Press Release

Statement on next generation of National Qualifications in Scotland

11 June 2009

Voice: the union for education professionals, which represents teachers and education support staff across Scotland and the UK, has set out its hopes and expectations for the next generation of national qualifications in Scotland ahead of the announcement by Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop on the new national examination to replace Standard Grades and the expected continuation of Highers and Advanced Highers.

Maureen Laing, Voice’s Senior Professional Officer for Scotland, said: "We will need to study the details of what is announced, but Voice agrees, in principle, with the need to modernise and streamline the assessment system.

"Voice welcomes the intention to update qualifications in line with Curriculum for Excellence but believes that Advanced Higher and Higher standards should be maintained and enhanced. We are therefore pleased that Highers and Advanced Highers will continue.

"However, we do have reservations about how CfE impacts on schools and the breadth of education offered to all young people.

"It is important to give more able pupils the opportunity to progress at a time and level appropriate to them. However, we are fundamentally opposed to the introduction of separate literacy and numeracy assessments as we feel that this would not address the issues and would increase the burden of assessment. We feel that literacy and numeracy should be addressed within the new qualifications structure without imposing a new and unwelcome testing system on pupils and teachers.

"A Winter diet of exams would be neither desirable nor practical. There is no doubt that establishing a new system will be a burden on already hard-pressed teachers.

"The current two-year course at Standard Grade provides an opportunity for extensive coverage and development of skills, maturity and enrichment, with time for practicals and projects. We would like to see this feature maintained in the new qualification.

"It important that the best elements of Standards Grade and Immediate courses are reflected in the new qualifications.

"We believe that the most able pupils should be allowed to bypass qualifications at lower levels and begin their study for Highers from S4 onwards.

"There will certainly be implications for staff workload while these reforms are introduced. There is the major issue of providing the necessary resources in terms of time, staff and finance in order to ensure that the new and revised qualifications are properly prepared and delivered.

"With increased flexibility for students approaching exams, it is likely that additional teacher provision will be necessary to cope with the changing groupings of students.

"Smaller class sizes may become essential to deliver the curriculum. More teachers and support staff may need to be employed."