LSG: Education (Scotland) Bill

The Learned Societies’ Group on Scottish STEM Education (LSG) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the detailed call, from the Scottish Parliament Education, Children, and Young People’s Committee, for views on the proposed Education (Scotland) Bill. The introduction of new legislation is an encouraging step towards reforming the education system in Scotland and delivering some of the changes that learners and teachers have been rightly demanding.

Learned Societies’ Group advice paper, Education (Scotland) Bill (351MB, PDF)

However, the LSG is concerned with several aspects of the Bill. Of paramount concern is the Bill’s focus on delivering institutional reform through the establishment of Qualifications Scotland and an independent inspectorate before having determined the desired outcomes or processes needed to implement educational reform in Scotland. While institutional reform constitutes an important part of the educational reform agenda, the LSG believes that other aspects of reform should take precedence and that institutional reform can only be judged in the context of knowing what it is being asked to deliver.

Given the significant costs associated with establishing Qualifications Scotland, the LSG would like to see more concrete evidence that it will deliver meaningful change for key stakeholders, particularly learners and teachers.

The LSG is concerned that the Bill does not address the fundamental recommendations put forth in several high-profile reviews of Scottish education in recent years, including the Curriculum for Excellence: Into the Future (OECD), Putting Learners at the Centre: Towards a Future Vision for Scottish Education (Professor Ken Muir), and the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment (Professor Louise Hayward).

The LSG appreciates the Scottish Government’s efforts to include the voices of learners and the teaching community through learner and teacher and practitioner Charters. To ensure these Charters are effective, the LSG suggests including more detail about how they will engage with stakeholders and a guarantee that stakeholders’ feedback will be implemented. Furthermore, the LSG recommends that subject-specific stakeholders, such as representatives from organisations that comprise the LSG, are consulted through these Charters.

The LSG is also concerned by the lack of independence of the new inspectorate body and its associated Advisory Council and recommends that it be accountable to the Scottish Parliament instead of Scottish Ministers. The LSG also encourages the Scottish Government to more evenly balance scrutiny and support when it comes to the nature of inspections.

The LSG recommends that better data is collected and made available to evaluate the performance of the Scottish education system. Please see the LSG’s response to the consultation on enhanced data collection for educational improvement for further details.

Finally, the LSG suggests that the Scottish Government provide an overview of what education reform will look like and how it plans to implement the various components.

Download this policy advice paper

Learned Societies’ Group advice paper, Education (Scotland) Bill (351MB, PDF)