What does Scotland's new Education Bill mean for the Scottish education system?

The Scottish Parliament recently passed the Education (Scotland) Bill. What does this mean for Scotland’s education system?

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The bill establishes two new bodies:

• ‘Qualifications Scotland’ which will replace the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and hold responsibility for designing qualifications and assessments
• Office of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, which will carry out school inspections and deliver annual reports on the state of Scottish Education system

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Both new bodies will be operational by autumn.

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What are the motives behind these changes?

During the past few years, there have been controversies over the fairness of exam marking and grade awarding, especially during the pandemic, prompting calls for reform of the qualifications and assessment system. Additionally, the justification for transferring the responsibility of inspections from Education Scotland to a new body is to increase independence of the inspections body from the government curricular agency whose policies are being scrutinised.

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How has the Bill been received?

The Bill has received a mixed response.  

The general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union, Andrea Bradley, welcomed the commitment that Qualifications Scotland will ensure that ‘the knowledge and experience of pupils and teachers are central to decisions taken on qualifications and assessment’.

On the other hand, others have criticised the Bill as an unnecessary and costly rebranding rather than meaningful reform.

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How should Teach the Future respond?

The redesign of the schools inspectorate offers a critical opportunity to increase emphasis on sustainability within the new inspection framework. We should call for young people to be invited to co-design the new inspection plan, and be included in the Chief Inspector’s Advisory Council.

It is critical to ensure that the new inspection framework aligns with the commitments to Learning for Sustainability which emerge from the Curriculum Improvement Cycle currently underway.

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You can read the full bill as passed here.