Jenny Gilruth was privately warned by senior figures in Scotland’s education agency that the prolonged “instability” caused by the government’s stalled reform programme was damaging staff morale and the delivery of services for teachers and pupils.
A letter obtained by The Scotsman also shows how non-executive members of Education Scotland’s advisory board told the cabinet secretary her plans for a new Centre of Teaching Excellence, which were announced at the SNP’s conference in October, had only “increased” the uncertainty in the sector.
They said it was now “crucial” that Ms Gilruth moves to end two years of turmoil by setting out the next stages of reform.
The Scottish Government pledged to replace Education Scotland (ES) and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) with three new bodies in the wake of the Muir report in 2022.
Shortly after becoming education secretary in spring last year, Ms Gilruth announced she would be pausing the reform process for 12 months, saying she wanted to take time to fully consider proposals made in a series of reports on the future of Scottish education, and to ensure the plans were shaped by teachers.
A consultation was held at the end of last year, but the government is still to announce details and the next steps.
The Scotsman revealed in January that ES, which has close to 400 employees, had been forced to put strict limits on the recruitment of new staff amid "increasingly challenging" financial pressures.
Now, correspondence has been released under freedom of information (FOI) laws showing how members of the agency’s advisory board raised their concerns with the cabinet secretary in November.
