FOI21/22 051 OECD Report

Date published: 02/09/2021

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, I would be grateful if you could comply with the following request:

1.         Please provide a copy of each draft report received by the SQA of the OECD's independent review of the Curriculum for Excellence.

2.         Please provide a copy of all the SQA's discussions with (a) the OECD (b) Scottish ministers or other agencies such as Education Scotland and (c) any other person or organisation regarding the draft reports.

3.         Please provide a copy of all the SQA's requests for changes to draft reports of the independent review, including any proposals for changes that were taken to any meetings with the OECD, partners such as Education Scotland or the Scottish Government, or the Scottish Practitioner Forum.

1   SQA received one draft copy of the OECD’s independent review of Curriculum for Excellence (point 1 above).   This was a confidential copy of the report sent to SQA by the Scottish Government to enable them to gather comments on this draft as per the instruction from the OECD.   Please refer to the email chain from Fiona Robertson attached. 

2   SQA had no other meetings with the OECD team carrying out the independent review or with Scottish ministers or other agencies such as Education Scotland or any other person or organisation regarding the draft report. However we have included an email and attached document sent by Scottish Government on 11 March in advance of a meeting to discuss a ‘Stakeholder seminar to discuss OECD preliminary draft findings’ held on 16 March 2021.

SQA, along with a wide range of other stakeholders, attended this Seminar. Its purpose is set out clearly in the paragraph in italics at the bottom of the first page of the document attached to the email.   This Seminar did allow SQA, along with the other stakeholders, the opportunity to explore and comment on the report’s findings but in a large event at which SQA was just one of many participants contributing on an equal basis.

The email was circulated to SQA and a small number of others ‘in confidence, as members of the Scottish Practitioner Forum, who have been advising the OECD during the Review.’  to inform a pre-meeting of the Scottish Practitioner Forum on 11 March before the event on 16th. As the email indicates the purpose of this pre-meeting was to discuss the conduct of the 16 March workshop and not to provide feedback on the extracts of the draft report contained in the doc attached to the email.

3  The draft copy of the report and SQA’s comments are provided in the attached files.   These have been redacted for personal data only.

OECD Seminar Agenda & Draft Findings (386 KB)

OECD Preliminary Draft for Comment - Emails (1) (185 KB)

OECD Preliminary Draft for Comment - Emails (2) (337 KB)

OECD Preliminary Draft Findings - Emails (1.01 MB)

OECD Draft Report - with Comments (2.68 MB)

SQA Fact Check of OECD Report (188 KB)