Education and skills - National Improvement Framework 2025: improvement plan

Outcome 2

Outcome 2 - young people experiencing the benefit of schools and early years settings working in excellent partnerships with wider children’s services and other partners, families, and communities, in line with the GIRFEC approach.

What the evidence is telling us

Qualitative evidence gathered at the regional headteacher events held in Autumn 2024 indicates that the workload and expectation on settings and schools, and pastoral staff in particular, is expansive and continues to grow. The events highlighted the need for a strengthening of partnership working with wider children’s services to deliver multi-agency support for children and young people.

Evidence from Public Health Scotland^[1] shows that a number of cohorts of young children have been negatively affected by the Covid pandemic, with a disproportionate impact on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Since 2020, evidence has shown that there has been an increase in speech, language and communication (SLC) developmental concerns recorded at the 13-15 months, 27-30 month and 4-5 year child health reviews. There is evidence to suggest that the presence of known risk factors for preventable SLC needs can have a lesser impact when supportive factors, such as positive adult-child interactions and responsiveness, are in place.

Findings from HM Inspectors through school inspections tell us that, in the majority of schools, staff work well with partners to improve children and young people’s wellbeing. In the most effective examples, partners support the planning, implementation, and evaluation of support strategies for children and young people. In a few schools, partners would value being more involved in planning and evaluating learning targets and wellbeing interventions for children and young people. This approach would ensure that resources and workforce development are aligned most effectively to meet the bespoke needs of children and young people who require additional support. Involving partners in planning and evaluation of interventions would also strengthen partnerships and relationships across the school community to promote the values of inclusive practice.

What we will do to deliver

• The Programme for Government in September 2024 committed us to work in partnership with local authorities and wider children’s services to improve attendance, attainment and the curriculum in schools to boost standards. This work will be underpinned by the ‘Getting it right for every child’ (GIRFEC) approach as Scotland’s framework for the delivery of holistic, rights-based multi-agency support and a shared approach to planning for children and young people’s wellbeing.
• The learning from the most recent statutory review of Children’s Services Plans will be used by Children’s Services Planning partners to support annual reporting, development of the 2026-2029 Children’s Services Plans, and local CSPP delivery approaches. A programme of workshops for the Children’s Services Planning Strategic Leads Network, to support the sharing of good practice, and provide practical support is in development, with the first session scheduled for December 2024.
• We are investing in a programme of work to support early intervention in speech, language and communication for young children and their families.
• Education Scotland will develop and implement an enhanced leadership professional learning offer for early learning and childcare (ELC) practitioners.
• HMIE will inspect a selection of early learning and childcare settings and schools to evaluate how their practices align with the GIRFEC framework, including partnerships.
• HMIE will ensure that new quality improvement frameworks for ELC and schools embed the GIRFEC approach, fostering capacity for self-evaluation and driving improvements in quality.
• The Care Inspectorate and HMIE are developing, and will publish, a new, shared Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Quality Improvement Framework that ensures consistency and a common language for inspection of ELC services, minimises burdens on practitioners, and provides clarity around the roles and responsibilities of the inspection bodies. The Inspectorates are also continuing to work together to plan their inspection programmes, undertake shared inspections and reduce burdens on the sector wherever possible.

How we will measure progress

In the medium term, we will expect to see an improved use of data on SLC to inform local priorities and service planning. We will take forward activity to build capacity and knowledge in respect of SLC across the early years workforce.

We will use the evidence from HMIE inspections to assess how effectively schools and early learning settings build and sustain partnerships that align with the GIRFEC approach, demonstrating their impact on children’s well-being.

Children’s Services Planning Partnerships (CSPP) must publish a Children’s Services Plan every 3 years, as well as an Annual Report demonstrating what progress the CSPP has made in improving wellbeing outcomes for children, young people and families living in that area. The effectiveness of children’s services planning arrangements across Scotland are monitored through the statutory review of children’s services plans and reports, carried out by Scottish Ministers and joint inspections of children’s services. The review is based on a number of criteria, one of which is focused on how the CSPP is creating and maintaining effective ‘Getting it right for every child’ practice for individual children, young people and their families (Criterion 8). The statutory review of Children’s Services Plans 2023-2026 will be published by the end of 2024.