Education: improvement framework and plan - 2021

Introduction, vision, and key priorities

Introduction 

Background

The 2021 National Improvement Framework (NIF) and Improvement Plan replaces last year's NIF and Improvement Plan. Together with the National Improvement Framework Interactive Evidence Report, the NIF has improved the availability, quality and consistency of data, and extended understanding of what works to drive improvements for children and young people across all parts of the Scottish education system. 

It sets out the vision and priorities for Scottish education that have been agreed across the system, and the national improvement activity that needs to be undertaken to help deliver those key priorities. This complements the ongoing implementation of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), and Developing the Young Workforce (DYW), which are the three supporting pillars of the Scottish education system. 

Scottish Ministers have a statutory duty, introduced by the Education (Scotland) Act 2016, to review the NIF and publish a plan on an annual basis. As part of the review, we provide education authorities, teachers, young people, and parents with the opportunity to express their views, and these have been taken into account in the drafting of this year's NIF and Improvement Plan. 

Context

This has, indisputably, been a unique and difficult year.  Barely three months after we had set out the priority improvement activities in the 2020 NIF and Improvement Plan, school buildings had closed and Scotland was dealing with the impact of a global pandemic.  As a result, the Scottish education system had to react quickly, and decisively, and focus on ensuring that the business of teaching and learning continued, even while the majority of school buildings were closed.  This meant that we had to review the focus of our activity, and place recovery and support to the education system at the heart of all our activities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced unprecedented levels of uncertainty for people and education systems and, as a result, the review process in Autumn 2020 produced a clear consensus that broad stability in the NIF priorities and drivers of improvement was desirable. Equally, it will be important to ensure that the NIF reflects those changing priorities that have come about as a result of COVID-19, as well as reporting on the progress that was made to implement the improvement activities up to 20 March (when the school buildings closed).  In particular, it is important that the NIF and Improvement Plan captures the recovery and support work that is being undertaken to deal with the educational impact of the COVID-19 crisis into 2021 and beyond.

A number of issues were raised during the review, including the need to focus on recovery, on providing certainty in a world where very little feels secure, and to ensure support is provided to those who need it most.  There was also support for an increased focus on health and wellbeing, in particular the measures being taken to support the health and wellbeing of children and young people, and of staff, in the light of COVID-19.  There should also be more emphasis placed on the needs of children and young people with additional support needs – something which has been identified and addressed via the actions that came out of Angela Morgan's review of implementation of additional support for learning, and which are reflected in the improvement actions set out under each driver.

International Council of Education Advisers 

The Deputy First Minister held a series of meetings with the International Council of Education Advisers (ICEA) in the period since the schools closed in March, in order to consider international approaches responding to the pandemic, and to see if there were any lessons Scotland could learn from other countries.  A key issue for the ICEA was the need for the NIF to better reflect both the vision and holistic approach of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). It was their view that, at that point, the 'excellence' component of the NIF vision statement could be seen as placing a too narrow emphasis on literacy and numeracy, at the potential expense of the wider 4 capacities of CfE:

• Successful learners
• Confident individuals
• Responsible citizens
• Effective contributors

The 4 capacities were designed to produce a more rounded education with broader achievements being recognised alongside academic attainment.  

We have taken the ICEA's feedback on board, and have made it clearer that the vision of the NIF is to ensure that every child has the skills and knowledge necessary for today's world, and that of the future.

Despite all the difficulties the pandemic has caused, it is important that our education system continues to meet the aspirations and needs of our children and young people, and that is what drives the improvement activities outlined in the 2021 NIF and Improvement Plan. 

The second formal report of the ICEA was published on 17 December 2020, and states that the "focus on capacity building at all levels within the teaching profession must continue to be the core of the Scottish improvement agenda and its desire to secure an enduring impact on the country's future prosperity. This is central to Scotland's resolve and determination to be a world-class education system committed to improvements in educational equity and excellence, and for student and staff well-being." 

"Navigating through the pandemic and designing the future of school improvement to support each and every student to develop and succeed will require continued development of capacity, leadership, collaboration, and professional judgement and expertise throughout the system. Valuing, respecting and supporting everyone who is involved is essential."

The report makes a number of recommendations, which have informed the development of the 2021 NIF and Improvement plan.  The Scottish Government will be publishing its formal response to the ICEA recommendations early in 2021.