Lessons issued to primary school children featuring the SNP logo and Nicola Sturgeon have been branded politically biased.
An image of the First Minister features in a series of slides about famous Scots – which were emblazoned with the party’s symbol and information about the independence campaign.
The same learning resource has previously offered a Sturgeon mask for children and families to use for role play, alongside masks depicting other politicians including Boris Johnson.
One father was shocked to the see the SNP leader listed alongside the likes of William Wallace and Alexander Fleming in the Twinkl history and politics lessons issued by his nine-year-old son’s school in Forfar.
Other historic and modern-day Scots in the PowerPoint presentation include Robert Burns, Mary Somerville, Andy Murray and Laura Muir.
Pupils also learned about Scotland’s first First Minister, the late ‘father of devolution’ Donald Dewar – but not of his leadership of the Scottish Labour party.
Online publisher Twinkl, which has been providing remote learning resources while pupils are being taught at home, has now altered the presentation, removing the SNP logo and including Mr Dewar’s political affiliation.
The father, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It’s likely hundreds or thousands of other kids will access this content because it’s a national site.
“It’s not the teacher’s fault – schools should reflect on the contribution that Scots have made around the world.
“I’d just like my child to grow up appreciating people like Donald Dewar and Mary Somerville for what they did, without the need for everything to be politicised, badged and flagged.”
There will be lots of parents scratching their heads at seeing the SNP mentioned in the same breath as Logie Baird and Fleming.”
Councillor Derek Wann
Angus Council’s children and learning convener Councillor Derek Wann pressed the local authority to investigate the use of the PowerPoint presentation.
Mr Wann, who is Conservative councillor for Arbroath East and Lunan, said the Curriculum for Excellence material showed bias.
He said: “This looks to be a national resource so there will be lots of parents scratching their heads at seeing the SNP mentioned in the same breath as Logie Baird and Fleming.
“We have to be very careful about keeping education trustworthy and free of external influence.”
Online resources
Twinkl Educational Publishing said the slides we saw had been edited externally as they were slightly different to those on its website but admitted the originals had featured the SNP logo and omitted Mr Dewar’s party until today.
Helen Fulson, chief product officer, said: “We provide resources that are fair, accurate and unbiased.
“All of our materials are created by current and former teachers to ensure that they are of the highest quality and suitable for the classroom.
“This includes a collection of resources that explore Scottish and UK politics and the different figures and political parties that are part of this, and which can be used to meet CfE outcomes.
We recognise that including the SNP logo in this resource and not including the political party of Donald Dewar was not consistent and so we have now amended this.”
Helen Fulson, Twinkl Educational Publishing
“These resources impart the key facts, they do not focus on any particular party or share any political beliefs.
“The Nicola Sturgeon mask, for example, is part of a wider range of masks of all the party leaders of the 2016 Scottish elections.”
Of the famous Scots presentation, she said: “This shows Scottish people that have had an impact on different areas including science, politics, sport and the arts.
“Nicola Sturgeon is included in this because she is the first woman to be the First Minister in Scotland and the first woman to be the leader of the Scottish National Party.
“However, we recognise that including the SNP logo in this resource and not including the political party of Donald Dewar was not consistent and so we have now amended this.”
Angus Council
An Angus Council spokeswoman said: “Twinkl is available to all of our schools.
“Some of the resources are free and others may be accessed if schools choose to subscribe.
“Resources available via Twinkl are more likely to be utilised by those working in the primary sector.
“Twinkl is not a resource that we stipulate that schools should use, but simply a source of material available on the internet.
“As with all of the resources available online, class teachers will decide whether they are suitable for use in their classroom.”