SLF
Special
Focus on... tackling inequality.
EDUCATION
New magazine for
everyone involved
SCOTLAND
NEWS
in education...
Focus on Inequality
in Education
Update on
Inspection and
Review
Useful Things to
know about us
new resources,
events and much
more
AUTUMN 2014
EDUCATION
SCOTLAND
10
Contents
A word from
12
14
04
A Focus on tackling
inequality in education
06
Education Scotland’s
focus on closing the
equality gap
08
Inspection and review
10
Families, Inclusion and
Local Authorities
12
School Years
14
Lifelong Learning
16
18
18
CURRICULUM, LEARNING,
TEACHING, ASSESSMENT AND
SUPPORT (CLTAS) FORUMS
Useful information on
Education Scotland
Bill
Maxwell
Hello and welcome to the first edition of a new magazine that aims to bring you
the latest news on how Education Scotland is working to improve outcomes for
Scottish learners across all education sectors.
It’s now over three years since Education Scotland was created as Scotland’s new
integrated national improvement agency for education and I’m committed, as head of this
exciting new agency, to ensuring that we communicate effectively with our wide range
of stakeholders about everything we are doing. The launch of this new magazine reflects
that commitment.
In Education Scotland we are aiming to create new ways of working in partnership with
educators across all education sectors in order to deliver improved lifelong learning
outcomes for all. We provide an integrated improvement service because we promote
actively the development and spread of high quality teaching and learning approaches
whilst also evaluating and reporting impartially on the quality of education provision and
the success of national policy in practice through our inspection work. We work closely
with many other education bodies as well as with Scottish Ministers and policy colleagues
within the Scottish Government.
We have created this new magazine to help keep you up to speed with key developments
across the full range of our work. Each edition will have a special focus to help share best
practice and knowledge on a specific topic. This edition focuses on inequity in educational
outcomes and what we’re doing to help drive it out of the system. I’m sure you’ll agree
this is an extremely important issue which affects everyone involved in education to some
degree.
You’ll also find a range of updates from across our main areas of activity here at Education
Scotland. For example, there’s information on the School Improvement Partnership
Programme, designed to promote new styles of collaborative improvement working
across education establishments, and you’ll also find information on what’s happening
with inspection, including a look ahead to the long-term review of future inspection
strategy which is about to take place. Community Learning and Development also
features in this edition and we look forward to the exciting developments we are
promoting in that sector in the year ahead.
I hope you enjoy reading our new magazine. I should also highlight that we also provide
a range of other more targeted methods of spreading information and communication,
so please do also look at the section in this magazine which lists our full range of
complimentary email bulletins, each focusing on more specific subjects and topics. Do
sign up to any of interest so you can stay up-to-date with the very latest in resources,
support and events.
We are going through exciting times in Scottish education and, whatever your interest, as
parent, learner or professional stakeholder, I look forward to working with you to
achieve success for Scottish learners in the years ahead.
Bill Maxwell, Chief Executive
A FOCUS ON
John Carnochan
Tackling
Consultant in Knowledge Exchange
Inequality
“Reducing the attainment gap is necessary, it’s
feasible and it’s also measureable”
Jim McCormick, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
The proposition that we should help our children be all they can be is easy to agree. The evidence
supporting the need to raise attainment in schools for all our children is cast iron. Maximizing
achievement for our children is what parents want to do and it’s what schools and teachers want
to do. Already several national policies and strategies have been introduced to make that happen.
Getting it Right for Every Child, Curriculum for Excellence, Opportunities for All and the Early Years
Framework together provide a great foundation to help realise our ambitions.
Knowledge into action
What are we doing?
Addressing issues of inequality in education is a complex area and a key focus for Education Scotland. We have
recently established an Analytical Services team bringing together research and statistical expertise to support
educators in their work. Through doing this, we believe we can contribute to building new insights and a shared
Average Tariff Scores of
understanding of the issues affecting
Scottish education.
School Leavers by SIMD, 2007/08 to 2012/13
Average Tariff
Scores of School
Leavers by SIMD
2007/08 to 2012/13
KEY
600
most deprived
20%
least deprived
20%
500
400
Score
Average tariff scores are an overall
measure of attainment calculated
for each young person based on
their total attainment when leaving
school. The scores are calculated
using the Unified Points Score
System.
300
200
100
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
Year
One of the most important issues in Scottish education
today is the impact of poverty and deprivation on
learners. This is highlighted by both national data and
published research. For instance, national data published
in June 20141 on average tariff scores and the Scottish
Survey of Literacy and Numeracy2 highlight that pupils
living in the most deprived areas are less likely to do
well in comparison to their peers living in less deprived
areas. Recent findings from the Growing up in Scotland3
study also draw attention to the poorer outcomes faced
by children from deprived areas. Additionally, there is
also evidence that adults who live in the most deprived
areas are more likely to face serious literacy challenges4.
