Education scotland chief bill maxwell to retire in june

THE head of Scotland 's joint schools inspectorate and curriculum body is to step down after six years in the post. Dr Bill Maxwell, who has been chief executive of Education Scotland since it was created in , has announced his intention to retire in June this year. Dr Maxwell has been at the helm of the organisation during a period when the organisation has been dogged by accusations of poor communication with schools and unnecessary classroom bureaucracy.

The setting up of Education Scotland following a merger of HM Inspectorate of Education and Learning and Teaching Scotland in has also been heavily criticised because it merges the functions of curriculum development and evaluation under the same umbrella body. Mr Maxwell said it had been a "tremendous privilege" to lead the body adding: "As the agency looks towards creating its next strategic plan later this year it will be considering how to adapt its role.

John Swinney, the Education Secretary, said: "I would like to convey my thanks and appreciation to Dr Bill Maxwell for the significant contribution he has made to the leadership and improvement of education in Scotland.

The leader of Scotland's biggest education quango, Dr Bill Maxwell, will retire in June, the Scottish Government has announced.

He has been passionate about the fact that a good education unlocks potential for every child and young person and? The announcement came as the Scottish Liberal Democrats repeated calls for the two functions of Education Scotland to be split up. The party will use their education debate this wee to ask the Scottish Parliament to vote on separating the inspection and policy function.

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Tavish Scott said: "Education policy and school guidance must be separate from inspecting schools. It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.

We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.

We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.