New qualifications creating 'educational apartheid' in Scottish schools

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) teaching union said the introduction of National 4 had led to a group of pupils viewing themselves as second class citizens.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has argued the under-fire qualification - which only involves classroom units - is legitimate and will be recognised by employers.

Dr Janet Brown, chief executive of the SQA, has even suggested teachers are partly to blame stating recently: "I have actually had this conversation with several teachers who have told me that they are telling their students an internal assessment is not valid. If they hear that from teachers they will believe that."

But Andy Harvey, a teacher from South Lanarkshire, told the annual general meeting of the EIS in Perth that schools were "increasingly uneasy" about the impact of the National 4 and how it compared to the more advanced National 5, which still has an external exam.

He said: "A significant number of our children will not actually be sitting an exam. The senior group go on study leave apart from the National 4 candidates who are told to attend classes as normal.

"Many of these kids vote with their feet because they don't want to go to school to go to sparsely attended classes so they don't hang around to complete their National 4 courses."

Edinburgh teacher John Swinburne added: "The one thing they didn't need to change was the exam system and really it is the only thing they have changed.

"If you are going to have an exam system make it a common exam system. The SQA has got their hands on this and used it as a cost-cutting opportunity and saved a fortune.

"The SQA is dominated by businessmen and compliant academics...so there a whole group of kids who are not catered for at all. This situation has introduced an educational apartheid."

The EIS membership backed calls for a review of the qualifications and the "social inequalities" they have created.

The EIS also raised concerns about cuts to budgets with shortages of basic materials such as pens, pencils and paper and teachers "propping up" education budgets by providing materials themselves to ensure pupils from poorer families were not missing out.

Delegates also backed a call for industrial action to campaign against cuts to budgets for pupils with additional support needs.

In April, the Scottish Government admitted that not all children with learning difficulties were getting the support they are entitled to.

The admission from Alasdair Allan, the Learning Minister, followed the publication of an official report into how well councils are providing for pupils with additional support needs (ASN) such as autism.

There are currently more than 140,000 ASN pupils in Scotland - some 21 per cent of the school population, but the numbers vary markedly between different council areas.

Lynne Robertson, a teacher from East Dunbartonshire, said: "Budget cuts are impacting on the learning of our most vulnerable pupils in the classroom.

"All too often additional support needs provision.... are seen increasingly as a luxury service. The presumption of mainstream is supposed to be backed by appropriate support and that is what is lacking.

"It is important that we investigate these cuts and make sure these young people are no longer disadvantaged."

Ian Scott, a teacher from North Lanarkshire, added: "The biggest impact on education will happen between now and 2019 with the biggest cuts still to come.

"Councils are now in the process of thinking the unthinkable. There is no doubt that the poorest and most vulnerable in our society will continue to shoulder the brunt of these cuts."

An SQA spokesman said: ""Internal assessment allows candidates to demonstrate their skills and knowledge in a variety of different contexts and settings and ... is particularly suitable for Courses at National 4 level and will help to build learners' confidence in preparation for progression to National 5 or into vocational qualifications in school, at college or with an employer.

"National 4 follows a similar model to other existing qualifications such as the Higher National Certificate (HNC) and the Higher National Diploma (HND), which are both internally-assessed but quality-assured by SQA. All of these qualifications enjoy high credibility. All internally assessed qualifications are subject to robust quality assurance by SQA, to ensure that the qualifications are being assessed at the national standard."

The Scottish Government said it wanted all children "to get the most from the learning opportunities which are available to them, so that they can realise their full potential, in learning, in work, and in life.

"All education authorities have a statutory duty to identify, make provision for, and review provision for the additional support needs of children...It is for local authorities to determine how they meet these duties.

"The Additional Support for Learning Act makes provisions for the resolution of disputes between education authorities and parents... concerning the exercise by education authorities of any of their functions under the Act."