Research shows the complex nature of the link between
poverty and deprivation and educational outcomes. We
are aware of the factors which are important, but we need
to know more about how and why they matter, and how
they combine to shape individual learners’ experiences.
Education Scotland’s analytical services programme aims
to ensure that our research, analysis and evaluation helps
04
OBE QPM FFPH
us to increase our understanding of the ways in which
poverty and deprivation can lead to poorer educational
outcomes for some learners. This will contribute to the
ongoing development of effective solutions.
Communicating the findings of our work is a priority
to ensure that research and analysis really do have
relevance for practice. We hope to provide you with an
update on this work in future issues of this newsletter
and we look forward to working together to help address
issues which negatively impact on education in Scotland.
In the meantime, if you have any questions relating
to this area of research, please contact us at
analyticalservices@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk
1.
2.
3.
4.
We know there are children in our schools who do not achieve their full potential and most come
from disadvantaged backgrounds. Some will be living in poverty, there will be looked after children
or children with additional support needs. There can be gender differences and wider issues
of inequality and some will be living in difficult family circumstances. The Raising Attainment
for All programme aims to ‘do what it says on the tin’ by using the lessons learned from health
improvement science and the work of the Early Years Collaborative. I’m not a scientist but the idea
of working with those on the front line - teachers - to make small meaningful improvements makes
sense and it works.
It’s all too easy to presume, as we often do, that teachers have the sole responsibility for Education.
James Heckman is an Economist and Nobel Laureate, he said this about schools,
“A major determinant of successful schools is successful families.
Schools work with what parents bring them. They operate more
effectively if parents reinforce them by encouraging and motivating
children.”
The report ‘Closing the Attainment Gap in Scottish Education’
commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation listed several
effective approaches, and parental involvement is one. It
will not always be easy as some of the parents we must
work with will have been school pupils who did not
• Scottish Government (2014),
achieve their own potential. So as well as improving
Summary Statistics for attainment,
attainment one child at a time we might also need
Leaver Destinations and Healthy Living, No 4
to think about doing it one family at a time, that’s
2014, Edition
real partnership.
•
Scottish Government (2014) Scottish Survey of
The prize is a Scotland that is the best
Literacy and Numeracy 2013, (Numeracy)
place in the world to go to school. We all
conform to expectations but we need to
• Growing up in Scotland
give some children a new expectation, an
expectation of hope, to be the best they
• Scottish Survey of Adult Literacies 2009
can be.
Useful Links
Scottish Government (2014) Summary Statistics for Attainment, Leaver
Destinations and Healthy Living, No 4 2014 Edition
Scottish Government (2014) Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy
2013 (Numeracy)
Growing up in Scotland, 2014
Scottish Government (2009) Scottish Survey of Adult Literacies 2009
05
Education Scotland’s focus on
Closing the
Equality Gap
1
Improving
early learning
Investing in the early
years of a child’s life is
crucial to developing
strong and resilient
children and young
people and can help prevent
problems later on.
4
Identifying
and driving
strategies
to improve
attainment in
literacy
and numeracy
Skills in literacy
and numeracy are key to
accessing all other learning,
achievement and employment.
2
Promoting social and
emotional wellbeing
Ensuring children and
young people are included,
engaged and involved,
promoting positive
relationships and behaviour and
supporting children’s wellbeing.
5
Providing high quality
learning and teaching
3
Increasing levels
of physical activity
and healthy eating
are important in tackling health
inequalities. Those living in deprived
communities have a higher risk of
developing preventable ill-health.
OECD to visit Scotland
The review aims to focus on education outcomes and the
skills developed in basic education by considering the Broad
General Education phase (from P1 up to the end of S3)
delivered by schools, and how this is preparing young people
for progression to the Senior Phase (S4-S6).
these be improved? Attainment refers not only to
exam performance, but also to key skills for life and
work, including literacy, numeracy and other abilities
across the four capacities, according to evidence
available.
The review will address the following questions:
•
06
How is the Scottish education system performing in
terms of attainment and achievement, and how can
•
Curriculum for Excellence, the Early Years Collaborative,
Getting It Right For Every Child, Teaching Scotland’s
Future and the Post-16 Widening Access agenda provide
the framework for focus on closing the equity gap and
raising attainment for all children and young people.
How can the education system achieve more
equitable outcomes across the social spectrum?
The review will take a comparative approach, building
on evidence and experience of education systems which
have undergone major curricular reforms, and/or which
have shown progress in improving performance, including
numeracy, or improved equity of outcomes.
