.
On the secondment, one of the reasons that we have gone for an assistant head teacher secondment is that they have a management role throughout the school. Schools deal with the administration of examination details in different ways. Some use teachers, some use school office staff and some use a combination of both. We want to get a whole school picture. The person that the SQA has seconded into the organisation will be in his school for half the week and in the SQA for the other half. That is an essential combination that will bring a lot of experience to bear on the monitoring of the processes over the course of the next three months.
On the secondment, one of the reasons that we have gone for an assistant head teacher secondment is that they have a management role throughout the school. Schools deal with the administration of examination details in different ways. Some use teachers, some use school office staff and some use a combination of both. We want to get a whole school picture. The person that the SQA has seconded into the organisation will be in his school for half the week and in the SQA for the other half. That is an essential combination that will bring a lot of experience to bear on the monitoring of the processes over the course of the next three months.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Sir David Steel):
NPA
The next item of business is a statement from Mr Jack McConnell on progress towards the 2001 examination diet. It would be helpful if members who wish to ask...
Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP):
SNP
On a point of order, Presiding Officer.Following the partisan remark that the Minister for Transport and Planning made to Bruce Crawford during question time...
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
No.
Tricia Marwick:
SNP
—that she is equally accountable to SNP members—
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
No. I am sorry, but the remarks were not partisan.
Tricia Marwick:
SNP
They were.
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
Order. I listened carefully and the minister addressed herself first to two Labour members, then to one SNP member. That was the context in which she made th...
Tricia Marwick:
SNP
Further to that point of order. I ask the Presiding Officer to study carefully the Official Report of today's proceedings.
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
I will do so. I always do so.I call Jack McConnell to make his statement on the 2001 examination diet.
The Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs (Mr Jack McConnell):
Lab
To avoid the need for any further points of order to be made, I apologise in advance to both my Opposition colleagues for the fact that they received the sta...
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
I appeal for members' co-operation. Even without taking into account the time that we have lost this afternoon, we are very pushed for time. I must leave suf...
Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I welcome today's statement and confirm my party's support for the actions that are being taken to ensure that this year's diet produces results according to...
Mr McConnell:
Lab
I am happy to give the same reassurance that I give week in and week out when I visit schools throughout Scotland and discuss such matters with teachers and ...
Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
I, too, welcome the opportunity to respond to the minister's statement, even though there was not much in it that was new. The focus must be on a successful ...
Michael Russell:
SNP
Not yet.
Mr Monteith:
Con
I will ask the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs three questions, the first of which the First Minister will be interested in. What will be...
Mr McConnell:
Lab
I do not want to revisit the philosophy of the new national qualifications. We must consider the new national qualifications as a total package; they are not...
Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD):
LD
I thank the minister for his statement. He has done a great deal of work, as has the SQA. The minister is right to put the interests of children at the heart...
Mr McConnell:
Lab
I am confident that the SQA will give enough time for printing. I am also confident that we will hit those other deadlines. Obviously, we need to continue to...
Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab):
Lab
I thank the minister for his statement. It is important that he keeps the Education, Culture and Sport Committee informed of developments, because the commit...
Mr McConnell:
Lab
Karen Gillon made two extremely important points. I agree that the situation with FE students is unacceptable. It is correct that the exam diet for last year...
Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
It is widely accepted that last year's difficulties were, to some extent, attributable to data processing software, yet the computer system this year is larg...
Mr McConnell:
Lab
The person who lost his job this week was not an IT worker for the SQA; he was an independent consultant who had been employed by the SQA.On the computers, I...
Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green):
Green
The minister intimated that a head teacher would be included on the board. To follow on from what Irene McGugan said, and based on what I have learned from t...
Mr McConnell:
Lab
We would not expect people who had marked a paper last July to mark it again in the autumn or winter appeals. What is important is that the people who are in...
Robin Harper:
Green
Can I ask a brief supplementary?
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
We are in danger of squashing a lot of people out, because the questions and answers have, inevitably, been long. I am afraid that I will be unable to call e...
Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab):
Lab
In addition to the pressing issues with the 2001 exam diet, which have to take priority, one of the main concerns of the EIS is the review of the internal as...
Mr McConnell:
Lab
There have been two or three significant surveys of teacher opinion and the way in which the internal assessment has worked. That information and other infor...
Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I welcome much of what the minister has said, but I would like to ask him a couple of important questions. Going back to what the report of the Enterprise an...