Education and skills - National Improvement Framework 2025: improvement plan

Outcome 3

Outcome 3 - inclusive and relevant curriculum and assessment which gives young people the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to society, shape a sustainable future, while celebrating and supporting progression for all.

What the evidence is telling us

While the OECD review of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) published in 2021 found that “CfE continues to be a bold and widely supported initiative, and its design offers the flexibility needed to improve student learning further^[2]” it also identified issues and made recommendations on how these could be addressed. A key recommendation as a means of tackling many of the issues identified was that: “Scotland could consider establishing a systematic curriculum review cycle^[3]”, a recommendation further endorsed by the National Discussion on Education which took place in 2023 which stated that: “a regular curriculum review process should be established to ensure that the curriculum remains fit for purpose^[4]”.

Reviewing best practice from high performing jurisdictions, and extensive engagement with stakeholders – including teachers – through a series of pilot curriculum reviews in 2023/24, have helped to test and develop a curriculum improvement cycle approach which is right for Scotland.

The OECD report and a series of other reports, including Professor Stobart’s report on upper secondary assessment in Scotland^[5], made the case that Scotland should consider adapting the pedagogy and assessment practices in the Senior Phase (S4 to S6). The purpose being to enhance young peoples’ experience of upper-secondary education and help them develop CfE’s four capacities continuously.

Angela Morgan in her review into support for learning in 2020 found that ‘the system should be set up to recognise the particular achievements of children and young people which goes beyond SQA qualifications^[6].” The National Discussion on Education highlighted the following ask in relation to the future of qualifications and assessment: “A future education system should capitalise upon, and harness, the abilities, skills, and talents of all children and young people in Scotland^[7].”

Building on these previous reports, and wider evidence and engagement, the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment^[8] made specific recommendations to the Scottish Government on how it might reform qualifications and assessment. The Scottish Government response to that review was published in September 2024.

Findings from HM Inspectors through school inspections, tell us that most primary schools and a majority of secondary schools have progressive learning pathways for all curriculum areas. HM Inspectors suggest that senior leaders should be supported to help staff develop a better understanding of national standards and progression, particularly in the BGE, while more effective use of data would allow staff across all sectors to evaluate with greater confidence.

The expertise and insights of our teachers, practitioners and subject specialists will be key in work to both improve the curriculum and reform qualifications. Reform must equip young people with the knowledge and skills required to help the economy to grow, and broader society to thrive.

What we will do to deliver – Curriculum Improvement

• Together with teachers, practitioners, delivery partners and stakeholders, we will take forward the Curriculum Improvement Cycle (CIC) which takes a systematic approach to ensuring that Scotland’s curriculum remains relevant, forward looking, clarifies the role of knowledge, and ultimately supports high quality teaching, learning, and progression. As part of this process Education Scotland will second advisors from schools to lead on specific elements of the CIC.
• While numeracy/maths has been prioritised as the first curricular area to undergo this improvement cycle in 2024, work to update all eight curricular areas will begin in this academic year (2024/2025), albeit different curricular areas will be at different stages of development at any given time.
• HMIE will continue a programme of thematic inspections of curriculum areas to inform the Curriculum Improvement Cycle.
• The evolution of Curriculum for Excellence’s technical framework, so that it better supports clarity and progression, will be taken forward as part of the CIC programme of work.
• Education Scotland will develop a coherent programme of professional learning centred around pedagogy, including evidence based resources, universal support and bespoke support for individual disciplines. The programme will be aligned to and complement the ongoing work of the CIC, with phased implementation of an updated maths/numeracy curriculum beginning from August 2026.

What we will do to deliver – reform of qualifications and assessment

• Curriculum should drive qualifications. That is why qualification content will, over time, be updated to reflect curriculum improvements, not least to ensure alignment and strong progression between the broad general education (BGE) to Senior Phase (S4 to S6) and beyond.
• The qualifications body will set out a longer-term programme of work to rebalance assessment methods, so that there is less overall reliance on high stakes exams, which will align with the Curriculum Improvement Cycle (CIC) activity where possible, by end of the summer term (2024/25). Alternative assessment methods and approaches will be mindful of impacts on teacher workload.
• In the shorter term, written exams will be removed from some practical subjects from academic year 2025/26.
• The qualifications offer in the Senior Phase, will be rationalised starting with the Creative, Hospitality and Sport and Technology, Engineering and Construction Sectors (which represents 800 qualifications and awards). The qualifications body has conducted an initial review of low and no update qualifications, and will now establish a clear process designed to guide the future direction of the portfolio review.
• Approaches and models will be explored relating to how graded national courses such as National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher could be organised into ‘modules’, to allow learners maximum flexibility to build credit as they go.
• Digital onscreen assessment will be piloted across various subjects beginning in 2025/26.
• We will agree with the qualifications body, Universities Scotland and other qualifications providers how the consistent use of SCQF levels in qualification titles will be systematically implemented going forward.
• Scottish Government will work with Education Scotland, Qualifications Scotland and local government, including e-Sgoil, to explore options around timetabling and curricular design. While beneficial to a range of courses, it will act to further strengthen the uptake and award of national qualifications for GME pupils in relation to Gaelic literacy and language, across all SCQF levels.
• We will provide consistent opportunities for young people to access high quality interdisciplinary learning (IDL). Building on the existing IDL co-design group facilitated by Education Scotland, a refreshed working group, chaired by a senior secondary school teacher experienced in the delivery of IDL, will bring together relevant partners already active in this space. This group will lead a new phase of work with the objective of better determining the place of IDL in secondary schools while ensuring an equitable offer for all young people.
• To help ensure wider achievement is recognised we will support the continued development of a digital learner profile and support its effective use in schools.
• We will undertake further testing with Scotland’s teaching profession directly – on the best and most appropriate route forward which may support a leaving certificate in the future.

How we will measure progress

We are developing a Monitoring & Evaluation Strategy for the Education Reform Programme, including a specific approach for evaluating the impact of the Curriculum Improvement Cycle and Qualifications Reform projects.

An evidence-based approach to evaluating provision is necessary to provide the most benefit to learners in terms of positive learning experiences, protected characteristics, attainment of qualifications, outcomes, and destinations. This supports the need for shared expectations on the use of key performance indicators and the importance of data sharing agreements.

We will also utilise international studies including PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS as set out under Outcome 1, as well as the 13 key NIF measures set out under Measuring the Attainment Gap, to assess progress towards delivering an inclusive and relevant curriculum and assessment system.