Chamber and committees

I can understand how those who work in education can find the situation difficult. Last week, we were told that those who work in teaching find the inspection process to be stressful and a strain. I can understand that because, in my previous working life, I was in corporate sales in the motor industry and when someone from the manufacturer came into the dealership and said that they were there to help, you never really thought that that was the case—you just had to get by, whatever the process was.

In the real world, how can we get to the stage where everyone feels that they are getting value from the inspection, after issues have been dealt with? Part of the problem that we have with inspections is that people feel similarly to how, in my previous working life, my colleagues and I felt—we all went, “Oh, thank God, that’s over and done with.”

I have a general question for everyone. Do any of the witnesses have a view on the different types of educational establishment that should come under the inspectorate under the bill?

To follow on from Willie Rennie’s question, I note that we had the teaching unions in last week, and they have a simple solution, which is to take every one of you out of the equation and just put them in there, because they have all the answers. They know what learners want and how the system works, and they think that they are the ones who can do it all. They think that that would simplify the whole process, rather than have this 1940s MGM musical chorus line kind of a committee. What are your thoughts on that?

Speaking as a parent, and a grandparent now, one of the most important aspects is that you want the best for your children and grandchildren. I might have overegged my initial question a bit, but I was quite struck by the fact that education professionals came in and said:

“teacher voice will ... be cognisant of the interests of learners”.—[Official Report, Education, Children and Young People Committee, 25 September 2024; c 35.]

That was the actual quotation. I am more on your side with this. If we take out the political element that Gavin Yates brought up—although, for us, it is important—at the end of the day, parents just want what is best for their children, and children want to be valued and engaged in the process.

Given the massive number of stakeholders, how do we get the process to be constructive and make everybody feel that they are getting something out of it?

I am just trying to get everyone’s ideas about how we go forward.

Nobody likes a mystery shopper.

Thank you, convener. It is not normally said about me that I am patient, so that is a nice wee change.

Good morning, everyone. My question was originally going to be for Fiona Robertson, but you can all chip in, should you wish.

When there is organisational change, transferring staff over in their entirety is not unusual. It is the best way to work nine times out of 10. However, there are specific challenges with the SQA, as some of my colleagues have already mentioned. Fiona, you talked about the bill providing the scaffolding, but when the scaffolding goes up, you still need to deliver and get the job done. Last week, we heard from various individuals who told us that the educational landscape was challenging and very busy, and that there are a lot of people in it. How do you feel about this change? Are you and, indeed, all the organisations going to be able to work together to ensure that you can deliver this time? The scaffolding has been put up, and it is time to do the job. How do you do it?

Thank you, convener. It is not normally said about me that I am patient, so that is a nice wee change.

Good morning, everyone. My question was originally going to be for Fiona Robertson, but you can all chip in, should you wish.

When there is organisational change, transferring staff over in their entirety is not unusual. It is the best way to work nine times out of 10. However, there are specific challenges with the SQA, as some of my colleagues have already mentioned. Fiona, you talked about the bill providing the scaffolding, but when the scaffolding goes up, you still need to deliver and get the job done. Last week, we heard from various individuals who told us that the educational landscape was challenging and very busy, and that there are a lot of people in it. How do you feel about this change? Are you and, indeed, all the organisations going to be able to work together to ensure that you can deliver this time? The scaffolding has been put up, and it is time to do the job. How do you do it?

Last week, we heard much in evidence about the independence of the inspectorate. Some of my colleagues have concerns about ministerial control. I tried to assure them that ministers are far too busy to plan world domination, but they still have concerns about there being a possible power grab. My question is probably best directed at Janie McManus. In your experience, how often have the Government or ministers directed the work of the inspectorate? For example, have they said, “Gonnae go and check out that school there”? Has there been anything at all like that from the Government?

To follow on from that, how frequently have the powers under section 66 of the 1980 act been used by ministers?