Scottish first minister John Swinney has rejected the claim that he was a “bystander” in 2020 as the country adopted a controversial approach to assessment after national external exams were cancelled.
Appearing at the UK Covid-19 inquiry, Mr Swinney - who was Scotland’s education secretary at the time - said there was an “arm’s-length” approach taken to qualifications, which was not “dictated by ministers”.
After the historic move in March 2020 to scrap exams, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) worked on an alternative approach based on teachers’ estimated grades and previous attainment in schools.
Covid results controversy
However, after results were published in August 2020, it emerged that students from the poorest backgrounds were far more likely to be downgraded.
The Scottish government performed a U-turn and allowed teacher estimates to stand, with Mr Swinney later surviving a vote of no confidence.
In March 2023, Mr Swinney admitted that he had come “incredibly close” to resigning at the time.
When Mr Swinney was asked at the inquiry yesterday if his description of an arm’s-length approach included being able to ask questions about the model put forward by the SQA - which is due to be replaced later this year by a new body called Qualifications Scotland - the first minister said: “No, but I would have had dialogue with the SQA about these issues, but I can’t recall any particular discussions that we had.”
Concerns had been raised with Mr Swinney in the weeks before the announcement of results in August 2020, with former Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont mentioned by inquiry counsel Clair Dobbin KC yesterday as one of those who highlighted potential problems.
In his witness statement to the inquiry, the first minister acknowledged that many young people had felt “their future had been determined by statistical modelling”.
‘Delivery of reliable qualifications’
Asked if he raised potential concerns himself following the initial backlash to the alternative assessment plans, the first minister said: “I don’t recall doing that, because I was taking the view that I had essentially commissioned the SQA to undertake the design of an alternative certification model and to make sure that all of the principles that we rehearsed earlier on - about fairness, about the delivery of reliable qualifications, about the reflection of attainment - that the SQA would be operating to fulfil that mandate.”
Mr Swinney rejected Ms Dobbin’s assertion that he was a “bystander”, saying instead: “It’s respecting the fact that there is an approach taken in Scotland, which was that we should have qualifications certificated by an external body - and that external body should apply professional judgement to allow that to be undertaken in the interests of fairness to all learners.”
The Scottish government ordered a rapid review of the situation after the U-turn and, in October 2020, author Professor Mark Priestley found that the results fiasco could have been “at least partially avoided”.
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