School inspection in Scotland “stifles teachers and learning”, and is too beholden to the racking up of good exam results “at the expense of everything else”, the general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) said today.
Seamus Searson, addressing the SSTA annual congress in Glasgow, called instead for “a new inspection system that supports schools”.
He made his comments two weeks after Tes Scotland revealed that the inspection system would be subject to a “fundamental” review.
Inspection ‘used as a control mechanism’
“The fear of inspection is rife in our schools [and] is often used as a control mechanism to squash innovation and enthusiasm,” Mr Searson told SSTA delegates at the union’s annual conference.
“It stifles teachers and learning as the focus is about getting higher exam results at the expense of everything else.”
In April, after an exclusive interview with the interim chief inspector Janie McManus, Tes Scotland reported that the process of school inspection in Scotland was to be fundamentally reviewed.
“The review is not just about tinkering around the edges and it’s not just about refining things,” said Ms McManus. “It’s about enhancing the impact we have on children and young people.”
‘Inspect those who control money, staffing and curriculum’
Mr Searson called for a radical overhaul of inspection that would put the focus on local authorities rather than schools.
“If we are to have an inspection system, let’s inspect those who have the control - those who control the money, the staffing and the curriculum.
“It is a nice notion to believe that schools are autonomous bodies but that is far from the truth. Everything in schools is prescribed by those above. All that schools do is try to manage to do more with less.”
He added that shifting inspectors’ attention to local authorities “would take pressure off schools and teachers, and allow teachers to focus on teaching and learning”.
‘Why waste time comparing different schools?’
In any case, said Mr Searson, “no two schools are the same so why waste time trying to compare and measure things that are different?”.
More generally - alluding to ongoing education reform in Scotland - he said the SSTA was “adamant that whatever changes are to come in the education system must have teachers at the centre, and must be a support to teachers in the classroom, and not a hindrance”.
Mr Searson’s speech this afternoon addressed a number of other issues, including the impact of mobile phones on schools, student behaviour and concerns about the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s reversion to pre-pandemic assessment requirements in 2024.
He also reiterated recent worries about a “lack of progress in our negotiations with employers regarding the pay claim for 2024-25”.
And Mr Searson again took issue with a report commissioned by the Scottish government, published on Tuesday, which suggested that should be wary of increasing teacher numbers quickly to deliver a promised 90-minute reduction in weekly class-contact time by 2026.
Instead, the report said, ministers should aim to keep teacher numbers at a similar level and realise the contact time policy by 2028. Two days later, in his first First Minister’s Questions since taking over from Humza Yousaf, John Swinney would not make a definitive commitment to the policy of increasing teacher numbers by 3,500 in this parliamentary term.
On Tuesday’s report, Mr Searson said today: “The SSTA does not hold the document as definitive, and it should not be seen as an excuse not to implement the 90 minutes sooner rather than later.”
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