Education has an important role in improving the
wellbeing and life chances of our children and young
people by mitigating the effects of socioeconomic
disadvantage. Key to this is ensuring a strong focus
on early intervention and prevention. Working in
partnership with children and young people, their
parents, communities and services is fundamental in
ensuring approaches are designed to meet individual
and local needs.
A wide range of approaches is being taken forward both
nationally and locally to support practitioners across all
sectors in prioritising their focus on closing the equity
gap.
9
7
Engaging
families and
communities
Promoting use of evidence and data to
evaluate and improve closing the gap in
educational outcomes
Promoting
healthy
lifestyles and
tackling health
inequalities
Providing high quality learning
and teaching is likely to result
in better outcomes for all children and young people but
particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds .
High quality feedback supported by quality dialogue helps learners
develop an understanding of their learning and what they need to do
to improve their progress and achievements.
The OECD will be visiting Scotland
next year to find out how well we
are getting on with implementing
Curriculum for Excellence.
Education Scotland’s Corporate Plan 2013-16 places a
high priority on improving high-quality and equitable
outcomes for all. The vision has a strong focus on
improving outcomes in ways which seek to eliminate the
inequity which currently exists amongst learners from
different backgrounds and from particular vulnerable
groups.
Helping parents
to support their children’s
learning and having high
shared ambition, aspirations
and expectations are
important strategies in
raising attainment. Working
with community planning
partnerships to address the
impact of deprivation helps
ensure a shared commitment
across services.
Using a wide range of evidence and data, including
Insight, the new online benchmarking tool, is
essential to support the identification of those
children and young people not fully realising their potential
and to inform all improvement work.
6
Providing
focus and
support
targeted to
needs and
abilities
8
Developing
employability
skills and improving
positive and sustained
destinations
Identifying and
addressing barriers to
engagement and learning,
in line with Additional
Support Needs legislation and
Getting it Right for Every Child,
contributes to improving the life
chances of our most vulnerable
learners.
11
10
Preparing children and young
people for the world of work and employment
gives a firm foundation for their future.
Opportunities for All, Modern Apprenticeships
and Developing Scotland’s Workforce are
all important initiatives in ensuring all
young people participate in postschool learning, training and
employment.
Developing
professional learning
and leadership at all
levels
Promoting and participating
in professional learning and
developing practice as a result has the greatest impact
on improving outcomes for learners. Leadership is
central to education quality. Education leaders need
to ensure a strong focus and commitment to tackling
inequality and promoting professional values and
personal commitment to social justice.
Working
with
partners
to explore
new and
innovative approaches to
tackling inequality
Promoting innovation and new
partnering arrangements, including
the School Improvement Partnership Programme
and the Raising Attainment for All Programme, is ensuring the
use of the education system’s collective expertise, knowledge
and skills to maximum impact with a focus on addressing
inequality in education outcomes.
12
Conducting research into
the equity gap
Collecting and promoting the
use of knowledge and research
to provide succinct and easily
accessible advice for practitioners
and professional learning communities supports the
development of an understanding of the impact of
deprivation and effective ways of minimising its impact.
Inspection
& Review
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CfE Implementation
A monthly update providing you with the latest CfE
support materials, information and links to help
support practitioners.
Inspection Advice
Note
Review
of inspection
how good
is our school?
The Inspection Advice Note for
session 2014-2015, which is
published on the Education Scotland
website, supports colleagues involved
in early learning and childcare
settings, school, and learning
community inspections from August
2014. It sets out an adjustment
in expectations, in line with
national Curriculum for Excellence
implementation expectations, for
HM Inspectors’ evaluation of Quality
Indicator (QI) 5.1 (The Curriculum)
and QI 5.9 (Improvement through
self-evaluation).
We have just started a review of our
approaches to inspection across all
sectors to ensure that inspection
continues to make a positive contribution
to improvements in the performance of
educational establishments and services.
This review is seeking to explore what
inspection might look like in 3-5 years’
time. All stakeholder groups will be
involved in the consultation process,
and as part of this we are organising a
series of Conversation Days over the
next few months to which local authority
representatives will be invited. As the
review progresses we will keep you
informed via our website and other
communication channels.
How Good Is Our school? (HGIOS)
presents a set of indicators for school
self-evaluation, organised within
a quality framework, which is the
same as the framework used by
early learning and childcare settings,
education authorities and children’s
services. The current (third) edition
was published in 2007 and, since
2012, has been supplemented
by a series of Inspection Advice
Notes which have taken account of
increased expectations arising from
annual national implementation plans
for Curriculum for Excellence.
We recognise 2014-2015 as a year
of consolidation when many of the
priorities identified in the Inspection
Advice Note for 2013-2014 remain
work in progress. The advice note
therefore contains only minimal
change from the 2013-2014 version.
