Scottish Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Beatrice Wishart is calling on the Education Secretary to formally request the OECD publish an interim report into Scottish education before the 2021 elections, following questioning at Holyrood’s Education Committee today.

Responding to a question on the matter from Ms Wishart, the Cabinet Secretary John Swinney confirmed he would be “very happy” to discuss the possibility of producing an interim report with the OECD. The OECD’s review into Curriculum for Excellence is due to be published in June 2021. 

Ms Wishart said: 

“The Education Secretary must now urgently begin discussions with the OECD about publishing an interim report before the Holyrood elections. This is important for transparency.  

"The government must not shy away from its record on education, including slipping down the international rankings and ignoring all the warnings their exams policy was going to deliver a crushing blow to pupils' ambitions and penalise those from poorer backgrounds most.

"The First Minister said education was her top priority. The public deserves to hear expert opinions on the state of Scottish education to inform the debate."