Hansard

The national debate on education, in which more than 20,000 people took part, has given us the best opportunity in years to look at the future of schools in Scotland. We worked in a unique partnership with the Education, Culture and Sport Committee to share views with its parallel inquiry. Today, I am publishing the Executive's response to the national debate, which consists of plans for excellence in education in Scotland—plans that have been designed to deliver a world-class education for all Scotland's children.

Our vision is for every school to be a centre of excellence. I want young people to leave school with the skills, the attitudes and the expectations that they need to succeed in Scotland and in the world. Comprehensive education is no longer about one size that is supposed to fit all.

I want a comprehensive system that has excellent schools at the heart of local communities, and excellent teaching that prepares young people to go out into the world literate and numerate, confident, creative, responsible, ambitious, enterprising, considerate and motivated to learn throughout their lives. We can achieve that vision if we work in partnership to deliver three things: choice, opportunity and the highest standards in every school.

During the national debate, we heard repeatedly that the system must fit the child; the child must not be forced to fit the system. There must be choice for pupils if we are to meet their individual needs and ensure that every child reaches their full potential. We need choice in what children learn and in how they learn.

I have listened to the genuine concerns of parents, pupils and teachers about overload in the curriculum, especially at five-to-14 level. We will review and reform the school curriculum to make it more relevant, exciting and inspiring for pupils. We will decide which subjects and skills are needed to create a focused core of learning. Pupils need more choice in what they study around that core of learning. Pupils must have greater access to a wide range of choices, which should include vocational training, opportunities for music and arts, science, sports and languages.

The national debate also revealed concern about the amount of time that is spent on tests and exams. Assessment must be relevant to pupils, teachers and parents; it must inform learning, check progress and be credible. Although work on simplifying and reducing the amount of assessment at school is already well under way, I want to move on and look at more radical options. I am not convinced that all our young people need to sit exams every year from secondary 4 to secondary 6. We must have a simpler system, which does not have age and stage restrictions. We will reduce the number of tests and exams at primary and secondary schools and the amount of time that is spent on them.

Choice for pupils also means giving more control and flexibility to schools. We will give head teachers more control over budgets, so that they can decide how to use their resources to benefit their pupils.

In the classroom, schools need to be able to give their pupils the right attention from the right people. We will introduce new proposals to reduce class sizes and to improve pupil-teacher ratios. We will concentrate on critical stages, such as primary 7, secondary 1 and secondary 2, particularly in maths and English. We will increase the amount of small-group learning and will ensure that teachers work across primary and secondary schools to make the transition from primary to secondary school easier for pupils. Smaller classes at crucial stages and more flexible working will raise the standard of Scottish education.

Our plan is also about creating opportunity. To raise standards in Scottish education, we must also close the unacceptable opportunity gap for our children. The overwhelming response from the national debate was that we should keep our comprehensive schools. However, we must ensure that comprehensive education gives the best life chance to every single child and that it meets the needs of the 21st century rather than those of the 1970s.

Our starting point is to improve literacy and numeracy. Those skills are the basis of all learning and are essential throughout life. I know that progress has been made, but I am concerned that we must do more, especially for our most vulnerable and disadvantaged young people.

The current situation is simply not good enough. It is our most pressing problem, which we must tackle on all fronts. We will reduce class sizes at crucial stages, so that literacy and numeracy can get the attention that they deserve. We will review initial teacher education, so that new teachers have the training that they need to raise standards of literacy and numeracy. Let me be clear that literacy and numeracy will be at the heart of the revised curriculum. Above all, we will not tolerate underperformance in literacy and numeracy. Schools that do not deliver in those key areas will not be allowed to continue to fail their pupils year on year.

I believe that opportunity must be for all children. Many parents of pupils with special educational needs are critical of our current arrangements. The additional support for learning bill, which is now out for consultation, will address those concerns. We will put children first. We will cut bureaucracy and bring together all services to support every pupil's learning needs.

Opportunity for children also means that there must be excellent discipline in schools. That is a major concern for parents, pupils and teachers, but it is also a major concern for me. We are implementing the recommendations of the discipline action plan and we will monitor progress rigorously to ensure that a real difference is made in the classroom. If further action is needed, I will not hesitate to take it.

Children must also be taught in school buildings that support excellent standards of teaching and learning. We will bring forward a new school estate strategy to provide school buildings with the right facilities, which must be well designed, well built, and flexible to meet future needs. Excellent school buildings, with the most modern equipment, are the most visible sign of the high standards of education that we want for Scotland.

We also want opportunity for parents. We will improve the information that parents receive. We will issue new national guidelines to ensure that parents get the really important and relevant information that they want about their children's progress at school, so that they can be fully involved in their children's education. We will review and reform the role of school boards and parent-teacher associations. We want every parent to be involved and to be able to help guide their children to make the most of the choices that we are creating.

Delivering real choice and opportunity means giving schools flexibility, but ensuring that they meet the highest possible standards. We will examine the outcomes that schools and education authorities deliver for their pupils in each of our national priorities in education. That will include looking at attainment, but it will not only be about creating league tables of exam results. It will be about looking at all of the work that schools do so as to ensure that they are working to all the national priorities. We need to make certain that pupils are getting the highest standard of education.

We will strengthen the role of inspection to give clearer and more frequent reports to parents. We will direct Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education to work with those schools that most need to improve.

We will consider what other powers might be needed to tackle consistent underperformance. We will offer local agreements for excellence by giving the most flexibility in funding to authorities and schools that deliver excellent outcomes for their pupils. I will not allow, and Scotland cannot afford, to have some schools lag behind, failing their pupils and failing Scotland.

In conclusion, I believe that Scottish schools can and must deliver a world-class education. I believe that every school can be a centre of excellence. I believe that every school must be a centre of excellence at the heart of its local community.

Today, I am publishing our plan for excellence in education in Scotland. We have had the debate and we have reported back the independent analysis of the views. Now is the time for action. The document is the Scottish Executive's work plan for schools and education authorities. Ultimately, the debate is about the people who contributed to the debate—parents, pupils, teachers and members of local communities across Scotland. Let me be clear. I will come back to the Parliament to seek wider powers if necessary. I believe that we can and will work together to deliver a world-class education for all Scotland's children.