The EIS has commented on the launch of the Curriculum for Excellence Review Implementation Framework, which was recently published on the Scottish Government website.

The Implementation Framework sets out how the Scottish Government intends to address the recommendations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: Into the Future.

Commenting, EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “The EIS welcomes the commitment to the further empowerment of schools and teachers outlined in the Framework but would also emphasise that, in order for rhetoric to become reality, those with power must be willing to surrender some of their control.

Specifically, this means the Scottish Government and its Learning Directorate need to step back and allow practitioners and educationalists to have enhanced voice and agency in the implementation process. There is a danger that the multitude of fora being created will simply provide a smokescreen for an even more centralised approach to education governance. The EIS is clear, also, that government appointed groups like the Teachers’ Panel cannot be a substitute for engaging with the professional associations which represent Scotland’s teachers.”

Mr Flanagan continued, “We welcome the commitment to increased teacher numbers and reduced class contact time which are both essential steps in supporting education recovery for Scotland’s young people. The delivery of these commitments needs to be expedited, however, as action is needed now to ensure that all pupils can receive the level of support they both need and deserve.”

Mr Flanagan went on to add, “The EIS believes that the proposed timescale around the introduction of a new qualification framework (Sept 22- Aug 24) is woefully inadequate – this is an urgent problem highlighted by the pandemic where the clear inequity of the previous high stakes exam approach was exposed for all to see. The delivery of a new qualifications framework needs an urgent approach so that we do not default back to a discredited system which failed too many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.”