THE Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman has called for the SNP to be held to account over findings in a new report into the Curriculum for Excellence.
Today, Stirling University published an extensive study into the scheme’s implementation, which raised a number of concerns.
Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said: “This study is yet another sign that Mike Russell has lost control over the Curriculum for Excellence. His pretence that everything in the school garden is currently rosy is cutting absolutely no ice with parents and teachers.
“He needs to explain why it is that, even with some additional resources being promised and all his personal assurances, many schools still feel they are in the dark about some key aspects of the Curriculum for Excellence. That is not good enough when it comes to the biggest curriculum reform in a generation.
“No-one doubts the extraordinary efforts of headteachers and their staff to prepare for the new courses and exams, and to take on extra workloads, but there is still a deep-seated concern in far too many schools about the mixed messages coming from the Scottish Government.
“The fact that senior education professionals are finding that, eight years on, there is still a sizeable percentage of teachers who feel that there is a lack of coherent direction within the strategy for Curriculum for Excellence and an ongoing vagueness about some of guidance and terminology is a matter for great concern.
“Dr Priestley’s study has confirmed that there are also wider implications for school management and for curriculum policy in the future. That is an opinion which needs to be taken very seriously indeed.”
