Children need radical reform

Speaking ahead of today’s Parliamentary debate on education, Commissioner Nicola Killean urges MSPs to put children at the centre of reform.  

Children and Young People’s Commissioner, Nicola Killean said:  

“Today’s focus in parliament on children and young people’s experience in education is much needed. Children need radical reform.  

I’m calling on MSPs to look at the underlying causes of issues in education settings and centre this debate on whether system-wide changes that are needed to ensure the rights of everyone in schools – all children, teachers and other staff – are being realised.  

Too many children and young people’s needs are not being met in our current education system. This particularly impacts disabled children and children with additional support needs who are being routinely failed. 

Our work with children has identified key areas for change. 

Children need to have a national, rights-based vision and outcomes framework for education which develops every child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential. 

Children need culture change in education. We need to embed children’s rights to participation, and design supports and educational environments together. 

Children need tailored support. That will require meaningful investment, resources, training and development of staff, and facilities that are accessible and inclusive. 

Children need a responsive human-rights based curriculum – one that suits their learning needs and offers them opportunities to fulfil their potential. 

And when it comes to exams and qualifications, children need less pressure and better ways to demonstrate their unique skills and abilities.  

Relationships and behaviour must be understood as symptoms of an urgent requirement for change across the education system as a whole.  

Reactive bans – on phones or social media – might seem an appealing policy response that can be swiftly delivered, but they aren’t the alternative to broad system change which is necessary to create a positive learning environment for all children. 

Scotland needs the recommendations from high-profile education reviews that have been commissioned by the Scottish Government to be delivered in full and at pace. 

For some children, if reform is not urgent, they will be denied their right to an education that develops them to their fullest potential, for their entire school experience. 

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child reinforces that we need to consider children as rights-holders with their own agency, rather than passive recipients of care, protection and welfare. All reform must take a rights-based approach and include the participation of children and young people.”