Education Leaders' Forum

Overview

The Education Leaders’ Forum has been established to capture the views of wider stakeholders on development of the Scottish education system. It will bring together partners and stakeholders from across the education system and related sectors to discuss current issues and to share views and experiences. The Forum will inform the work of the Scottish Education Council and the Curriculum and Assessment Board and Strategic Board for Teacher Education that sit beneath it.

Role of the Forum

• the Education Leaders’ Forum will bring together partners and stakeholders from across the education system and related sectors to share views and experiences
• the Education Leaders’ Forum will be a large gathering and will give organisations and key individuals with an interest the chance to discuss current issues and to ensure that their voice is being heard by Ministers
• the Deputy First Minister will chair the Forum
• the Forum will not be a statutory body, or have any statutory roles or functions

Terms of reference

• develop a sense of common purpose and promote partnership working as we pursue a common goal for Scottish education
• improve understanding of the education strategic agenda and enable the education community to play a part in developing and delivering excellence and equity for all children and young people in Scotland
• improve Scottish Government engagement with stakeholders by enabling views, issues and concerns to be discussed
• improve links and connections across our education system from the early years through to further and higher education
• be a source of guidance and advice to Ministers and the Scottish Education Council on key issues

Method of working

• the Forum will meet twice a year, starting in February 2018
• meetings will be workshop-based and provide the opportunity for members to discuss issues in small groups and then in plenary sessions. Forum members will be expected periodically to lead and facilitate these workshop discussions
• membership will be by organisation. The nominated Forum member from each organisation will be expected to attend all meetings, although substitutes will be allowed
• The Scottish Government National Improvement Framework Unit will provide secretariat support to the group by arranging meetings, collating, preparing and circulating papers in advance and noting the outcomes of the Forum’s deliberations

Links

• through both common membership and a focus on similar issues, the Forum will have links to the Scottish Education Council, the Curriculum and Assessment Board and the Strategic Board for Teacher Education. The outcome of discussions at each of these groups will be made available to the others as appropriate to help guide and inform their respective deliberations

Young people

• young people will be involved in all the meetings of the Forum. We will work with relevant stakeholders, including young people themselves to scope the most effective ways of doing this moving forward

Related groups

• Scottish Education Council
• Curriculum and Assessment Board
• Strategic Board for Teacher Education

Members

• Academics and educational consultants
• Association of Directors of Education (ADES)
• Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland (AHDS)
• Association of Support for Learners Officers Group (ASLO)
• Bòrd na Gàidhlig
• Care Inspectorate
• Centre for Excellence for Looked after Children (CELCIS)
• Children 1st
• RNIB
• Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland
• Children in Scotland
• Children’s Hearings Scotland
• Children’s Parliament
• Church of Scotland Education Committee
• College Development Network
• Colleges Scotland
• Community Learning and Development Standards Council
• Connect – formerly Scottish Parent Teacher Council (SPTC)
• COSLA
• Disabled Children and Young Person Advisory Group
• Early Years Scotland
• Education Scotland
• Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS)
• Enquire
• General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS)
• Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• Local Government Improvement Service
• National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT)
• National Day Nurseries Association Scotland
• National Parent Forum of Scotland (NPFS)
• NHS Health Scotland
• Place2Be
• Play Scotland
• Polmont Young Offenders Institute
• Project Scotland
• Regional Improvement Collaborative - Tayside Collaborative
• Regional Improvement Collaborative - The Northern Alliance
• Regional Improvement Collaborative - South West Collaborative
• Regional Improvement Collaborative - South East Alliance
• Regional Improvement Collaborative - Forth Valley and West Lothian Collaborative
• Regional Improvement Collaborative - The West Partnership
• Royal Society of Edinburgh
• Save the Children
• School Leaders Scotland (SLS)
• Scottish ACE Hub
• Scottish Association for Mental Health
• Scottish Catholic Education Service
• Scottish Childminding Association
• Scottish College for Educational Leadership (SCEL)
• Scottish Council of Deans of Education
• Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS)
• Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Partnership
• Scottish Funding Council (SFC)
• Scottish Futures Trust
• Scottish Government
• Scottish Out of School Care Network
• Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA)
• Scottish Social Services Council
• Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
• Scottish Youth Parliament
• Skills Development Scotland (SDS)
• SOLACE
• Time for Inclusive Education
• Universities and Colleges Union (UCU)
• Universities Scotland
• Upstart Scotland
• Voice
• Who Cares? Scotland
• Young Scot
• Youthlink

Publications