Scottish Labour ad campaign to target Swinney’s pandemic education record

Scottish Labour will take aim at John Swinney’s record on education in an new advertising campaign which focuses on his policies during the pandemic.

Anas Sarwar’s party will release ads targeted at young voters, attacking the SNP leader’s decisions from when he served as Education Secretary.

The adverts will feature testimony from young people affected by the changes to exam grades at the start of the pandemic.

In 2020, Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) developed plans that scrapped exams and based grades on a mix of teacher estimates and the historic attainment of schools.

As Education Secretary, Mr Swinney initially stuck with these plans despite fears some pupils from more deprived areas would be downgraded.

It was only after results were published, showing 125,000 results had been downgraded, that the Government U-turned and allowed teacher estimates to stand.

Mr Swinney later faced a vote of no confidence on the issue, but the motion was defeated in parliament.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “Back when Nicola Sturgeon said education was her top priority, she tasked John Swinney with improving things.

“But rather than help working class kids get on, John Swinney marked them down.

“As education secretary John Swinney tried to downgrade the exam results of working-class children during the pandemic.

“He only U-turned in a bid to save his own job – not to do right by those kids.”

Mr Sarwar continued: “John Swinney sent a message to Scotland when he agreed to mark those children down – he told teachers he didn’t trust them, and he told working-class young people he didn’t believe in them.

“Where John Swinney marked kids down, I will help them get on.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The impact of the unprecedented Covid pandemic was felt across society including the education system.

“The removal of exams, for the first time in 100 years, created a unique and very challenging situation.

“The Government’s objective was to ensure fairness for all students. When that was not able to be delivered by the alternative certification mechanism, awards were made on the basis of teacher estimates only.

“That resulted in fairness being delivered for all students.”