Education and skills - National Improvement Framework 2025: improvement plan

Outcome 5

Outcome 5 – highly skilled teachers and school-leaders driving excellent learning, teaching and assessment for all, especially those with additional support needs.

What the evidence is telling us

Findings from HM Inspectors through school inspections, tell us that staff in most primary and secondary schools and the majority of special schools ensure that positive relationships between staff, children and young people are respectful and nurturing which supports children and young people to learn in purposeful learning environments. In the majority of primary and secondary classes, staff offer helpful explanations and instructions to support children and young people’s understanding of the purpose of their learning. Staff in most schools use a variety of assessment approaches to check understanding and to identify where children and young people require additional support with their learning. Staff continue to build on skills and knowledge developed during periods of remote learning to integrate digital approaches skilfully into classroom routines to enrich learning opportunities. In the majority of primary and special schools, and in less than half of secondary schools, staff make effective use of digital technology to enhance and extend learning.

Overall, schools need to ensure greater consistency in the quality of learning and teaching to ensure all learners experiences high-quality learning. Schools should focus on improving pace of lessons and ensuring that tasks and activities are consistently well-matched to the diverse learning needs of all children. This includes providing appropriate support for those requiring additional support and offering sufficient challenge to extend higher-achieving learners. There is an ongoing need to continue to ensure that teachers make more effective use of assessment information to help inform learning, teaching, and assessment across all subject areas.

The number of children being identified as having additional support needs (ASN) is growing, with 40.5% of our school population now being identified as having ASN compared to 10% in 2010, and 19% of children in funded ELC. The growth in need presents a significant challenge at all levels of the system.

Pupils with ASN are more likely to have poorer educational experiences and outcomes against existing measures in terms of attendance, exclusions, and attainment, and less likely to progress to a positive destination. There is also a strong link between ASN and poverty - across Scotland the proportion of pupils with an additional need in Scotland’s most deprived areas is almost double that in the least deprived areas. We know from qualitative evidence that children and young people and their families are in some cases struggling to navigate the system and to get the support they need.

‘Realising the Ambition: Being Me’ (RtA) is our evidence based, internationally recognised practice guidance that supports the development of high-quality practice including key messages on the use of child-centred play pedagogy across the early level Curriculum for Excellence and beyond. The findings from latest His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) inspections show that the quality of ELC is good across ELC and nursery classes, and that progress is being made in embedding play pedagogy effectively in P1.

Recent reports on Scottish education have noted that effective professional learning, development and dedicated time for collaboration is critical to improving performance in the classroom. The International Council of Education Advisers said in its 2023 report that we need to invest in the professional learning of educational professionals to address the changing needs of the young people.

In 2023/24 Education Scotland conducted a 'listening exercise' to find out how teachers, ELC and CLD practitioners engage in impactful professional learning and the types of learning they prefer. “Teachers who are engaged in cycles of effective professional learning take greater responsibility for the learning of all students […] as they discover that their new professional knowledge and practice are having a positive impact on their students, they begin to feel more effective as teachers” (Timperley, 2008). If we can improve the quality of professional learning delivered, this will impact on the self-efficacy and practice of teachers which in turn will impact on the learning of children and young people. We also understand that teacher learning occurs at different layers and various levels.

Teachers’ perceptions and needs shift over different phases in their careers as their own professional experience, confidence and identity evolves. The Strategic Board for Teacher Education is developing a Framework for Teacher Education and Development that recognises this and identifies the specific needs, expectations and entitlements that will enrich as well as enable individuals to deepen and extend their contribution to and roles in education. In addition, it is envisaged that structured support may help to reduce early attrition and career dissatisfaction.

One of the findings from the Scottish Government’s 2023 consultation on the use of data for improvement is that more needs to be done (at both national and local levels) to ensure that improvement activity is informed by the relevant data, and to support education professionals in their capacity to interpret and use data for the purpose of improvement.

Insight is the benchmarking tool for analysing attainment data in the senior phase, accessible by secondary schools and local authorities. The value of Insight and the potential to enhance it was specifically referenced in the 2021 Muir report.

Frontline support in the use of Insight (provided free of charge to schools and local authorities via the Insight Professional Advisor) receives extremely positive feedback about the support provided, and it remains in high demand. During school session 2023/24, the Advisor delivered support sessions to over 30% of Scottish secondary schools. In addition, a number of other schools will have had the opportunity to attend Local Authority based Insight support sessions.

