CfE Management Board – 24 September 2013 – paper 4.1
CfE Management Board – September 2013
Update from Communications Group: June, July and August 2013
Summary
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All milestones within the Communication Strategy were delivered in full and on schedule.
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The drive to increase local coverage and raise confidence through local media continues.
Enhanced publicity around “excellent” inspections continues to be delivered between
Education Scotland, Scottish Government and the local authority. Coverage continues to be
strong.
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The CfE Communications and Engagement Group is finalising the year ahead milestone
report.
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A survey to gauge the impact of CfE Communications and Engagement Group activity to date
and specifically that of the Briefings series has been prepared and will be carried out in the
next period.
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Detailed report on activity by stakeholder group is attached.
Highlights of activities completed
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Interview with Dr Allan on opportunities and challenges of CfE and setting out the dangers of
bureaucracy carried in Teaching Scotland magazine. Further online content and case studies.
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All partners represented at Capita and Holyrood Conferences on senior phase.
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CfE Briefings series continues with 12, 13 and 14 on Planning for Learning and Political
Literacy being published.
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The CfE Implementation Plan for 2013-2014 has been finalised and distributed to directors
of education, key stakeholders and schools.
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A “Back to School - New Qualifications” campaign was launched at end August by SQA with
coverage across 20 radio stations in Scotland, The Scotsman and Daily Record (included
interview with Dr Gill Stewart).
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Promotion of resources using all channels and media to support the National 4 and National
5 qualifications.
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A variety of promotion via media including briefing for the BBC. Very helpful editorial on BBC
website on new qualifications.
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SQA published Third release of Assessment Support Materials for CfE on SQA secure site.
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SQA school coordinator events took place and were well received.
CfE Management Board – 24 September 2013 – paper 4.1
Activities planned for next period
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A CfE Overview leaflet for parents will be launched in Dundee on 9 September and then
distributed to schools for sharing with parents.
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Creation of “map” of materials to aid practitioners in their understanding of how to navigate
and access materials relating to CfE.
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Update on timetable of materials: all materials published and what’s coming next.
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Next issues of CfE Briefing series to be produced and published, the next being one on
Science.
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Parentzone website being updated and expanded to include the new leaflet and enhanced
learner journeys.
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Series of briefings with Jamie McIvor (BBC) to continue.
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SLF 2013 takes place on 25 and 26 September, theme, Raising the Bar in Scotland –
transforming lives through learning.
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Impact reports will be published for a number of subjects and discussed at SLF,
communications plans will be developed around these.
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An evaluation of the effectiveness of CfE Communications will be carried out.
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SQA has undertaken advertising to publicise the changes to the national qualifications and
courses.
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Increased communications around the Senior Phase Benchmarking Tool – a prototype is due
to be ready for SLF.
Issues
o
None
Actions required by CfE Implementation Group
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To note the communications activities that have taken place and consider whether the key
issues and actions are in line with where they see the main communications priorities.
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Agree that the planned actions described should proceed as planned.
Denise Brock
Head of Communications
Education Scotland
CfE Management Board – 24 September 2013 – paper 4.1
APPENDIX A
Detailed communications activities by stakeholder group
Current focus for CfE communications and engagement activity with different stakeholder groups
Background
Key audiences for CfE communications work remain as parents/carers, practitioners, head teachers,
local authorities, education professional associations, the CLD sector, employers, colleges and the HE
sector, as well as learners themselves.
For Leaders/Managers/Practitioners within the system, the key communications objectives are to
support them in the following areas:
Current Activity
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The June and August issues of the CfE Implementation e-bulletin was published and sent to
all schools and colleges.
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A variety of media engagement took place, both proactively and reactively, including;
•
An interview with Dr Bill Maxwell’s was used in by the International Herald and Tribune in a
piece on the introduction of CfE.
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An interview with Dr Allan by GTCS took place to appear in Teaching Scotland on excellent
schools and tackling bureaucracy.
