Report on the replacement of the Scottish Qualifications Authority, reform of Education Scotland, and removal of its inspection function.
Fundamentally, my recommendations place children, young people and those teachers and practitioners who support their learning more firmly at the heart of the education system. Unashamedly, they place them and their interests ahead of those organisations that make up the educational infrastructure. The recommendations aim to establish a revised infrastructure that begins to simplify the landscape and ensures all teachers and practitioners have greater clarity as to the roles and functions of key national bodies. The recommendations also set out the means by which teachers and practitioners can be more assured of accessing the bespoke support they need in the challenging job they have in supporting all learners. As a consequence, the recommendations are designed, ultimately, to enhance the quality of learning and teaching and the achievements and outcomes for all learners and ensure the rights of the child are respected and honoured across our education system.
Critically, the recommendations offer initial steps in creating a more coherent landscape that inspires public trust and confidence in our education and examination system. They also provide a means by which the school curriculum; assessment; approaches to learning and teaching; examinations and qualifications can remain responsive and relevant in the context of constant and significant change, through meaningful engagement with all stakeholders including those professionals who are most closely engaged in the learning and teaching process. Finally, my recommendations provoke questions for all who have a stake in Scottish education of the cultural and mindset shifts required to support this fluid and dynamic system.