Peter Peacock, the education minister, plans to abolish age restrictions that mean children can only take Standard grades from S3 onwards and Highers from S4 unless they receive special permission from the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
Peacock believes children should be allowed to take their tests when teachers, parents and pupils feel they are ready, regardless of their age.
“We believe pupils should be able to sit exams based on their ability rather than their age, at a time when it suits them rather than when it suits the school,” said an executive source.
Ministers have been impressed by Scottish pilot schemes that have allowed children to take exams a year early. The experiment was declared a success by headteachers.
But critics claim the move could lead to “chaos” in the education system and lead to pushy parents forcing children to take exams too early in order to give them a competitive advantage over other children.
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Parental influence is also being targeted in a union move urging the Scottish executive to force parents to sign contracts guaranteeing that their children will behave at school. The NAS/UWT wants parents to be liable for violent and disruptive pupils. If children break the terms of the contract, parents would be fined or forced to attend parenting classes. Currently, only parents of pupils who have been expelled from school are forced to sign a form guaranteeing good behaviour.
Last week, Peter Peacock, the education minister, launched a campaign to encourage parents to take more responsibility for their childrens’ education. It called on parents to ensure their children got enough sleep and turned up for school on time. It also urged them to make sure homework was done and to do their best to prevent bad behaviour in the classroom.
Eleanor Coner, of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, dismissed the campaign as “patronising”, claiming most parents did those things already.
The NAS/UWT, one of the largest teaching unions in Scotland, said parents should be made to visit schools and sign an agreement before their child could be enrolled.
A draft paper published by the union, titled Achieving Full Potential: Proposals for a national school code of practice, states: “We would suggest that parents who fail to keep to their side of the contract be invited to either educate their child or children in an alternative educational establishment, pay a fine or be required to attend parenting classes.”
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The Scottish executive said: “We want to see parents and schools working together for the benefit of every individual child. However, the executive has no plans to pursue formal contracts.”