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New Education Bill Will Ensure Every Scottish Child Gets World-Class Education
20/01/2000
Children are at the heart of the Standards in Scotland's Schools Bill published today which will give every child in Scotland a new right to education.
Announcing publication of the Bill at the Faculty of Education at the University of Edinburgh, Minister for Children and Education Sam Galbraith said:
"This is an important day for every pupil, every parent and every teacher in Scotland. For the first time the Bill says what education is about - education should develop the personality, talents and mental and physical abilities of every child and young person to their fullest potential. That is our vision for education - a vision that is shared by the young people, parents, teachers and others who contributed to the consultation process.
"This vision provides the foundation for new duties on Ministers and local authorities to promote improvement in education. It makes clear that raising standards is not only about qualifications - which are important - but also about ensuring our children have all the skills they will need to seize opportunities in a rapidly changing world. This duty to promote improvement is not negotiable - it is about making every school and every child's educational experience the very best it can be."
The Bill will put in place a new framework for improvement that gives the Scottish Executive powers to set the strategic direction for education in Scotland. Ministers will work in partnership with parents, teachers and pupils to identify national priorities for education. Local authorities and schools will be challenged to set themselves targets for improvement that are both realistic and challenging. New powers to allow the inspection of education authorities - focussing on the support that authorities provide to schools - will allow the sharing of good practice and promote a culture of excellence.
Sam Galbraith continued:
"We consulted the people of Scotland on what they think is important in education and many will see their proposals given life in the Bill that has been presented to the Parliament. The Bill has been greatly improved by this inclusive and participative approach.
"The Bill is about establishing the framework for improvement, not about telling teachers and schools how to do their job. Ministers will set the strategic objectives and make sure that the education professionals, working in partnership with parents, young people and other members of the community, find solutions appropriate to their local circumstances. In education there is no 'one size fits all'. Our approach must focus on making sure that we get the right outcomes, not making sure everyone does the same thing.
"We can only achieve excellence in education if parents, teachers, pupils and authorities all work together to a common vision. This Bill requires consultation and partnership at every stage of the process."
The Bill includes new provisions designed to encourage parents to be more involved in supporting the education of their children and to focus school boards on working with the headteacher to raise standards.
Pupils are to be given more of a say in their schools through setting up of pupil councils. They will be encouraged to make a positive contribution to their own education, encouraging development of skills that enable young people to be active participants in civic society.
Teachers are central to the commitment to drive up standards and the Bill includes a range of measures to support teachers, enhance their status, and ensure there is a modern profession for the new century.
The Minister concluded:
"This Bill is only one part of the Scottish Executive's drive to make education in Scotland the best it can be. We are also putting extra resources into schools - £1.3 billion for this and the next two years. This additional money is supporting the recruitment of new teachers and classroom assistants, more homework clubs, smaller class sizes, more in-service training and the modern technology of the National Grid for Learning to give our children the skills they will need to succeed in this millennium and to raise standards and promote social inclusion."
"Now that the Bill has begun its progress through the Scottish Parliament I am looking ahead to what needs to be done to support the framework for improvement. I will shortly be issuing a consultation paper on what the national priorities for Scottish education should be. My officials will also be working with authorities to help them prepare to implement the new measures and to make it work."
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. The consultation document on the Improvement in Scottish Education Bill (now the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Bill) was published on 7 July 1999 and comments were invited until 31 October. The Bill has been significantly revised in the light of the consultation.
2. The main themes coming out of the consultation were a desire to secure: a definition of what education is for; greater involvement of parents in their children's education; greater involvement of pupils in decisions which affect them and a more inclusive education system.
3. The Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Bill was presented to the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 19 January and was published overnight.
Main elements of the Bill
- A right to education (section 1).
- A statement of the purpose of education (section 2).
- A duty on Scottish Ministers and Local Authorities to promote improvement (section 3).
- A new improvement framework - set up to ensure the Scottish Executive, local authorities and schools work together to deliver a shared vision of education (sections 4 to 7).
- Inspection of Education Authorities to offer external independent scrutiny and promote best practice (sections 9 and 10).
- New duty to secure pre-school education for those parents who want it (section 29).
- New measures to ensure parents are more involved in the education of their children, including setting out what the role of School Boards is (section 23) and ensuring all parents are consulted on the School Development Plan (section 6).
- New measures to recognise pupils as participants in their learning - a new duty to consult pupils on the School Development Plan (section 6).
- New duties on local authorities make special arrangements to ensure that pupils who do not attend school because they are excluded, because they are caring for relatives or because they are too ill to attend school receive a proper education (section 37).
- Measures to modernise the teaching profession and enhance its status including reforming the role of the GTC, including a role for the GTC in continuing professional development (sections 41 to 50) and abolition of the SJNC (section 51).
News Release: SE0097/2000
20 Jan 2000
News Release: SE0097/2000
20 Jan 2000