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Lornshill Academy in Alloa, one of the most fantastic school buildings I have seen and I have seen many, was the venue for the second of three public discussions on Curriculum for Excellence.

One of the reasons I am holding these events is to repay a debt to my father. A teacher himself, his biggest disappointment, and eventual criticism, was nobody ever listened to the classroom – the teachers themselves.

I’ve said many times that as Education Secretary I want to ensure an ongoing, open and honest dialogue with teachers, parents and pupils. Curriculum for Excellence started secondary school alongside our first year pupils two weeks ago so this second meeting attracted a good number of teachers and parents to Lornshill Academy who had comments and questions they wanted to put to me.

Questions were asked around the impact of Curriculum for Excellence on exams and the timeline of new assessments. I was able to reassure parents that we are on track with the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence and on target for introducing the new qualifications from 2013. First year pupils should not be viewed as guinea pigs for Curriculum for Excellence or new round of assessments. Indeed, they are the lucky pioneers of a newer, better and more rewarding way of teaching.

There is nothing to fear in a qualification system better suited to pupils’ learning.

I expected a lot of questions to focus on the budgets and future funding pressures and I was not wrong. Times are tough. The Scottish Government’s chief economic adviser has predicted that the cuts from Westminster, which I believe are too fast and too deep, will reduce our budget to a point that will take us 16 years to return to current levels.

This is why we must think innovatively. Find a better way of delivering more for less. A good example of this is how we managed to free up cash by cutting unnecessary inspections. There will always be regulation of schools, by necessity of law, however, the Scottish Parliament’s education committee identified in the early years of devolution that the education system was over examined and scrutinised. While progress has been made I believe I can do even more to reduce such burdens on teachers and free up time and money to help them to do what they do best – teach.

As a parent and husband of a headteacher I am more than aware of the lack of hours in the day so I was grateful to see so many faces in the crowd at Lornshill Academy and I’m looking forward to meeting even more parents and teachers in Benbecula today for the final discussion. 

Michael Russell Cabinet Secretary for Education & Lifelong Learning