‘No alternative’ to new curriculum insists Mike Russell

By EDDIE BARNES
Published on 03/06/2012 00:00

EDUCATION Secretary Mike Russell warns teaching unions today that there is “no alternative” to pushing ahead with reform of the new secondary school curriculum despite threats of strikes over the plans.

In an interview with Scotland on Sunday, Russell insists that he has done everything possible to help teachers introduce the new national exam system.

But members of the country’s largest teaching union, the Education Institute of Scotland (EIS), will this week hear a call for an “immediate ballot” on the introduction amid concerns it needs a one-year delay to ensure it is implemented properly.

Russell argues the government has done all it can to support schools which are concerned about the new system. From August, the new Curriculum for Excellence (CforE) system will replace Standard and Intermediary courses. “I think we have done everything we have needed to do and when we have needed to do more, we have responded to that and done it,” he said, citing a £3.5 million package of help given in March.

“He adds: “Yes, there is a lot of pressure. The workload pressure that the new curriculum brings, yes, I recognise that. But, to be blunt, I don’t see an alternative because I think we are well down the route of introducing it.”

This week’s vote will be taken at the agm of the EIS and could lead to the first strike early next year. Scotland’s largest teaching union says schools are not yet ready to implement the SNP’s flagship education reforms.

Russell also reveals today that more schools than expected will be able to apply for funds for new buildings or major refurbishment later this year.

Ministers were to offer around 18 schools the chance for a rebuild in July, when the next tranche of applications can be made. However, Russell said that efficiencies mean that around 30 schools would now be able to apply.

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