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A briefing with Jamie McIvor (BBC) on subject choice took place.
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An article on Senior Phase benchmarking for GTCS magazine was also prepared.
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Education Scotland provided speakers for a number of summer conferences on CfE,
including the Holyrood Conference.
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Further CfE briefings around Planning for Learning and Political Literacy were published
online. The next in the series, on Science, is currently being developed and will publish in
late September.
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SQA issued monthly updates to its customers, partners and stakeholders
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SQA advertorials were published in a range of publications in this period.
CfE Management Board – 24 September 2013 – paper 4.1
Planned Actions
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CfE Implementation e-bulletins will be prepared and send on a monthly basis.
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Further titles will publish in the CfE Briefing Series
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A promotional campaign is being developed to raise awareness of the support for NQ site on
Glow. A poster for all secondary schools is currently being developed.
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A leaflet is being developed for SSLN and will be available at SLF 2013 and promoted
thereafter.
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NAR is currently being revised to make for a better user experience, a ‘New to Nar’
campaign implementation will take place from September.
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SfNNQ poster and postcard developed for SLF, promotion to take place in October.
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QA moderation evaluation survey to take place at SLF.
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SQA’s CfE webpages and suite of information leaflets (school, college, universities,
parent/carer, learner and employers) will continue to be refreshed.
•
SQA will continue to place advertorials in relevant professional journals, as appropriate.
Parents
Current Activity
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Scottish Government, working with Education Scotland and NPFS have developed a leaflet to
help parents understand CfE. This includes information on learner journeys and a graph
which illustrates the process of the five curriculum levels of the broad general education and
into the Senior Phase.
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SQA continues to provide monthly updates to its customers, partners and stakeholders.
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A consultation is ongoing on Parentzone to assess how it is being used and how it can be
developed further to meet parent needs.
Planned Actions
CfE Management Board – 24 September 2013 – paper 4.1
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A communication activity plan will be developed to support consistent national messages
being applied at a local level.
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Education Scotland to work with NPFS to support delivery of their communications activity.
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Continue to work with the NPFS to fully understand parental attitudes and progress, and
provide Parent Councils with helpful and relevant information.
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Identify and utilise all SG and partner channels (existing and new) that can be used to reach
more parents.
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SQA will continue to inform parents and carers about the development and delivery of the
new National Qualifications.
•
SQA’s CfE webpages and suite of information leaflets (school, college, universities,
parent/carer, learner and employers) will continue to be refreshed
•
SQA will continue to place advertorials in relevant professional journals, as appropriate.
Employers
Current Activity
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SQA proactively engaging with employers and business as part of their wider engagement
programme around development of the new qualifications. Employers are directly involved
in the development process.
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SQA has a dedicated member of its CfE Liaison Team to engage with employers and
stakeholders.
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SQA Advertorials continue to appear in the IoD Scotland magazine.
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The SCQF Partnership and Skills Development Scotland are actively engaging with employers
to enhance their understanding of existing and new qualifications and certification. New
materials e.g. qualifications online ready-reckoner, employer toolkit on comparing existing
and new qualifications, the My World of Work resource and the new Career Factsheets are
all available on www.employersandyoungpeople.org .
Planned Actions
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Continue to work with employers' organisations directly around these issues via 6-monthly
meetings and more regularly via updating the employers and young people web site and
sending email alerts around this.
CfE Management Board – 24 September 2013 – paper 4.1
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Promote the new 'Developing Skills in Practice' interactive resource which will support
teachers to embed skills development within their day to day professional practice.
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SQA will continue to engage with employers and keep them informed about the new
qualifications, what skills they will help develop and how they are different from the current
system.
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SQA’s CfE webpages and suite of information leaflets (school, college, universities,
parent/carer, learner and employers) will be refreshed
•
SQA will continue to place advertorials in relevant professional journals, as appropriate.