It is supplemented by toolkits
for evaluating the Broad General
Education in S1-S3 (June 2014), and
at the primary stages (September
2014).
08
Planning is underway to create a new
evaluation framework for schools
(HGIOS 4). The new framework will
be developed in conjunction with the
work on developing future models of
inspection. It will be published in the
autumn of 2015.
Child at the Centre will also be
revised to take account of the HGIOS
Framework and the new guidance
on the Children and Young People
(Scotland) Act 2014.
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Families, Inclusion and Local Authorities
Families
Director’s update
We are really pleased to be able
to share with you all the latest
from the Families, Inclusion and
Local Authorities teams in our new
newsletter. It’s been a very busy
year so far with lots to look forward to in the coming
months. Our various teams have been working
together on some exciting projects, some of which
you can learn more about here.
The directorate has a strong focus on the effects of
inequity on learner outcomes, from specific work
on inclusion, to working with families to support
children’s learning, to promoting and supporting
work in local authorities.
I would like to wish you all the very best for the year
ahead, no doubt it is going to be an interesting and
busy one.
Early Learning and Childcare settings
We are continuing to undertake shared inspections with
the Care Inspectorate. Details can be found on our website.
This autumn sees the implementation of the Early Learning
and Childcare commitments from the Children and Young
People (Scotland) Act 2014. For the first time there will be
an entitlement to early learning and childcare for certain
two year olds, as well an extension to 600 hours for 3-5 year
olds. The National Practice Guidance on Early Learning and
Childcare: Building the Ambition was published in August and
Education Scotland is working with Scottish Government, the
Care Inspectorate and national partners to develop a training
pack which will complement the guidance. Keep a check on
our website for updates. Glow users can also access the Early
Learning and Childcare professional learning community.
Parentzone Scotland
We are redeveloping the Parentzone website to give it a
fresh look and feel, as well as updating the information
that is available on the website. The site contains all sorts
of information that you may find useful from resources to
support learning at home, to information on career pathways
which may help in planning for the future. Click here to sign
up for our regular email bulletin parents and carers.
Alastair Delaney, Chief Operating Officer, formerly Strategic
Director for Families, Inclusion and Local Authorities.
10
School Improvement Partnership Programme
We are working with local authorities and university
researchers to broker and facilitate partnership projects
within and across schools and local authorities as part of
the School Improvement Partnership Programme (SIPP).
SIPP projects are part of an action research programme
involving a process of collaborative inquiry which creates
leadership opportunities and professional learning.
The programme encourages staff to learn from each
other, experiment with their practice and monitor and
evaluate change. The partnerships aim to develop
a shared commitment to improving outcomes and
raising attainment for all children and young people,
particularly for those from the most deprived
backgrounds. A key feature of the SIPP is the
evaluation support being provided by researchers
from the Robert Owen Centre at Glasgow
University. The evaluation report of this first
stage of the programme is planned for autumn
2014. The next stage of the SIPP will build on the
findings of the evaluation of the programme.
Local Authorities
Inclusion
We are working with a range of education providers in
providing career-long professional learning in universal and
targeted support entitlements, preventative work with a focus
on improving the life chances of our most vulnerable learners
and supporting implementation of GIRFEC. The new GIRFEC
self–evaluation tool developed by the Scottish Government
and Education Scotland is designed to fit within the overall
evaluative framework used within educational establishments.
It can be used at whole school, at departmental or stage
level to gauge how well GIRFEC approaches are improving
outcomes for all children. We are also assisting local
authorities in reviewing and developing their policies and
practices for inclusion and delivering children and young
people’s rights and entitlements to support with a particular
emphasis on promoting positive relationships and ethos in
Local Partnership Agreements
light of the new guidance in Better Relationships, Better
Learning, Better Behaviour.
Area Lead Officers
We have a team of Area Lead Officers (ALOs)
who maintain an overview of the work of local
authorities in carrying out their education
functions. Each local authority has a link ALO.
The ALO acts as the main point of contact
between the local authority and Education
Scotland. They carry out a wide range of
activities, including: visiting schools; meeting
with groups of headteachers; attending events;
and meeting with senior staff in their link
local authorities. Part of their work includes
working alongside local authority staff to
support approaches to improvement and selfevaluation.
We are developing Local Partnership Agreements with local
authorities. Local Partnership Agreements involve ALOs
working with local authorities to agree a tailored package
of activity, which will help improve outcomes for learners.
Thereafter, teams across Education Scotland work with
local authority staff to deliver customised support based on
identified needs.
Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010
We have been working in partnership with the Scottish
Government and the Association of Directors of Education
Scotland to develop a self-evaluation toolkit to help improve
the quality of educational benefits statements within
proposals taken forward by local authorities under the
terms of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010
as amended. The self-evaluation toolkit can be found on
Education Scotland’s website.
