Finally! SNP admits ‘key weaknesses’ in curriculum

A REVIEW of Scotland’s school curriculum will tackle ‘key weaknesses’ in the country’s education system, John Swinney has admitted.

The Education Secretary yesterday said an independent probe into the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) will go ahead to identify problem areas.

At the Scottish parliament, MSPs unanimously backed a motion in support of the review.

The motion, put forward by Mr Swinney, stated that parliament was confirming ‘its support for the establishment of an independently-led review of curriculum for excellence’.

The review, led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), will examine the curriculum design, the depth of learning in senior high school and concerns around a narrowing of subject choice.

Mr Swinney said the review will ‘form part of a wider drive to tackle key weaknesses in aspects of school education and the qualifications structure’.

Mr Swinney has repeatedly claimed that CfE is delivering ‘strong results’ for pupils and claimed the present system is the ‘right approach’.

But, speaking at Holyrood yesterday, he said he hoped the review would lead to a ‘constructive debate’.

He added: ‘I hope that we focus on the central question: what do we want the curriculum for excellence to achieve for young people in Scotland over the next ten years?’

Mr Swinney said teachers would contribute to the review to make it as ‘broad and inclusive as possible’. He added: ‘I am particularly keen to ensure that members of the teaching profession have the opportunity to make their contribution based on their experience without any constraint from their employment

‘Declining results in some Highers’

relationship with local authorities.’

Mr Swinney went on to say that he had ‘confidence in Scotland’s curriculum’.

But he added: ‘I am not standing here as an education secretary who is saying that everything is perfect and that nothing needs to be done to improve the situation.

‘I hope that, as part of the review, we can have an open and constructive discussion about how that can best be advanced.’

Scottish Conservative education spokesman Jamie Greene said action should be taken as quickly as possible to improve the education system.

He said the review should not be a ‘stand alone solution to any perceived weaknesses in the system’.

Mr Greene added: ‘It should not be an opportunity to kick issues into the long grass or to hide behind the protective cloak of an independent review and the timetable – which might now be extended – that comes with it.

‘I am clear that, if there are issues that can be addressed now, there is a duty on us and on the education secretary to address them.

‘Fundamentally, one has to ask why we are having a review at all. Triggers have led to where we are.

‘Whether in relation to the attainment gap, subject choice or declining results in certain Highers, there are – no matter how you look at it – not blips or variations, but trends.’

Mr Greene said such trends must be looked at, adding that the gap in outcomes between the richest and the poorest in society ought to be analysed.