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

2. Which aspects of the relevant proposal currently affects or will affect children and young people up to the age of 18?

'Direct' impact refers to policies/measures where children and young people are directly affected by the proposed changes, e.g. in early years, education, child protection or looked after children (children in care).

'Indirect' impact refers to policies/measures that are not directly aimed at children but will have an impact on them. Examples include: welfare reforms, parental leave, housing supply, or local transport schemes.

The policy to reform the education system will have a direct impact on children and young people as follows:

• improved understanding and support of CfE amongst parents and carers;
• opportunities for all learners that are appropriate for their achievement potential;
• reduced inequality and unwarranted variation;
• increased influence for learners 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 academic and non-academic qualifications and awards;
• consistent experience for learners across both BGE and Senior Phase; and
• 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.

The indirect impact on children and young people will be:-

• improved clarity and collective understanding of the impact of CfE, and areas for improvement across all stakeholders;
• services will better meet user and societal needs; and
• a more coherent and self-improving system.