Education (Scotland) Bill: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

12. Positive impact: Giving better or further effect to children's rights in Scotland

The objectives of the Bill are to provide the legal underpinning to support the design and delivery of a national organisational infrastructure for education in Scotland that more effectively supports the system, to deliver the vision for education in Scotland. It is part of a broader programme which will support desirable revisions to and simplifying where possible, the articulation of the 3-18 Curriculum for Excellence, so that it is as widely shared and understood as possible; and have in place a system which supports a coherent learner journey, within which curriculum and assessment are aligned at all levels.

The outcomes to be achieved by the Bill are intended to have a positive impact on children and young people by providing:

• improved understanding and support of CfE amongst parents and carers;
• opportunities for all learners that are appropriate for their achievement potential;
• increased inclusion, reduced inequality and reduced variation in attainment;
• increased influence for children and young people in the decisions that affect their education;
• consistent experience across all elements and stages of education;
• continued strong support for Scotland's education system and philosophy within Scotland, the UK and internationally, which will lead to opportunities for Scotland's young people;
• a high-quality education system for the current and next generation of all learners;
• greater parity of esteem across qualifications and awards;
• consistent experience for learners across both Broad General Education and Senior Phase delivered in secondary school and other educational settings;
• clear, consistent and accessible use of data and evidence to support discussions and decisions on learning, supported by a revised Insight tool, with appropriate data sharing arrangements embedded with the operations of the new organisations:
• improve clarity and collective understanding of the impact of CfE, and areas for improvement across all stakeholders;
• deliver services that will better meet user and societal needs;
• provide a more coherent and self-improving system; and
• ensure Gaelic Medium Education is represented and catered for.

Qualifications Scotland

The role of Qualifications Scotland will be to design, assess for, award and accredit different types of qualifications to meet the needs of learners, their aspirations and support their lifelong learning journey. The attainment of qualifications can support children and young people's progression into further and higher education, the workplace, enhance their life skills, as well as supporting their mental health and wellbeing through the recognition of achievement and success. The establishment of Qualifications Scotland seeks to ensure Articles 28, 29 and 30 of the UNCRC are supported, whilst also creating robust opportunities for children and young people to have their views and voices heard under Article 12. The Scottish Government believes that the establishment of Qualifications Scotland with new mechanisms which will significantly strengthen the involvement of learners and stakeholders, is in the best interests of children and young people. We do not anticipate any negative impacts on their rights and wellbeing.

Inspectorate of Education in Scotland

The role of inspection is vital in Scottish education. Inspections aim to improve the quality of experience and outcomes for children, young people and adult learners. Gathering the views of children and young people is an important aspect in the carrying out of inspection, predominantly by supporting learner participation through its inspection practices - Article 28 and Article 29 underpin this work. Given the aims of education reform and the consultations carried out by Professor Ken Muir and later the Scottish Government, the Scottish Government believes that the establishment of a new independent inspectorate is in the best interests of children and young people.