GTC Scotland suggests areas for amendment at Stage 2 of the Education (Scotland) Bill

Education (Scotland) Bill - Suggested areas for amendment at Stage 2

Introduction

The General Teaching Council for Scotland is the independent regulator for teachers in Scotland. We work in the public interest to enhance trust in teachers by setting, upholding and promoting high standards.

Throughout the education reform process, we have been advocating for trusted teaching as a critical part of the future vision for Scottish education. This requires a clear understanding of the education system and how to integrate its component parts effectively to ensure that roles, responsibilities and policy expectations are coherent and joined up, and that they support a shared vision.

Read our response to the Education (Scotland) Bill, from August 2024.

We are of the view that Stage 2 of the Education (Scotland) Bill provides an opportunity to pick up on some of the themes that were raised at Stage 1 and strengthen some of the provisions – particularly in relation to the independent inspectorate – to help achieve this vision.

1. The purpose of inspection

We consider that a number of the issues that were raised at Stage 1 in relation to the role and functions of the independent inspectorate could be addressed by a clearer statement outlining the purpose and functions of the office. At the core of this would be the explicit recognition that the office is performing a regulatory function.

Otherwise, it is unclear what the purpose of an inspection is and how it is envisaged that the office will be able to report on the performance of the Scottish education system in a meaningful way (see 3 below).

The bill as drafted provides that the Chief Inspector will arrange for inspections to be carried out and, in situations where ‘necessary improvements’ are required, they will refer matters to Scottish Ministers to take enforcement action. What happens in between those actions is largely undefined.

If the office were to have an explicit regulatory role, it would be appropriate for it to have a formal function to make directions to the educational establishment it is inspecting to improve the service the establishment is providing (according to the standards against which establishments will be evaluated). Otherwise it is not clear how and from whom establishments can access support to improve their performance and how it will be ensured that they do.

We have previously referenced for comparative purposes the role of the Care inspectorate which is not just to inspect but to help improve the quality of care in Scotland, and to take action where necessary. In performing this function, it is required by the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 to follow the Scottish Regulators’ Strategic Code.

Given that the new inspectorate will need to work with the Care inspectorate in relation to early learning and childcare settings, and their collaboration was referenced by the Cabinet Secretary during Stage 1 of the bill (Education, Children and Young People Committee, 9 October 2024, Official Report, column 33), we would suggest that greater synergy between their respective roles and legislative frameworks is required.

2. Child Protection

During Stage 1, Scottish Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson, Willie Rennie MSP raised the issue of whether the bill could address gaps in child protection in the current regulatory landscape (Education, Children and Young People Committee, 9 October 2024, Official Report, column 28). The Stage 1 report picked up on this point and recommended that the bill be amended to clarify this (Education (Scotland) Bill - Stage 1 Report, p42, para 337). Currently, and only according to the policy memorandum accompanying the bill (Policy memorandum accessible, para 125), section 48(3), which concerns enforcement directions by Scottish Ministers, is the only provision that is explicitly linked to child protection. However, it is enough to highlight that an important function of inspections is to identify child protection and safeguarding issues.

We consider that the bill could make explicit reference to the need for the inspectorate to take particular account of safeguarding and child protection issues in the exercise of its functions.

3. Reporting on the performance of the Scottish education system

This has the potential to be a meaningful function of the new inspectorate, and one that could reasonably be described as a regulatory oversight function, provided it is granted powers not just to observe issues within the system but to act upon them. If the inspectorate has no regulatory oversight authority its reporting obligation in relation to the performance of the education system is of limited use.

4. Independence of the inspectorate

Another issue that came up during Stage 1 was the need for the inspectorate to be independent and to be seen to be independent from the government. The bill as currently drafted does little to suggest that the Chief Inspector will be acting largely independently, even if that is what will happen in practice. We consider that greater clarity in the bill about the role and functions of the office would help to address this.

5. Proposals for amendments to address these points

We note that section 34 of the bill as drafted currently sets out a duty for the Chief Inspector to have regard to certain Gaelic education requirements in the exercise of its functions. We consider that this duty could be incorporated into a wider statement of duties or principles according to which the Chief Inspector should perform its functions, to include reference to best regulatory practice, and child protection and safeguarding (see, for example, section 117 of the UK Education and Inspections Act 2006).

In relation to the requirement that the new inspectorate reports on the performance of the Scottish education system, we would suggest that within the requirements of the inspection plan should be clearer provision about directions or recommendations for improvement to educational establishments and how these will be followed up on (section 36(2)).

It is our view that amendments along these lines would go a long way to improving the perception of the inspectorate’s independence by making greater statutory provision for their powers and duties.

As an independent statutory body, we are required to report to the Scottish Parliament alone. We consider that this is an important protection from undue political influence. However, we are also fully funded by the registration fees that teachers pay, and Scottish Ministers do not perform an oversight function in relation to our statutory remit. We therefore understand that reporting requirements may differ. However, a small change we would suggest is that in sections 38 and 39, the obligation to lay a report before parliament could come before the requirement to send a copy of it to the Scottish Ministers, suggesting that it takes precedence.

Other suggested areas for amendment

Ensure alignment with other statutory requirements in Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

GTC Scotland has a statutory responsibility to determine effective features of initial teacher education (ITE). We ensure that programmes of ITE are professionally appropriate and demanding and prepare students for registration as a teacher. Higher Education Institutions must design and deliver programmes of ITE to equip students to meet the Standard for Provisional Registration. This is the purpose of our accreditation process.

Should initial teacher education inspection be a function of the new inspectorate (which the bill confirms is the case, subject to arrangement with the Scottish Funding Council and on request by Scottish Ministers), collaborative working would be required to ensure that the inspectorate’s quality assurance and scrutiny activity of ITE complements our arrangements and supports quality enhancement. Furthermore, we are of the view that the criteria and standards that we set for ITE should be what is used for the new inspectorate to measure performance against. 

Added to the list of duties or principles that the inspectorate should have regard to when performing its functions could be the requirement to have regard to the statutory roles and responsibilities of other authorities that it interacts with.