News in brief
•
We are working with partners,
including the National Parent Forum of
Scotland (NPFS) and the Scottish Parent Teacher
Council (SPTC) to support parents and educators to
work more effectively together. This year, the Scottish
Learning Festival is welcoming parents and carers to a brand
new Parents Connect area. Hosted by the NPFS and the SPTC
you can ask questions, meet the experts and hear seminars.
• NPFS has lots of useful information, resources and details on
their national conference.
• Applications are being sought for the Access to Education Fund. It
aims to reduce the barriers to learning experienced by pupils from
the most deprived areas. Closing date is 10 October.
• A new batch of films available on our Journey to Excellence website,
highlighting examples of good practice from schools to inspire
practitioners. These cover the three areas of creativity, health and
wellbeing, and religious and moral education.
11
School Years
Primary
Director’s update
Some of you will have had exams
in your lives in one guise or
another over the summer break;
congratulations on all the hard work
that went into these. This year is
another important year for the
introduction of the new National
Qualifications, as we move into the second year of the
Nationals being examined as well as the first round of
exams for the new Highers. Our school inspections
are showing that across centres the new curriculum is
having a positive impact on learners.
As we move ahead with the embedding of the
new curriculum, we will continue to work with
other educational bodies and you to ensure we
are responding to your needs and building on the
programme of support already in place. This term
sees a series of leadership events taking place for
primary headteachers, which will focus on the
curriculum and the ongoing embedding in primary
schools. These will take place at various locations
across the country through to October and I look
forward to seeing some of you there.
Please remember to sign up for the new email
bulletins relevant to your area of work and interest.
This term brings some exciting activity in the world of primary
education. September sees the launch of the Primary Broad
General Education Toolkit. This online resource will help
support primary schools in evaluating and developing aspects
of their curriculum.
At the end of last term we published the Primary Language
Learning framework for P2-P7.
The framework contains advice and support for practitioners
who are introducing, or planning to introduce, the teaching
of a modern language from P1-P7. It contains learning maps
to aid planning for teaching the first modern language (L2),
as well as an overview of the essential Knowledge about
Language required for children to progress in their language
learning. There are film clips of primary language teaching,
sound files of useful classroom language, progression
grids and useful web links to support practitioners in their
preparation and delivery of a contextualised modern language
experience.
Top 5 Resources for Primary
1. A 1+2 Approach to Modern Languages
2. Quality Assurance and Moderation Professional
Learning Resource
3. Tigtag Science- available to all primary schools via
Glow
4. SSLN Professional Learning Resources for
Numeracy
5. Skills in Practice Resource
of visits and conferences to support leadership of the Senior
Phase, have shown many strengths. There are also aspects
where many schools have identified a need for further
improvement:
•
•
•
•
•
•
For each of these aspects, this resource provides:
•
•
•
12
key features of effective provision;
some questions to help you weigh up strengths and
aspects for improvement in your school; and
suggestions for possible sources of evidence.
We are offering practical assistance to early learning and
childcare settings, schools and local authorities to address the
issues involved with unnecessary bureaucracy. Our assessment
team, working closely with the SQA, has provided advice
to support practitioners’ understanding and confidence in
assessment.
We have reviewed our website and ensured that advice
and support materials are easier to find through the Key
Curriculum Support tool which will soon have a dedicated
section containing all the information you need about tackling
bureaucracy. This will include examples of good practice
in tackling bureaucracy, advice on monitoring and tracking
progress and key messages on assessment. We will continue
to challenge evidence of excessive bureaucracy through our
inspection process, advice on which can be found in the latest
Inspection Advice Note.
Route Maps for Higher
In partnership with the SQA we have also published
Route Maps for all Higher qualifications, which
provide a sequenced list of main messages and
links to resources. These route maps have been
produced in response to teacher requests for more
streamlined and simplified guidance on delivering
the new qualifications. They aim to consolidate
current approaches and help practitioners reflect on
their processes this year and prepare for next year.
They cover subject specific material to over-arching
information on assessment and verification.
Top 5 Resources for Secondary
Secondary
Graeme Logan
Strategic Director for School Years
rationale for your curriculum
S3 experience
aspects of the curriculum that are the ‘responsibility of
all’ staff
monitoring and tracking progress
universal support
transitions
Tackling Bureaucracy
We recently launched a new resource Evaluating and
Improving our Curriculum S1-S3, which provides a clear and
concise ‘toolkit’ to help secondary schools evaluate their
curriculum.
2.
3.
It draws together key aspects of advice related to Curriculum
for Excellence and self-evaluation. Inspections and other
engagements with secondary school staff, including a series
5.
4.
