Question reference: S5W-33932
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 9 December 2020
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Current status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 8 December 2020 (Official Report, c. 46), from which budget stream the exceptional, one-off payment to teachers assessing and marking National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses in 2021 will be sourced, and whether it will apply to (a) college lecturers and (b) staff at independent schools carrying out the same task.
Answer
In acknowledgement of the additional workload around the quality assurance associated with the alternative certification model for the National Qualifications in 2021, at a time of already significant pressures due to COVID, I announced provision for a one-off, exceptional payment for all teachers and lecturers directly involved in these processes.
SQA, through their National Qualifications 2021 Working Group, are considering whether any adjustment to the alternative certification model processes or timescales is needed as a result of the current remote learning position and will issue further guidance as necessary.
Any such changes will be factored into discussions that are underway to determine how best the additional payments, which would come from within the education budget, might apply to teachers and lecturers involved. This would include those in colleges and independent schools where relevant.