Ministers have been warned that Scotland’s changing education system continues to fail the underprivileged.
“How can schools be helped to overcome traditional organisational constraints and create a genuinely broad experience of education? Change processes need to be improved. There is a need to consider the implications for governance and accountability; professional empowerment and capacity; school autonomy and parental engagement; incentives to innovate and considered risk taking.”
Notably, it further states that “successive initiatives have so far not succeeded in breaking the link between socio-economic disadvantage and educational success” and warns of the far-reaching implications of this on society.
“We were failing one in five young people 50 years ago and we are still failing one in five today,” Mr Bloomer explained. “Our schools perform well at a relatively even quality; it doesn’t matter which school someone attends in that sense.
“However, it does matter what background a child comes from. Scotland’s education system seems has so far seemed largely incapable of overcoming the consequences of social and economic deprivation.
“One of the system’s cherished aims counteracting disadvantage has not been achieved. The commission hopes the new curriculum works to combat this.”
Recent statistics indicate that, for the first time in a decade, pupils in England are outperforming their Scottish counterparts when it comes to results.
Discussing the growing differences between the school systems north and south of the border, the report notes: “The uniformity in Scotland’s school system may be a source of weakness as well as strength”.
Mr Bloomer ended by saying: “It is far too early to assess what Curriculum for Excellence has achieved. However, the record of the past is of programmes that promised much and delivered far less, often at a high cost, both financially and in teacher morale.
“We currently have a very good but not great education system.”
Other members of the commission include Edinburgh University principal Dame Joan Stringer, former education minister Peter Peacock, chief executive of the Scottish Youth Parliament Hamira Khan and a number of prominent headteachers.
Photo by David Davies/PA Wire
The Courier gained exclusive access to an interim report by the country’s independent School Reform Commission, only officially released this morning.
The detailed 37-page document, authored by renowned educationalist Keir Bloomer, examines the current state of learning north of the border. It aims to take a “realistic” view which former director of education Mr Bloomer, the newly-formed committee’s chair, states is the “first step towards making progress”.
The hotly-anticipated report, which precedes the results of the group’s full investigation due to be published at the end of the year, was expected to send shockwaves through the SNP government following recent concerns regarding the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).
It states that while the commission welcomes recognition in the CfE that there is “more to teaching than getting students through exams”, schooling remains “very influenced by the examination process” in the later secondary years.
It goes on to question whether the influence of summative assessment should be further reduced but concludes it is as yet “too early” to make a concrete judgment on the issue.
Keen not to be drawn on the recent controversies, Mr Bloomer told The Courier: “We do not want to get bogged down in whether the exam changes are being well handled at this stage. We wish to put out a final report that is useful it will include more detailed recommendations.”
He added: “A lot of people are questioning whether exams are distorting the teaching process as there has long been so much weight on exam performance and pressure to teach to test.
“If the new exams are measured exactly on what the CfE wants to achieve that will be fine but it is important to remember there is a gap between what exams can test and what we are trying to accomplish. If exams become too powerful that will be detrimental. They are not the most accurate measure of success.”
The report, compiled following regular meetings between the 19-strong panel, also recommends that implementation and “change processes” be improved.
“In many respects, encouraging progress has been made with Curriculum for Excellence, for example in relation to deep learning, interdisciplinary approaches, the development of skills and learner engagement. However, the events of recent months demonstrate that much more needs to be done,” it reads.
Continued…
The Courier gained exclusive access to an interim report by the country’s independent School Reform Commission, only officially released this morning.
The detailed 37-page document, authored by renowned educationalist Keir Bloomer, examines the current state of learning north of the border. It aims to take a “realistic” view which former director of education Mr Bloomer, the newly-formed committee’s chair, states is the “first step towards making progress”.
The hotly-anticipated report, which precedes the results of the group’s full investigation due to be published at the end of the year, was expected to send shockwaves through the SNP government following recent concerns regarding the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).
It states that while the commission welcomes recognition in the CfE that there is “more to teaching than getting students through exams”, schooling remains “very influenced by the examination process” in the later secondary years.
It goes on to question whether the influence of summative assessment should be further reduced but concludes it is as yet “too early” to make a concrete judgment on the issue.
Keen not to be drawn on the recent controversies, Mr Bloomer told The Courier: “We do not want to get bogged down in whether the exam changes are being well handled at this stage. We wish to put out a final report that is useful it will include more detailed recommendations.”
He added: “A lot of people are questioning whether exams are distorting the teaching process as there has long been so much weight on exam performance and pressure to teach to test.
“If the new exams are measured exactly on what the CfE wants to achieve that will be fine but it is important to remember there is a gap between what exams can test and what we are trying to accomplish. If exams become too powerful that will be detrimental. They are not the most accurate measure of success.”
The report, compiled following regular meetings between the 19-strong panel, also recommends that implementation and “change processes” be improved.
“In many respects, encouraging progress has been made with Curriculum for Excellence, for example in relation to deep learning, interdisciplinary approaches, the development of skills and learner engagement. However, the events of recent months demonstrate that much more needs to be done,” it reads.
Continued…