A “national discussion” will be held on the future of Scottish education, education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told the Scottish Parliament this afternoon.
The process will begin after the school holidays and comes 20 years after a similar process that led to the creation of Curriculum for Excellence.
Ms Somerville also gave updates on qualifications and inspection reform in her statement this afternoon.
“I have committed the Scottish government to holding a national discussion to establish a compelling and consensual vision for the future of Scottish education,” Ms Somerville told MSPs.
She added: “Two decades on from the last national debate on Scottish education, the time is right to discuss our vision for the education system.”
She said this would be “a discussion for everyone”, adding that Professor Ken Muir, in his recent report, had “challenged all of us to work together to establish a consensual vision for education, which can genuinely put the learner at the centre”.
The national discussion will be “co-convened” by the Scottish government and local authorities’ body Cosla. It will be “co-facilitated” by Professor Carol Campbell, of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, and Professor Alma Harris, who holds posts at three universities in Wales. Both are members of the Scottish government’s International Council of Education Advisers (ICEA), which was established in 2016
Ms Somerville said that the Scottish Youth Parliament will gather the views of young people over the summer, and the national discussion will “prioritise listening to those whose voices are seldom heard”.
She added: “I want this to be the most inclusive-ever discussion on education.”
Ms Somerville also confirmed that Professor Louise Hayward, who is carrying out an independent review of qualifications and assessment, will report to her by the end of March 2023.
She said that the process of creating three new national education bodies - a qualifications organisation, an agency for Scottish education, and an independent inspectorate body - would draw on the approach taken by Social Security Experience Panels. This is so that “as broad a range of people with an interest in education can have a say in the design of processes and services for the new bodies”.
Ms Somerville said that the government “welcomed Professor Muir’s recommendation that there should be a shared inspection framework for early learning and childcare settings, developed between the Care Inspectorate and the new education inspectorate”.
She added: “We will come forward with specific proposals to consult the [early years] sector shortly, followed by a programme of engagement over the summer and autumn.”
In response to Ms Somerville’s statement, Labour education spokesperson Michael Marra said she had announced “nothing new” and condemned the “glacial pace of reform”, questioning why there could not have been an interim report from Professor Hayward presented to Parliament today.
