Exam board slammed for Curriculum for Excellence PR spending

A PR splurge to tackle bad press has been criticised by unions and campaigners.

Bosses at Scotland’s underfire exam board have nearly doubled their spend on external PR in the last three years.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority has been criticised by teaching unions for its handling of the Curriculum for Excellence.

Now we can reveal the taxpayer-funded exam body has paid some of Scotland’s top public relations firms to handle the less than flattering press they’ve encountered.

The bill for last year alone was £61,000 up from £38,160 in 2010/11. Unions and campaigners have hit out at the spend.

Alan McKenzie, of the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association said: “It’s a lot of money to pay to say ‘look how good we are’.

In 2010/11 the body paid £37,563 to one company Douglas Consulting to handle external PR. It rose to £38,160 in 2011/12.

Over the past two years as controversy has grown over CfE the bill has increased significantly with the body recruiting some of the biggest names in Scottish PR.

In 2012/13 it paid former journalist David Lee’s PR firm £31,900. By last year it had gone up to £53,100.

A spokesman for the SQA said: “SQA has developed a suite of qualifications and continues to undertake a communication and media engagement to ensure these new qualifications are clearly understood.”