What we will do to deliver

• We will work with local government partners and stakeholders to improve teacher recruitment and retention, offering local government £186.5m if they agree to restore and maintain teacher numbers at 2023 levels, freeze learning hours and make meaningful progress with reducing teacher class contact time
• HMIE will publish features and approaches that are highly effective to help build capacity and support improvement in practice.
• HMIE will ensure all new inspection frameworks place a strong emphasis on the quality of learning, teaching, and assessment.
• We are investing in a programme of work to support early intervention in speech, language and communication for young children and their families.
• Our commitment to an improved curriculum and reformed approach to qualifications and assessment will create a more engaging and inclusive learning experience over time helping to increase standards of attainment and achievement.
• Education Scotland will work collaboratively with partners to build capacity in the education workforce through provision of professional learning in response to key legislation, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 and the Equality Act (2010), current trends and policy development linked to rights-based approaches, gender equality and gender-based violence, LGBT inclusive education, anti-racist education, and the prevention of prejudice and hate crime.”
• Subject to the successful passage of the budget we are investing an additional £29 million in ASL from 25/26. This will include support for national and local programmes to support the retention of the ASN workforce. We will continue to implement the principles of the Morgan review. The updated ASL Action Plan and Progress report was published on 4 November 2024 and identified 3 key priorities for the next phase of work – a refresh of the ASL Code of Practice, Communications, and the National Measurement Framework.
• We are committed to updating the Code of Practice to ensure that it fully supports schools and local authorities to fulfil their duties under the 2004 Act.
• We will produce a national measurement framework to:
  • Ensure there are high aspirations and ambitions for children and young people with identified ASNs, ensuring they achieve their maximum learning potential
  • Celebrate achievement of children and young people with identified ASNs, including those with the most complex needs, and ensure visibility and parity of all achievements
  • Provide a consistent ‘share and compare’ approach for LAs, supporting improvement and progress within Inclusion sector
• Provide data and evidence (moving to consistent data and evidence) to help inform decision making for LAs and nationally
• Provide parity of supports for all education sectors across Scotland.
• The work on the Code of Practice and National Measurement Framework will be phased and iterative with phase 1 drawing together existing data in one place) being delivered by the end of 2025. Phase 2 and 3, which will look at the more nuanced data, will be delivered after this. We will also be developing a communications strategy on ASL as part of the next phase of work.
• We are committed to reducing inequalities from the earlier years. To ensure that children’s additional support needs are met and that they do not present a barrier to them accessing the full range of experiences in funded early learning and childcare, the Scottish Government will collaborate with local authorities and providers of funded ELC to develop a full understanding of how local authorities support partner providers to meet the needs of children with ASN, including children with complex needs, and consider further actions in this area. In response to the Audit Scotland report on progress of delivery of the 1,140 hours expansion of ELC, published on 1 June 2023, we will also seek to understand the extent to which children with ASN are not accessing funded ELC, the reasons for this, and the level of any unmet needs.
• We know that it is important for all children to experience high-quality play pedagogy, and we will work with Local Authorities on the alignment of RtA across the early level Curriculum for Excellence.
• Education Scotland will design and deliver cohort based national leadership professional learning programmes for educator leadership, middle leadership and system leadership continually updating and refreshing based on learning and evaluation.
• Education Scotland will support bespoke continuous improvement on leadership, professional learning, teaching and assessment, meeting learning needs and curriculum consistent with expectations of reform across 32 local authorities
• In recognising the importance of a thriving teaching profession, we are establishing a Centre for Teaching Excellence with the University of Glasgow, filling a critical gap in support for teachers linking research and evidence to their practice.
• It will ensure a better supported profession, armed with the latest research on teaching practices, that supports high quality teaching and helps our children and young people thrive.
• In the second half of session 24/25 joint work between the Insight Advisor and Education Scotland Attainment Advisors will look to develop awareness and usage of the Insight tool across schools. This will focus on intelligent use of the data, going beyond common accountability measures. On-line webinars and podcasts are also planned as part of a “universal offer” aimed in the first instance in enhancing data literacy amongst school leadership teams.
• Scottish Government will liaise with local government to ensure that information on Gaelic Medium Education (GME) pupils is recorded accurately, including for secondary.
• Scottish Government will work with local government and other partners to ensure that data on subject availability and pupil uptake across GME settings in Scotland is robustly captured and maintained, including for digital learning offers/platforms.
• Building on the Gaelic elements included in the Into Headship programme and the CPD in Gaelic and GME provided through Education Scotland, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Stòrlann and by individual local authorities, we will work with local government and professional learning providers to ensure that teaching staff across Scotland are supported in using Career Long Professional learning (CLPL) to access these and other resources, including to support leadership for Gaelic and Gaelic positive ethos.
• SG will work with Education Scotland and our Gaelic Bodies and partners to improve access to and uptake of Gaelic language support for teachers and CLPL for immersion techniques for working in Gaelic Medium Education settings.
• SG will work with Education Scotland, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Stòrlann and local authorities to maximise the availability and accessibility of Gaelic Medium materials and learning resources that are up to date and relevant to the needs of young people, including through GLOW and other portals used by GME and Gaelic language staff and pupils.

The Centre will enable teachers to develop their pedagogical expertise through critical reflection and research in an easily digestible format to support improvement. It will work with teachers to develop stronger coherence and connection between research and evidence, particularly as developed in an academic context, and teaching practice in Scotland.

How we will measure progress

The University of Glasgow as the host of the Centre for Teaching Excellence will be required to carry out monitoring and evaluation work as part of its remit.

Education Scotland will track the number of participants on the Leading Professional Learning programme compared to 2023/24, and will evaluate the impact of the learning on participants and their practice.

Education Scotland will also track the number of participants engaging in cohort-based leadership learning through programmes. the number of educators engaging in open access leadership offers via Education Scotland (including webpage views and completed submissions) and will carry out an evaluation of the impact of this learning on the participants and their practice.

We will use the evidence from HMIE inspections to assess the quality of learning, teaching and assessment.