Commenting on the publication of the Hayward Review on the future of qualifications and assessment by the Scottish Government, Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said:
 
“We welcome the commitment of the Cabinet Secretary to putting the views and perspectives of teachers central to how the recommendations in the Hayward Review are taken forward.
 
“There is a history of reform being imposed on the profession, rather than introduced in collaboration with it. If we are to avoid a repeat of some of the problems with the current system of qualifications and assessment then the experience and knowledge of those working in classrooms must be front and centre in developing any reforms.
 
“We will be holding the Cabinet Secretary to account for this commitment, as will teachers, who are understandably cynical about the extent to which meaningful consultation and collaboration will translate in reality, given that most teachers were not given any opportunity to engage with Professor Hayward’s review.
 
“Along with consultation, teachers must also be given the time, space and resources to develop and embed any new approaches which emerge as a result of this review.”
 
Mike Corbett, NASUWT National Official Scotland, said:
 
“The commitment by the Cabinet Secretary to seek coherence between this and other planned educational reforms was welcome and will be necessary if teachers are not to feel swamped before the whole process of reform even begins.

“As for the Hayward Review itself, while we are not opposed to a revised balance between exams and continuous assessment in principle, any move to remove or reduce exams will need to carefully consider the potential implications for both students and teachers.

“Teachers have past experience of unwieldy and bureaucratic SQA processes around coursework elements, as indeed does the Cabinet Secretary, and such processes must be avoided in any new system.
 
“Placing greater emphasis on personal achievements and extra-curricular activities through a Scottish Diploma, while perhaps helping us to move away from a system dominated by high-stakes exams, also has the potential to disadvantage pupils from lower income backgrounds if not handled carefully and sensitively.”