Curriculum for Excellence Primary School Leadership Conferences
Sep/Oct 2014
Executive Summary of Group Discussions
The purpose of this Executive Summary is to report on the findings of two group
discussion sessions held at each of the five primary leadership conferences which
took place in September and October 2014. In the first group discussion, delegates
were asked two key questions:
In what way have you developed the curriculum relative to your own context?
Have you any ideas to be shared on how you have reduced bureaucracy in
your school?
Key Findings
Curriculum development:
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There was widespread agreement at almost all conferences that partnership
working is an important aspect of curriculum development. A number of
headteachers are working collaboratively with their counterparts in other
schools (e.g. in trios/triads/sharing networks). Others are working hard to
increase the involvement of parents in the life of the school (e.g. invitations to
school events, parental learning walks, curricular nights, parental audits and
contributions to school improvement planning). Many schools have also
established strong links with local businesses and community groups to
develop specific areas of their curriculum.
Many school leaders spoke about how they are developing specific curricular
areas, with literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing mentioned most
often. Schools are embedding good practice in various ways e.g. through
development groups, enrichment programmes, masterclasses, active learning
approaches, by establishing clear curriculum pathways to ensure progression
and by creating key milestones in learning. Some participants have adopted
similar approaches to develop science and the social subjects.
Delegates at most of the conferences reacted enthusiastically to Education’s
Scotland’s messages around the importance of high quality dialogue and
reflection. Many headteachers have increased the number of opportunities
for professional dialogue that focus on learning and teaching (e.g. through
peer observations, team teaching, collegiate planning meetings with
level/stage partners, moderation/tracking/transition activities, learning
conversations with pupils, and involvement of staff at all levels in improvement
planning).
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Tackling bureaucracy:
 The majority of participants recognised the importance of tackling
bureaucracy and most were very clear about the need to streamline
planning processes. A significant number of participants spoke positively
about the impact of collaborative planning, and increased professional
dialogue between staff at all levels has had on learning and teaching. There
was widespread agreement that the main focus of this dialogue should be on
learners’ progress and achievements. Many headteachers no-longer collect in
bulky forward plans, some have pared back planning paperwork and a smaller
number have moved to electronic planning formats.
 Various other approaches to reducing workload were also discussed at each
conference. Staff in some schools meet regularly to review and adapt
planning, monitoring and reporting systems that take time away from
teaching. As a result, some schools have developed shorter pupil progress
reports for parents and have streamlined school improvement plans and
monitoring paperwork. A number of delegates spoke about increasing
parental involvement in their schools’ planning processes whilst others have
‘bundled’ Es & Os to identify those that do not need to be planned for by class
teachers.
In the second group discussion, delegates were asked the following questions:
What are the key challenges you have faced in developing the curriculum and
how have you overcome them?
What have we learned from our experiences so far?
What further support is needed?
Key challenges:
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A high number of participants expressed significant concerns around staffing
issues. More specifically, headteachers are worried by the lack of supply
teachers to cover absences or to release permanent staff for development
work, which often results in senior leaders covering classes themselves. As a
result, ensuring that all staff receive their non-class contact time (NCCT) is
problematic for some schools.
A lack of time to reflect, consolidate and embed practice was another issue
of concern. A number of headteachers complained about a lack of leadership
time whilst others were of the opinion that the pace of change has been too
fast and more time to engage in strategic thinking, planning and collegiate
working would be beneficial.
Solutions:
 Sharing good practice emerged as a prominent theme at most conferences.
Many headteachers are providing teaching staff with opportunities to learn
from colleagues within their own establishments and within clusters (e.g. as
‘critical friends’, working with secondary colleagues to improve transitions,
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peer observations to enhance learning and teaching, collaborative planning
and professional enquiry sharing sessions). Those headteachers who are
working with fellow cluster heads to develop aspects of their curriculum spoke
positively about their experiences.
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Delegates also spoke more generally about the ways in which they have
effectively managed change. A number of headteachers highlighted the
importance of engaging in rigorous self-evaluation, being realistic about where
the school is and choosing priorities carefully. Others spoke of the need to
focus on one particular aspect of school improvement at a time and regularly
review progress, recognising that ‘one size does not fit all’ and that changes
may have to be made along the way.
Across all conferences, staff involvement emerged as a prominent theme.
Contributions emphasised the need to establish a collaborative and collegiate
culture based on mutual trust within which staff have ownership of school
improvement priorities. Some participants talked about the need to start with
SMART targets and small steps to build teachers’ confidence within a
supportive yet challenging framework, whilst recognising that everyone has
something to give.
Further support:
 Education Scotland specific: A high number of delegates called for more
events like these, with some suggesting similar events for class teachers, PTs
and DHTs. There were lots of positive comments about the ‘Primary Toolkit’
and delegates want to see it updated over time. Some welcomed Education
Scotland’s forthcoming e-bulletins, whilst others regard it as yet something
else to fill up their inbox. A number of participants would like to see the
Education Scotland website content streamlined and welcomed the move
towards a “3 clicks” interface. A significant number of delegates highlighted
the need for Education Scotland and Local Authorities to communicate more
effectively to ensure that key messages are clear and consistent. Some
headteachers would like access to anonymised RIFs to illustrate what ‘good’,
‘very good’ and ‘excellent’ looks like in practice, whilst others would like to see
more examples of planning, tracking, challenge, application and skills
progression. Whilst practitioners welcome the ‘snippets’ of good practice
published on the Education Scotland website, some have questioned why all
materials are not published in their entirety for schools to adapt to their own
context.
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Local authority specific: A number of delegates called for more
opportunities to network and share good practice across authorities. Others
would like local authorities to share with each other more effectively. A smaller
number would like to see local authorities working more closely with teacher
associations to look again at Working Time Agreements. There were also
calls for greater support and direct input from QIOs and senior managers at
local authority level.
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