Schools inspection plan under attack

A LEADING figure in Scottish education linked to the modernisation of the service has launched a stinging attack on a government plan to allow education authorities to inspect their own schools.

Fred Forrester, a former depute general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland who, since retiring has taken many by surprise in embracing controversial New Labour reforms, renounced the plan as a step too far.

In an article for The Scotsman today, he calls upon the executive to abort the plan and allow Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMI) to retain responsibility for quality assurance.

He says HMI is "the only body with credibility to carry out inspections, to ensure maintenance of standards and to check executive educational priorities are delivered".

Stating he is "aghast" at the proposal, Mr Forrester said a similar system operating in the 1970s in England and Wales was discredited as it was perceived to lack consistency and objectivity. He asks: "Why should we import a failed system from England?"