Putting learners at the centre: response to the independent advisor on education reform's report

Transitions

Professor Muir recommendations 20 and 21

20. Scottish Government should establish a Transition Programme Team to oversee the changes and reforms envisaged in this report. The transition programme should be taken forward in partnership with the bodies subject to reform and all those that are impacted by its outcomes.

21. Those staff that are affected by my recommendations must be kept well engaged and informed of progress during the transitional period over which my recommendations are progressed. In my view all staff should also be treated in accordance with the Scottish Government’s Fair Work Policy.

Initial response

Accept in principle: we agree that the transitional period and programme of work should be overseen by experts. We will take this forward utilising the vast amounts of experience, knowledge and skills that exist within the current organisations affected by this reform, augmenting this where necessary and building on the ongoing work of their change teams. We have already begun this process to embed transformational change, discussing a framework to guide the transition with the bodies affected.

We are fully committed to continuous and meaningful engagement and communication with all staff affected by the reform plans, and will be establishing arrangements between Scottish Government, SQA and Education Scotland and their trade unions to ensure staff are involved throughout the process. We recognise that there are different implications for each organisation, and the leadership teams in each organisation will remain accountable to the existing governance and accountability frameworks until new organisations are established. We will continue to protect job security and have provided assurances there will be no mandatory redundancies, and continue to ensure TUPE, CoSOP and our Fair Work policies are respected.