SNP ministers were urged today to take immediate action to rebuild trust in Scotland’s education system following the publication of an expert review this week. 

The Scottish government announced that it will be replacing Scotland’s exams body with a new organisation following a report from the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) on Monday.

Education Scotland will also lose its school inspection role in the shake-up, after the OECD said that there needs to be “more coherence and alignment” with the principles of the Curriculum for Excellence system.

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said in a ministerial statement today that there is a need for a “system-wide response” to the OECD’s report. 

Labour’s education spokesman Michael Marra said it is imperative that Scotland rebuilds faith in education institutions, and called for support for a Bill which would executively make Scotland’s school inspectorate independent. 

He also said a new agreement must be made between stakeholders and teaching unions. 

Ms Somerville did not confirm whether she would back Mr Marra’s proposal, but said an agreement with trade unions was being prioritised.

Green MSP Ross Greer said that any overhauls cannot be a “rebrand,” welcomed many of the OECD’s recommendations and called for standardised testing systems to be scrapped. 

Trade unions had earlier called for the government to take action to ensure teachers are heard throughout any reforms. 

Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of teaching union NASUWT, claimed that the report reaffirms concerns raised by teachers that the pandemic has exacerbated weaknesses in the existing education system.

He said: “The Cabinet Secretary needs to grasp this opportunity to develop a genuinely collegiate approach going forwards, ensuring that the perspective of classroom teachers is integral to future curriculum development and design.”