JOHN Swinney has made it clear that more autonomy for schools will be part of his blueprint for a world-class education system (“John Swinney vows to press ahead with controversial curriculum reforms”, The Herald, September 21).

Good. Perhaps he can be persuaded to ensure that he will provide the necessary time to ensure that such autonomy can actually be put to good use.

The single most important school variable in raising attainment is the quality of teaching.

One of the very best ways of increasing the consistency and quality of teaching is for school leaders to find time for their teaching colleagues to get together regularly to share their insights and expertise, a form of professional development that has a direct impact on pupil learning.

That being the case, Mr Swinney might want to have a look at the statistics that the recently-published 2017 OECD Education at a Glance provides, particularly as they relate to teaching time and non-contact time in different countries. Take Finland, for example.

Without wishing to get bogged down in a mass of statistics, I find it interesting that the report indicates that Scottish teachers in all sectors spend 855 hours per 38-week year in actual teaching time whereas in Finland, whose education service is recognised as world class, teaching time varies between 550 hours per 38-week year for teachers working with upper secondary school pupils to 677 hours for teachers working in primary schools.

So it looks as if there is an argument for providing more non-contact time in Scottish education’s working time agreements in an effort to increase the possibility of more collegial and, in particular, more collaborative working time, to improve that consistency in the quality of teaching that best enhances pupil learning.

The problem in that, of course, is that you need more teachers of the proper quality to be able to do it. Still, we can look at Finland again for a possible solution to that problem.

There, salaries and conditions of service are such that teaching is a highly regarded destination for top graduates.

That is no longer the case in Scotland. It is time, perhaps, for deep reflection on why that should be the case before doing something about it, such as enhancing and ring-fencing collegial time so that best use can be made of it in an effort to overtake the attainment challenge being laid down for schools by the Scottish Government.

Even where some teachers have some collegial time available, it seems to be consumed by duties that they have had to take over from clerical staff whose working hours have been reduced.

Dick Lynas,

89 Courthill Avenue,

Cathcart,

Glasgow .

AS John Swinney pushes on with his education ‘reforms’, those who recognise a weak attempt at hiding the truth will remain unimpressed.

Over the last 10 years the SNP has squeezed resources out of education, leaving teachers’ morale at an all time low but it still expects plaudits for putting much smaller sums back in recent times to address the attainment gap, where it has failed our children.

As for the Curriculum for Excellence that so many teachers and other education experts view as more of a curriculum for decline, Mr Swinney promises to take it further. Ignoring criticisms that it has been undermining educational standards, he expects us to believe that changes to governance will enable the changes education so badly needs. Teachers know that only more resources and an honest acceptance that the CfE is causing more harm than good will help get education out of the mess the SNP has put it in.

Keith Howell, White Moss, West Linton, Peeblesshire.