Education will remain high on the political agenda
Although Education and Childcare Joint Assurance Board represents only a small outpost in the confused landscape of Scottish education – one which is soon likely to be submerged in the incoming tide of next year’s election – it is nevertheless revealing. It illustrates the extent to which policy is now more about presentation than substance. Central and local government are both keen to deflect attention from areas of provision where they are vulnerable to criticism. Setting up yet another body with the usual inflated rhetoric, and peopled by ‘reliable’ figures from central casting, shows a lamentable failure to realise the extent to which there is now a loss of confidence and trust in those at the top.
The quality of political and professional leadership in Scottish education needs to be subject to forensic research enquiry. As part of this, the role of senior civil servants in managing the process of policy development is worthy of close attention. They use long-established bureaucratic practices not only to ‘protect’ government ministers, but also to maintain their own authority and keep critical outsiders at arm’s length. It is a system that needs to be challenged much more robustly than it has been in the past. The task will not be easy.
The Scottish educational establishment, over many decades, has been successful in resisting attempts to disturb its culture of complacency. Sadly, it may take a further decline in public confidence and trust before real change – as distinct from yet another exercise in public relations – can take place.