Education Watchdog Hits Out Over Failures of GBP 2bn Deal

By PETER MACMAHON SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT EDITOR

A GBP 2 BILLION deal that gave teachers a 23.5 per cent pay rise has failed to deliver significant improvements in the education of Scotland’s children, a critical report has concluded.

The 2001 McCrone deal was hailed as a historic moment in the development of Scotland’s education system. But in a report published today, the schools watchdog has questioned just how much the McCrone deal – pushed through by Jack McConnell, the then education minister, has really done to improve results in the classroom.

While the report does accept broad improvements, it fails to give pass marks on the crucial issue of pupil attainment. In his report, Graham Donaldson, the senior chief inspector of education, said: “It is clear that the implementation of the teachers’ agreement has yet to improve significantly the learning of children as a whole.”

The report, published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE), is the second official inquiry to question the benefits of a 23.5 per cent rise over three years. Last year Audit Scotland, the public spending watchdog, said there was no evidence that the settlement had improved educational attainment in Scotland or had been value for money.

Politicians and teachers’ leaders last night said the report raised questions about whether taxpayers had received value for money. James Douglas-Hamilton, the Conservative education spokesman, said: “Considering the initiative cost more than GBP 2 billion of public money, this isn’t good enough.”

Fiona Hyslop, the Scottish National Party’s education spokeswoman, said: “With over GBP 2 billion as a price tag, the taxpayer should expect to see some improvements for pupils. While some objectives of McCrone have been achieved, the issue of improvements in education practice affecting pupils is worrying.”

The HMIE report says the staging of the deal over five years means it is still a “work in progress”. The report concedes that implementing such a complex deal is “a real achievement”, and says that most of the main elements of the agreement, A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century, are now in place.

There has been a reduction in class contact time out of teachers’ statutory 35-hour week – down to 22.5 from 25 hours in primary schools and to 23.5 hours in secondary schools. This is regarded as a positive development, as it frees up teachers for professional development and the preparation of lessons.

The agreement has also delivered new career structures, better professional development and new management in schools, according to HMIE.

And it highlights the creation of the post of principal teacher in primary schools and the new deal for better training and pay for probationary teachers – who now earn nearly GBP 20,000 a year – as particularly successful.

But it points out the low take-up of plans to create “chartered teachers”, who earn GBP 6,000 a year on top of their salary to remain in the classroom rather than seek promotion. By autumn last year, there were only 335 chartered teachers in Scotland, although 2,000 were training to achieve the qualification.

In his introduction to the report, Mr Donaldson said: “Future success will require an education system which is responsive and flexible and … open to new ideas.”

He says this will require teachers to embrace innovation, take responsibility for their personal performance and to encourage and support “each young person as an individual”.

Crucially, the report concludes: “Important aspects of pupils’ learning and achievement have not improved significantly.”

The inspectorate does not measure attainment on exam results, but the last four years have shown little improvement.

The percentage of S4 pupils passing five or more standard grades was 76 per cent in 2003. That rose to 77 per cent in 2004 but dropped to 76 per cent in 2005 and 2006. The percentage passing three or more Highers stayed at 23 per cent between 2003 and 2005, dropping to 21 per cent for last year.

Ronnie Smith, the general-secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland, said: “It is always very difficult to prove or disprove a causal connection between a pay rise or specifying the working week and attainment.”

However, Greg Dempster, the general-secretary of the Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland, said: “This report paints a rosy picture that many heads will not recognise.”

He added: “The deal has been good for teachers in that they have more time to prepare lessons [but]

it has also had a negative impact on the capacity of school leaders to do their work as heads have to spend more time on the timetable and even covering for teachers who are no longer in the classrooms.”

Hugh Henry, the education minister, said the agreement had ushered in an era of stability.

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