Education Reform Programme Board minutes - April 2024

Attendees and apologies

Attendees

• Clare Hicks (CH)
• Lisa Bird (LB)
• Adam Reid (AR)
• Chris Dunne (CD)
• Lesley Whelan (LW)
• Janie McManus (JM)
• Michael Baxter (MB)
• Sheena Devlin (SD)
• Laura Caven (LC)
• Elizabeth Morrison (EM)
• Sarah Hart (SH)
• Ruth Jays (RJ)
• Jaxon Parish (JP)
• Sean Stronach (SS)

Apologies

• Fiona Robertson (FR)
• Gillian Hamilton (GH)
• Shirley Laing (SL)
• Jayne Scott (JS)
• Graeme Logan (GL)
• Kieran Watson (KW)

PMO

• Gillian Winters (GW)
• Pauline Hendry (PH)
• Rachel Elder (RE)

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions

CH welcomed members to the second meeting of the Programme Board and noted apologies received.

Previous actions

The Minutes of the previous meeting were shared with members on 7 March, with comments requested by close of play on 20 March. No comments were received, and the Minutes are now considered approved.

Six actions were raised at the inaugural Programme Board. Five have been closed and one remained open:

PMO to share the consultation analysis report with Programme Board members prior to publication – Ongoing, publication of the report is imminent and will be shared with Programme Board as soon as possible.

Members queried the closed action relating to Body Implementation Projects, in which Clare had confirmed she was happy to discuss the arrangements for these projects with Chief Executives at any stage. It was noted that further discussions were underway within teams to agree scope and workplans.

Forward look

High level milestones

The Chair presented the high-level milestone map which set out the strategic direction for the programme and current areas of focus.

The revised governance meetings are now in operation as set out in the ‘below the line’ paper – Governance Meetings Forward Look. It was noted that the inaugural meeting of the New Qualifications Body Transition Board will take place on Tuesday 23 April.

Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment (IRQA) response

The Chair referred to the Cabinet Secretary’s intention to take the Government’s response to Parliament in the coming weeks.

The Board highlighted a risk in the timing of the IRQA response and introduction of the Education (Scotland) Bill coinciding with the exam diet. The Chair acknowledged the sensitivities and the importance of communication that ensures continued confidence in the system.

Action: Scottish Government to alert Programme Board members in advance of publication of the IRQA response.

Education (Scotland) Bill update

The Chair updated the Board on the progress of the Education (Scotland) Bill.

It was confirmed that the Financial Memorandum for the Bill only relates to the direct costs associated with the legislation. The Chair recognised that many parts of reform, including the new Agency are not subject to legislation and that full financial consideration of reform will continue. The commitment to public sector reform provides an opportunity to explore long term financial sustainability of the new bodies.

Communication regarding the introduction of the Education Bill will be shared with members when possible.

Regional events

The Cabinet Secretary will be hosting a series of regional events for secondary headteachers in May and June. The dates and locations of these are as follows:

May 20th, Regional Performance Centre, Dundee

June 3rd, Drumchapel High School, Glasgow

June 17th, Castlebrae Community High School, Edinburgh

The events will provide an opportunity for the Cabinet Secretary to set out her vision and next steps for education reform, with a specific focus on curriculum and qualifications. Education Scotland and SQA will each lead a tabletop exercise at the events.

It is intended that these events will be followed by events for primary headteachers later in the year.

Additional discussion

It was noted that the Board did not currently include representation from young people. The Chair confirmed that the learner voice is represented in other forums across the programme. For example, the Transition Board for the new Qualifications body will have representation from Young Scot.

Project Steering and Assurance Group update

The Programme Director gave an overview of the recent meeting, drawing attention to Paper 3 which was shared with the Board in advance.

There was a discussion on resourcing and sequencing of activity, and the intention to provide more information on expected outputs. This was welcomed by the Board. Dependencies are noted for most projects and further information on dependencies between projects will be shared. Members noted that the planned schedule for setting up the new agency in particular looked ambitious.

The Programme Director welcomed the feedback which will help inform next steps. Programme delivery plans are being defined, which will inform Project Initiation Documents (PIDs). These will be shared with Board members when updated. It was noted that the PIDs will provide further granular information on timescales and resourcing.

The Delivery Manager talked through the range of projects. Finalisation of detailed planning work will draw out dependencies across thematic and new body implementation projects and the wider reform agenda. Project risk registers will identify and manage project level risk. This will provide greater clarity on the totality of the work, project interdependencies and project level risk.

The Chair indicated that she particularly welcomed the Board’s perspectives on interdependencies across the system and capacity for delivering change. The Chair reiterated her offer to hold bilateral conversations with Board members as the work progresses.

Action: PMO to share delivery plans and PIDs with Programme Board members when updated.

The Centre for Teaching Excellence specification is due to be finalised at the end of July. It was noted that teachers are unlikely to available at this time. This was acknowledged by the Chair.

It was noted that while projects may be ranked as green in terms of their delivery status, it is important to recognise that work is still required to provide clarity and ensure engagement with staff in the existing bodies who will be affected by the changes.

Programme risk

The Programme Manager gave a brief overview of Paper 4 which was shared with the Board in advance.

The Board were asked for contributions regarding any significant risks not already captured, as well as any mitigating actions not listed.

Members noted that there are many layers to the Finance risk, namely a broad programme level risk, as well as resourcing, transition, transformational and future operating costs aspects. Mitigating actions to combat this risk include ensuring adequate resourcing for the Finance thematic project, including securing a specialist finance role; finalising the scoping and resourcing of projects; assessment of the scope and running costs of the new bodies; and the development of business cases, including evidence based economic viability projections for the new bodies.

It was noted that the finance risk is not delaying any project work at present. If work is delayed, then issues/exceptions may be raised through established governance channels

Members expressed a desire for greater clarity and understanding around finance and funding. The prioritisation of business case work will help this, including financial modelling and informing the definition of budget approaches.

Action: CD to reflect on the Finance risk and consider the comments made around the layers/categories noted and update risk accordingly.

Action: A deep dive into issues related to the programme level finance risk could be brought to the Programme Board later in the year.

Any other business

The Chair thanked the Board for their contributions and closed the meeting. The next meeting will take place on 5 June 2024.