Inspectors launch clampdown on schools ignoring Scotland's new curriculum

One of the underlying philosophies of CfE was the introduction of a broad general education in the first three years of secondary to allow pupils to develop their learning without the immediate pressure of exams.

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However, Education Scotland said schools were are still pushing pupils into exam choices before the end of third year which could limit learning at a crucial stage of their development.

Instead, inspectors want to make sure schools focus on learning in S3 which contributes to later qualifications without being explicitly centred on formal exam choices.

Bill Maxwell, chief executive of Education Scotland, believes that if schools improve their broad general education it will also clear up confusion in the fourth year of secondary where there is significant variation in the number of subjects on offer in different parts of Scotland.

He said: "I would challenge schools that are pushing pupils towards exam choices too early to look at the guidance which requires them to continue with the broad general education and not simply home in on beginning courses for National exams.

"A lot of schools are already looking at their second and third year and realising they need to go back and make improvements and that should ensure that all pupils get that broad entitlement.

"Inspectors will be taking the new guidance fully into account as they go round schools to ensure pupils are getting their entitlement to the broad general education."

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Mr Maxwell also hit out at a recent report by the right of centre think tank Reform Scotland which criticised the fact schools in different areas are offering different number of National 5 qualifications in S4 - exams which replaced Standard Grade.

He said: "The report was based on a narrow interpretation of the curriculum because it only focused on fourth year and failed to take into account the key objective of CfE which is to maximise attainment by the time pupils leave school rather than seeing any one year in isolation."

The move was welcomed by parents and teaching unions, who have supported the philosophy of CfE, but there was also a warning over the way inspections would be carried out.

Eileen Prior, executive director of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council (SPTC), said: "The secondary sector has been tardy in adopting the principles of CfE and many schools have treated it as a timetabling exercise rather than something which will transform education.

“We now have a situation where too many exams and assessments are squeezed into too little time and we have to see some action because children need a break to get time to learn without the pressure of exams.

“In many cases it is the schools who are good at getting pupils through exams who are most concerned about change because it represents a risk to what they do, but a greater risk is that we continue to fail those for whom the academic route is not the right choice.”

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Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS said: "Education Scotland has been poor in communicating the benefits of this approach up to now, but adopting a top-down approach to enforcement is unlikely to be productive."

Mr Flanagan said he supported the right of schools under CfE to tailor learning and teaching to the needs of their pupils as well as being flexible in the later years of secondary.

He added: "With the vast majority of pupils now staying on until at least fifth year schools need to be encouraged to consider by-passing some qualifications to allow breadth to be maintained and to create time for deeper learning."