Greens back SQA appeals call
Scottish Greens have backed a call from the Scottish Youth Parliament, Children's Commissioner and leading academics for urgent changes to the appeals process for this year's school grades.
The letter calls for changes including a policy of no-detriment to allow young people to appeal without fear of being downgraded, a key ask of the Scottish Greens.
Commenting, Scottish Greens education spokesperson Ross Greer said:
“Some students will have lost immediate family members to COVID just days before sitting their assessments. Not only were their teachers barred from considering that when issuing initial grades, the SQA will not even allow it to be considered in the appeals process. As the signatories to this letter point out, this system does not uphold young people’s rights.
“There is no excuse for this, given the extensive advice and support the SQA and government were offered over many months by those such as the Children’s Commissioner. The government have now accepted the need to reform the SQA, but if they do not fix the appeals system immediately those reforms will come far too late for this year’s pupils.”