Excellence and equity for all school pupils in Scotland is under discussion at the Scottish Parliament as Members (MSPs) continue to debate the progress of new education legislation.
The debate on the Education (Scotland) Bill comes after Scotland was said to have the chance to be a ‘world leader’ in education, in a study published recently.
An international expert review group from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) produced a positive report of Scottish education policies, following a visit to the country in 2015. Amongst their findings was that Scottish schools are ‘highly inclusive’.
The OECD report, which was commissioned by the Scottish Government, recognised successes in the development of world leading educational policies, commending the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) as ‘an important reform to put in place a coherent 3-18 curriculum.’
The report does however highlight challenges and areas where improvement and progress is required, in order for the full potential of the policy to be recognised.
It makes a series of recommendations around decision-making and governance, teaching and leadership, and assessment and evaluation, calling for a more ambitious theory of change and a more robust evidence base about learning outcomes and progress. It also suggests the need for a strengthened ‘middle’, reinforcing the leadership position of local authorities who are responsible for ensuring implementation of the nationally set policy.
Specifically around quality and equity, the report recommends ‘relentless’ pursuit to close the recognised attainment gap, whilst simultaneously raising the bar with an evidence-informed strategic approach. The report also highlights the need to ensure that the full range of capacities of CfE is measurable, including the four highlighted as key to the Curriculum: successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.
Montserrat Gomendio, Deputy Director, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, said: ‘We applaud Scotland for having the foresight and patience to put such an ambitious reform as Curriculum for Excellence in place; we hope that our OECD review will help ensure that it will live up to its full potential and realise excellence and equity right across Scotland.’
The Education (Scotland) Bill is currently going through the Scottish Parliament. It is designed to raise attainment, enhance children’s rights and improve teaching and governance. Amongst a number of measures included in the Bill is the extension of rights of children aged 12 and over under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004.
The Scottish Government has also published more details around their promised National Improvement Framework, which is designed to drive forward educational progress for all children, including controversial measures to introduce standardised testing across the curriculum.
For more information, read the full OECD report.