1. Quality Assurance and Moderation
Professional Learning Resource
Supporting Learners
Senior Phase Core Physical Education
Resource
Implementing Curriculum for Excellence in
the Senior Phase
Support for new national qualifications on
Glow
News in brief
•
Have you checked out Glow recently?
It is evolving, developing and improving to meet
the needs of learners and teachers and offers a first
class digital environment for learning. The new Glow
environment is available now with replacement blogs, wikis
and other services appearing over the next few months.
Don’t forget there’s lots of other information, resources
and helpful content there that could make life easier for you.
Learners and educators can use it to connect and collaborate.
Each term we have a wealth of interesting events and Glow Meets
taking place so keep an eye out for them too. World War I features
heavily this term so you’ll have the chance to join some great
GlowMeets around this topic. You can get more info at Glow Connect.
You can sign up to receive updates at Glow.
• A group was set up earlier this year to consider the experiences of the
first session of the new CfE qualifications. The group was asked to
suggest actions which would benefit all parts of the education system
as we move to the second year of the qualifications. Find out more
about the Reflections Group Report.
• The National Parent Forum of Scotland has published a new Highers in
a Nutshell series following on from the popularity of their Nationals
in a Nutshell series.
13
Lifelong Learning
Teacher Education
Director’s update
Education Scotland works to promote and improve
learning opportunities for all, throughout their
lives. Lifelong Learning supports individuals,
families and communities to tackle real issues
that they face, daily, through learning and action.
In the college sector, our review and capacity
building activities are providing a central element
of support and challenge as colleges develop
within the new regional arrangements. This will
include, of course, an appropriate focus on the role colleges will
play in implementing recommendations from the Commission for
Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce and ensuring young people
have skills relevant to modern employment opportunities. Our work
in teacher education is helping to place career-long professional
learning within the framework of lifelong learning for practitioners.
Through support for a range of initiatives the directorate is helping to
improve opportunities for teachers to access the professional learning
they need to build their skills and expertise.
We are all well aware of the links between deprivation and
attainment. Whilst many answers lie within early years, school and
college settings, CLD has a significant role to play in closing this gap.
Through the new CLD Regulations 2013 that we developed and
published and our developments in youth work and adult learning,
Education Scotland has led a step-change in the clarity of ambitions
for CLD and an energy and sense of purpose for the sector that
will provide guidance over the coming years. The impact of lifelong
learning is extensive. Learning means different things to different
people at different stages but one thing is certain, it can mean lifechanging possibilities both for individuals and for their communities,
given the right level of support and encouragement.
Our Teacher Education team is continuing to
take forward the recommendations of Teaching
Scotland’s Future: A Review of Teacher Education
in Scotland. We work closely with national
partners including the Scottish Government,
the General Teaching Council for Scotland, the
Scottish Teacher Education Committee, the
Scottish College for Educational Leadership, local
authorities and professional associations. We
are focusing on enabling teachers at all stages of
their careers to improve their practice and impact
in a more positive way on children and young
people. The team provides resources, advice and
guidance on professional learning and leadership
through capacity building, engagement across
the profession and publication of key materials.
These materials can be accessed through the
Education Scotland online service.
Key resources include:
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I look forward to the year ahead and all the activity we have planned,
more of which you find out about here.
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Alan Armstrong
Strategic Director for Lifelong Learning
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Career-long professional learning (CLPL)
which builds on current strengths of CPD
and extends the concept of the enhanced
professional.
Mentoring Matters which is an online
resource to support educators as they selfevaluate the quality of their coaching and
mentoring
Revised National Guidance on Professional
Review and Development (PRD) which
supports effective PRD and the positive
engagement of teachers, headteachers and
system leaders in the PRD process
Guidance for aspiring teachers and those in
the early phase of their careers
We also support the work of the National CLPL
Network in delivering three key events a year.
We lead on the delivery of the national Flexible
Routes to Headship programme which involves
aspiring headteachers from 16 local authorities. Over the
next few months, members of the team will be engaging
with colleagues in schools, local authorities and professional
associations through a variety of events and presenting
seminars at the Scottish Learning Festival.
CLD
We provide advice, leadership and support to develop CLD
policies and improve CLD practice in Scotland as well as
undertaking inspection and review activity to ensure high
standards and quality.
Key initiatives developed this year include implementation
of Our Ambitions for Improving the Life Chances of Young
People in Scotland: National Youth Work Strategy 2014
2019 and the Statement of Ambition for Adult Learning in
Scotland. We are also assessing the quality of the developing
opportunities for 16+ young people in education, training
and employment with a particular focus on supporting the
learning experiences of young people in custodial care.
College
Over the past two years, Scotland’s colleges have undergone
radical change which has involved the merger of many
local colleges into regional colleges. The Post-16 Education
(Scotland) Act 2013 altered the status of colleges to public
bodies, bringing with it significant changes in college
governance. This period of change has impacted on the
external quality arrangements and activities implemented in
colleges by Education Scotland.
