SQA staff endured ‘uncertainty’ over jobs amid exam reform plans, MSPs told

Qualifications staff were left facing “uncertainty” for five to six months before ministers confirmed there would be no redundancies amid plans to replace the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), MSPs have heard.

SQA chief executive Fiona Robertson told the Education, Children and Young People’s Committee of a “challenging” recruitment and retention process following the reform announcement, which has continued following recent delays.

Plans to overhaul the examination body and Education Scotland were announced in 2021, with changes expected in 2024.

But Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth announced a delay in June, with plans now expected to be completed by 2025 – once ministers consider the latest reviews into how well the system is working.

Ms Robertson told the committee it took a “period of time” for ministers to clarify there would be no compulsory redundancies within the SQA, before confirming it was “a period of five to six months” before chiefs had a response.

She said: “I think it’s important for me to highlight that it did take unfortunately a number of months for ministers to confirm there would be no redundancies, that jobs would be safe.

“I think that did impact, and I think we did see an increase in turnover and we did lose people that we would not have wished to have lost from the organisation.

“Not only that, I think in that context it can be harder to recruit to an organisation when the organisation is not going to exist.

“For a period of time, albeit that was resolved, that ministers were able to confirm by the end of 2021 that there would be no compulsory redundancies.

“We did lose some people and in some circumstances we have found it harder to recruit.”

She later added: “There’s no doubt that we found recruitment and retention, and still do to an extent, we still continue to see recruitment and retention as more challenging that it might have otherwise been.”

Ministers are considering the report from Professor Louise Hayward which recommended exams were scrapped for fourth year pupils and replaced with continuous assessment methods.

It also suggested a diploma of achievement is developed as a graduation certificate for all senior phase pupils.

Ms Robertson told MSPs “frustrations” were coming through from her directorate regarding the delay to making improvements to the qualifications system, adding ministers must “very carefully” consider the “potentially considerable changes” to the qualifications system.

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesman Willie Rennie said: “After a series of wide-reaching reports into Scottish education, there was an opportunity for a reset that put teachers’ expertise at the heart of a new system.

“Instead, delays to legislation and confusion over the functions of the new organisations envisioned to run Scottish education have meant this window of opportunity is slipping away.

“I have often been critical of the SQA leadership and their approach to education, but on this occasion it seems clear that they are being expected to operate with one hand tied behind their backs.”

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.