Rennie secures major overhaul of qualifications quality assurance after history exam row
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie has secured a series of significant reforms to the Scottish Government’s Education Bill to strengthen the oversight and quality of national qualifications, following widespread concern over this year’s Higher History exam and the lack of external scrutiny within the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
The changes, agreed with the Cabinet Secretary and passed at Stage 3 of the Bill, will ensure greater transparency, external accountability, and a clear pathway to further reform of accreditation functions across Scotland’s education system.
The package of amendments includes:
Immediate improvements to how Qualifications Scotland assures quality, including an independent review, an annual compliance report, and a new independent expert group to advise on standards.
A statutory review of the scope and location of the SQA’s current accreditation function, which covers mainly post-school vocational qualifications.
Timetables and mechanisms to ensure that if ministers conclude that further legislation is needed, they must bring forward changes within a year or explain to Parliament why they are not acting.
Willie Rennie said:
"The scandal over this year’s Higher History exam showed how unsatisfactory it is that the SQA inspects itself with its quality assurance arrangements. I’ve worked constructively with the Cabinet Secretary to build a stronger system that fixes this and lays the groundwork for lasting reform.
“There was no consensus on quality assurance and accreditation changes but I am clear that the current set-up just isn’t good enough. My amendments deliver immediate improvements and a structured, evidence-based route to deeper reform.
“The SQA and its replacement, Qualifications Scotland, are under new leadership and will have an big opportunity to change. These amendments give them that chance, but make clear that if further reform is needed, it will be delivered.”