Over this session, we are continuing to carry out external
reviews, annual engagement visits and aspect reports across
the college sector on behalf of the Scottish Further and
Higher Education Funding Council (SFC). It contracts with
Education Scotland to provide these assurances for colleges
and with the Quality Assurance Agency Scotland (QAA) for
universities.
Education Scotland and SFC, along with the sector, are also
considering the next model of quality assurance. This is
likely to centre around a validated self-evaluation approach.
Whatever the final model looks like, it will represent a radical
change in the way we review colleges and provide public
assurance of quality. Our Showcase for Excellence highlights
examples of excellence that have been obtained during annual
engagement visits, college external review and aspect report
activities.
Post-16 News
With the recent publication of the Education Working for
All! report from the Commission for Developing Scotland’s
Young Workforce, we will be working with external partners
to deliver outcomes and recommendations. Work is well
advanced in a number of new post-16 developments, which
align with and support the Commission’s report. These
include:
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External review of Careers Information, Advice and
Guidance (CIAG) services. We are commencing the
review programme with five pilot reviews, two of which
have already taken place (in Argyll and Bute and West
Lothian) and are published. A further three reviews, as
well as one aspect task (My World of Work) will take
place this year.
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External review of the off-the-job training element of
Modern Apprentice Programmes and the Employability
Fund. These review programmes are in development,
again in partnership with SDS and the Scottish
Government. They are likely to commence in April 2015.
What to expect
in 2014-2015
• Support to partners implementing the CLD
Strategic Guidance and the Requirements for
CLD (Scotland) Regulations 2013
• Delivery of the CLD Innovation and Improvement
Fund
• Support to Strategic Funding Partnerships
• Roll out of the Curriculum for Excellence implementation
plan
• Offender learning project with the Scottish Prison Service
• National priorities outlined in Adult Literacies In Scotland
2020 delivered
• A refresh of the national ESOL strategy
• A pilot of How Good is Our Third Sector Organisation?
and How Good is our Culture and Sport? initiatives
• College sector aspect tasks; engineering, CfE,
employability, partial success
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A fresh, new approach to
keeping the curriculum
relevant: CLTAS FORUMS
Provides a variety of
professional learning
opportunities
Is home to the
largest education
exhibition in
Scotland
September
2014
Gives you access to world
renowned keynote
speakers
We are establishing national Curriculum, Learning,
Teaching, Assessment and Support (CLTAS) forums whose
purpose is to secure, consolidate and embed improvements
to the curriculum, learning, teaching, assessment and
support, and to maintain their relevance to deliver
high-quality outcomes for all learners. We are excited about establishing Curriculum, Learning,
Teaching, Assessment and Support (CLTAS) forums. The
purpose of these forums is ‘to secure, consolidate and
embed improvements to the curriculum, learning, teaching,
assessment and support, and maintain their relevance for all
learners and ensure they are capable of delivering high-quality
learner outcomes’. Over the last year we have consulted
widely with many groups who have a stake in education and
all are agreed that the outcomes sought by Curriculum for
Excellence can be the means to keeping learning relevant well
into the future. We are also all agreed that the partnership
culture which is at the heart of Scottish education, not least
since the national curriculum debate in 2002, should be at the
core of the way the forums work, thereby involving everyone
who has a stake in learning in maintaining its relevance.
The forums, led by our Senior Education Officers, are being
created in a different way to previous working groups and
committees. We are using an innovative approach based on
our understanding of futures planning. Nominations from a
wide range of partners and stakeholders have been sought
and those who join the forums will have key strengths
and sound experience. The forums will design their ways
of widening their engagement, in ways which best meet
the needs of the communities they serve. They will seek
to address one of the challenges facing education systems
around the world when bringing about significant curriculum
reform – that of ensuring we continue to meet the needs of
learners in the system whilst change is underway. The forums
will use Scottish education’s unique approach to making
change happen by using the three perspectives of looking
Brings together
thousands of
educational practitioners
2 DAYS IS JUST NOT ENOUGH!
NEW SLF EVENTS PLANNED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
inwards, looking outwards, and looking forwards. Everyone
involved agrees that, if we succeed in making the forums
work well, then the need for major educational reform of the
sort we have seen every few years in the past is likely to be
reduced.
The implementation of the first group of forums:
Digital Learning (19th September)
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Expressive Arts (19th September)
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Middle Years ‘8-16’ (22nd September)
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Mathematics and Numeracy
(30th October)
The implementation of the first group of forums (Digital
Learning, Expressive Arts, Middle Years ‘8-16’, Mathematics
and Numeracy) is now underway and some meetings
have already taken place. Once fully established they will
include learners and their parents, teachers, headteachers,
associations, employers and industry, Education authority
staff, communities, post 16 education providers, researchers,
and a range of partner services, amongst others. They
have the potential to have a significant impact on the way
educational relevance is maintained in the future.
