The Scottish Government have recently announced that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) would be replaced with a new qualifications body. It has also announced its intention to establish a new independent inspectorate, whilst also needing to understand how best to align education inspection with the wider inspection system.
The Scottish Government is taking forward a significant programme of education and skills reform. It aims to reshape the ways in which they support improvement in the quality of teaching and learning and achieve improved outcomes and experiences for pupils and students in every setting.
Your views on the Education Reform: A Consultation on the Provisions of the Education Bill will help shape how they establish a new qualifications body, and our approaches to inspection, so that they can deliver in the best interests for all in Scotland. They want to hear a wide variety of views from the public and those experiencing and working within our education and skills system.
Whilst the focus is to provide a more structured and long term approach to implementation of a curriculum there is also the proposal to form a new qualifications body that should be an executive Non-Department Public Body (NDPB). The governance structure of the proposed body will ensure that the current functions of SQA continue but better representation around the design and delivery of qualifications, and indeed an independent inspectorate.
Feedback from across the system shows that that national education organisations are not always close enough to pupils and students. Reform provides an opportunity to increase trust and confidence in these organisations from practitioners, parents and carers and other stakeholders. There is a clear desire to simplify policies and institutions for clarity and coherence.
The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on:
• the proposals to replace the SQA
• approaches to maximise the role inspection plays in providing assurance and supporting teachers and other practitioners to improve education in Scotland, including through legislation.
For those that want to provide input to this consultation in regards to Glass and Glazing Sector and Construction, please do so by clicking on the link below. There are 12 questions and they can be seen in Appendix 1 of the Consultation.