Clarity call over plans for exams next year

The head of Scotland’s largest teaching union has said school staff are “up against it” in preparing for the return of exams next year.

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan told MSPs there should be a plan in place in case next year’s exam diet is cancelled instead of working to the assumption it will go ahead only for tests to be cancelled due to coronavirus.

At Holyrood’s Education and Skills Committee Mr Flanagan said the new “blended model” of teaching will not allow enough face-to-face teaching time for pupils to adequately prepare for exams.

The only way schools will be able to deliver the required hours of teaching for senior phase exams is if they ask S1, S2 and S3 pupils to stay at home, he said.

According to Mr Flanagan, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) believes the current exam system should be maintained to “ensure integrity”.

He said there had been some discussions about switching S4 pupils to unit-based assessments rather than exams, which would free up between 10 and 12 weeks of teaching time.

Jim Thewliss, the general secretary of School Leaders Scotland, told the committee: “It’s reasonable to expect an organisation such as the SQA to have a plan for the future.”

He echoed Mr Flanagan’s call for a quick decision on next year’s diet, saying it would allow the system to support pupils to “get the best” in terms of their qualifications.

A spokesman for the SQA told the PA news agency planning is under way for an exam diet in 2021.

He said: “The Strategic Framework for Reopening Schools, Early Learning and Childcare Provision, published by the Scottish Government, made clear that planning for the 2021 examination diet is under way and will continue.

“The SQA will provide further advice to schools to ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place to capture, on an ongoing basis, the learning outcomes met by young people in the senior phase in school year 2020-21. This will provide a strong evidence base to support assessment and certification.”