Scottish Conservatives call for school inspections to be split from Education Scotland

Scotland’s biggest education quango should be stripped of its school inspection responsibilities, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has said.

Speaking during First Minister’s Questions, Davidson revealed stats showing only 137 of Scotland’s 2543 primary and secondary schools were inspected last year.

Parents need more regular updates on the performance of their child’s school, she argued.

“We want to re-establish an independent inspectorate, outwith the arms of the Scottish Government, so parents know that when their school is assessed, it is done so entirely separately from those who set policy.

“Quite simply, the Scottish Government should not be marking its own homework,” she said.

Education Scotland was formed from the merger of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education and Learning and Teaching Scotland in 2011 to focus on both evaluation and improvement.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the agency had spent last year focusing on the successful implementation of Curriculum for Excellence’s senior phase, which included new qualifications.

“The inspectorate is independent, and it does demand high standards from schools. Local authorities also have a statutory duty to ensure that the quality of education is what we would expect,” she said.

The new National Improvement Framework, which will include standardised testing for primary pupils, will provide information for parents, Sturgeon said.