Education in Scotland: Curriculum for Excellence 'should be axed'

He added: "Teaching and learning should be the central focus of our schools and we must halt the drift towards our teachers doubling up as social workers and well-being experts." 

The Scottish Conservatives have published a paper detailing the initial outline of a new curriculum. Senior figures intend to develop their ideas further over the coming months. 

It comes in the wake of detailed analysis from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In a landmark report, experts assembled by the Paris-based body said CfE’s aim of achieving excellence for all pupils was “widely shared by stakeholders and continues to be an inspiring example equated with good curriculum practice internationally”.

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But the document stresses CfE "will only remain relevant if Scotland uses these insights to continue its development". It adds: "CfE’s complex framework works well in Broad General Education (BGE) and for learners taking Advanced Highers, where the concepts, pedagogical and learning approaches are coherent, and the implemented school curricula seem consistent with policy intentions.

“However, there is some ambiguity about the role of knowledge and ways of knowing in a 21st century curriculum framework. Adjustments might therefore be needed in the concepts of CfE and the tools to put them in practice in both BGE and the Senior Phase.

“The structure, learning practices and assessment approaches in the Senior Phase also need adapting to be consistent with CfE’s vision, and to allow for the smooth curriculum experience promised from 3 to 18.”Oliver Mundell thinks Curriculum for Excellence should be replaced.

The report’s recommendations were accepted by ministers, who have since announced that the Scottish Qualifications Authority and standards body Education Scotland will be replaced, with the inspectorate becoming fully independent. The Government also wants to set up a new national agency that has responsibility for curriculum, assessment, teaching, and learning.

Professor Louise Hayward of Glasgow University is currently writing a report about the future of pupil assessment. Her analysis is due to be published later this year. 

Mr Mundell said recently announced changes amounted to no more than a rebranding exercise. He also insisted ministers had interfered with the process of producing the OECD report, adding that the research was “set up to fail”.

"Scotland's education system used to rank among the best in the world before the SNP came to power," he said. "We should return to the strong, traditional, teacher-led approach that gave so many of us who went to our local school a decent start in life. 

"Quality, knowledge-rich, universal education is at the heart of being Scottish. We pride ourselves on being a nation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and thinkers. 

"We are at risk of losing all that if we keep sticking with the same distinctly un-Scottish approach that has seen our schools plummet down international league tables. We should return to Scotland's Curriculum and ditch the SNP's Curriculum for Excellence." 

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Mr Mundell added: "Curriculum for Excellence is now beyond saving. Over 20,000 pages of guidance haven't fixed it, they've only burdened it more and confused what it was supposed to achieve. The OECD review has been set up to fail and will never get to the bottom of what is wrong with CfE.  

"The current approach is an anchor that will keep dragging down school standards and artificially limiting opportunities for our young people. The knowledge-based, rigorous and confident curriculum we once had was much better than the fuzzy and often contradictory guidance that dominates now.  

"Teaching and learning should be the central focus of our schools and we must halt the drift towards our teachers doubling up as social workers and well-being experts. This is often presented as kindness by the SNP but the truth is it is simply asking our schools to plug the gap for cuts elsewhere while educational attainment suffers as a result. 

"We want to start a national conversation with teachers and education experts to design a replacement that would restore world-class Scottish education."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The OECD’s independent report published last year described CfE as 'a bold and widely supported initiative'.

"CfE is the right approach for Scotland and it is viewed internationally as an inspiring example of curriculum practice. Throughout the pandemic it delivered credible results for our children and young people in the face of exceptional circumstances.

“The breadth of learning delivered by CfE – which helps equip pupils with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed for life in the 21st century - was reflected in the most recent PISA global competence assessment, where only two countries achieved a higher average score than Scotland.”