Tory manifesto demanded P1 tests
NICOLA Sturgeon is under fire on education after her Government lost a vote on disputed assessments for P1 pupils – but hit back at a Tory U-turn on the issue.
Labour and the Scottish Tories attacked the SNP at First Minister’s Questions yesterday – with Tory leader Ruth Davidson demanding a “complete overhaul” of the Curriculum for Excellence system used in Scottish schools.
But Sturgeon insisted her Tory rival had “zero credibility” on education after the Conservatives voted to halt national assessments in P1 – a policy Davidson’s party had previously supported.
The First Minister said: “I don’t think the Tories have got a shred of credibility on education left after the U-turn they by KATRINE BUSSEY reporters@dailyrecord.co.uk did yesterday, voting to scrap P1 assessments that they have spent the last four years demanding that this Scottish Government introduce.”
The policy was in the Tories’ 2016 manifesto.
Labour leader Richard Leonard called on the Scottish Government to respect the vote result.
Education Secretary John Swinney has already pledged to “consider” this – but at the same time advised schools to continue with plans for the national assessments.
Leonard said that showed the Government planned to “carry on regardless” with the tests, despite teachers branding them a “waste of time”.
Council leaders in Aberdeen have signalled their intention to scrap controversial tests, it emerged yesterday. Sturgeon said there was a mix of opinions among teachers over assessments and said the Government would consider the outcome of the vote.
“Our consideration will not be party political opportunism – our consideration will be based on interests of pupils in Scottish classrooms,” she said.
But Davidson said more action was needed to tackle the problems in Scotland’s schools.
She said more than half of all schools restricted the number of subjects pupils could study in S4 to a maximum of six, costing pupils qualifications.
Davidson added: “The crash in subject choice we are seeing is a symptom of a wider malaise and it is caused by the chaotic introduction of Curriculum for Excellence.”