We will bring you further news of these forums in future.
If you would like to know more, please contact customer
services - enquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk.
BRINGING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TO YOU
SLF extra: SLF in Dumfries and Galloway September 2014:
Taking place during SLF in September, includes
live coverage of the Cabinet Secretary and Alma Harris keynotes
SLF extra: EIS leadership event November 2014:
Half day conference open to all practitioners in partnership with
Education Scotland and the University of the West of Scotland
Leadership theme with input from SLF 2014
keynote Alma Harris
SLF extra: Lothian’s Learning Festival
November 2014, January 2015 and March 2015:
Friday afternoon learning events with
themes from SLF 2014
SLF extra: Aberdeen Learning Festival February 2015:
Brings together a range of professionals for high
quality professional learning
Provides opportunities to share practice and network
SLF extra: SLS transitions event March 2015:
Conference open to all practitioners in partnership
with Education Scotland
SLF extra: AHDS leadership event Spring 2015:
Full day conference open to all practitioners
in partnership with Education Scotland
SLF extra: Children in Scotland November 2014 – March 2015:
Six regional development days across Scotland
Themes include young people as leaders, pupil and parent
engagement and lifeskills partnerships
For more information on all these events visit
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inverness
Useful information about
EDUCATION SCOTLAND
Education Scotland is the key national
agency for promoting improvement in the
quality and effectiveness of education.
We are Scotland’s national improvement
agency for education.
aberdeen
Our work covers the full range of education provision in
Scotland for all learners in:
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Education Scotland
Customer Services
Senior Education Officers
Our Senior Education Officers
(SEOs) play a key role in ensuring
that everyone who has a stake in
curriculum, learning, teaching and
assessment can become involved
in sharing approaches, contributing
ideas, and in guiding future change
in a manageable and effective way.
Each SEO will take a lead role in the
new CLTAS Forums that have been
established to keep the curriculum
relevant into the future.
• SEOs appointed in curriculum
and sectoral areas
• Working with subject specialist
teams
• Leading on new CLTAS Forums
Our Customer Services team is
here to help you with any enquiry
you may have around our work or
wider aspects of education. You
can contact us either by telephone
or email and we are committed to
providing a high quality professional
service which satisfies all customer
enquiries by providing clear,
consistent, accurate and prompt
information.
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Contact us by telephone or email
Answering your queries
professionally and promptly
Committed to a high quality
service
Providing the answer to your
questions
Contact this team via:
enquiries@
educationscotland.gov.uk
Contact this team via:
enquiries@
educationscotland.gov.uk
TEL 0141 282 5000
TEL 0141 282 5000
Educational psychology services
Primary, secondary and special schools
Publicly and privately funded colleges
Third sector organisations
Community learning and development (CLD)
Early Learning and Childcare settings
Prison education
Teacher education
Independent schools
Dates for your diary
September
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Update of CfE Implementation
Plan 2014-15
Dundee
LIVINGSTON
clydebank
glasgow
edinburgh
October
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10 October – deadline date
for applications to Access to
Education Fund
6 October - Moving Forward
Together (discussion event on
tackling sectarianism)
Refresh of the English for
Speakers of Other Languages
(ESOL) Strategy for Scotland
November
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School Improvement Partnership
Programme evaluation report to
be published
Course Materials for National 1
and National 2 published
OUR OFFICES
Education Scotland has several offices across the
country including Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee,
Clydebank, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Our headquarters is:
Education Scotland
Denholm House
Almondvale Business Park
Almondvale Way
Livingston
EH54 6GA
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Further reading
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Follow Us
Facebook
The updated Curriculum for Excellence National Implementation Plan 2014-15 is available online, as
is the progress report for activities on the 2013-14
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Twitter
How CfE is Making Changes
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Youtube
Learning for People of All Ages Required a Multifaceted Approach
Key Curriculum Support resource
To help you find more information on the curriculum, be it on assessment,
planning or just the curriculum in general we have created a very handy onestop shop on our website. Key Curriculum Support has a variety of menus for
you to choose from to locate everything you might need in relation to the new
curriculum.
Education Scotland offers a
number of free email updates
and news alerts to keep
you informed of the latest
developments and events in
Scottish education.
We have a range of email
newsletters for you to
subscribe to which address
specific areas, sectors and
topics. Simply select areas
of interest you would like to
subscribe to:
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Visit the Key Curriculum Support resource
A
Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park,
Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA
T
+44 (0)141 282 5000
E
enquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk
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