Scottish Government literacy and curriculum guidance for schools in Scotland: FOI release

Information requested

1. An account of the extent to which the primary school curriculum in state-funded schools in Scotland is dictated, given guidelines and given recommendations by the Scottish Government.

2. An account of the extent to which the primary school curriculum in all schools in Scotland regardless of relationship with the state is dictated, given guidelines and given recommendations by the Scottish Government.

3. An account of whether currently active directives, guidelines and recommendations to primary schools in Scotland encourage language learning through the ‘whole language learning’ model, the ‘phonics’ model, both, neither, and the extent of either.

4. Copies of all directives and guidance documents issued by the Scottish Government since 2020, to schools directly or to higher authorities that oversee schools, that reference the teaching of literacy to children.

Response

Question 1)

An account of the extent to which the primary school curriculum in state-funded schools in Scotland is dictated, given guidelines and given recommendations by the Scottish Government.

Answer 1)

Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) provides a broad framework within which educators are empowered to provide learning and teaching experiences that best suit the needs of individual learners and the context of their school. This means that the detail of the school-level curriculum is at the discretion of local authorities and individual schools to determine. While there are certain aspects which are generally common to all schools and authorities (such as the eight curricular areas and the use/application of the framework of “experiences and outcomes”) – and while these comprise a framework of guidance which schools operate within, government does not dictate or mandate the detailed content.

A link to the refresh of the curriculum narrative from 2019 which outlines the why, what and how of Scotland’s Curriculum as agreed by all main partners on the Curriculum and Assessment Board can be found here: Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence (scotlandscurriculum.scot).

Question 2)

An account of the extent to which the primary school curriculum in all schools in Scotland regardless of relationship with the state is dictated, given guidelines and given recommendations by the Scottish Government.

Answer 2)

The answer to question 1 provides a summary of the guidance provided on Curriculum for Excellence which will typically be utilised by state schools in Scotland.

Independent schools in Scotland have the freedom to choose their educational approach, including which curriculum they want to follow. This can include CfE for which Education Scotland provides a range of guidance to support curriculum design, and alternatives like GCSE/A levels or the International and Scottish Baccalaureate. Information on the educational approach taken by each independent school can be found by contacting the relevant school. Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Question 3)

An account of whether currently active directives, guidelines and recommendations to primary schools in Scotland encourage language learning through the ‘whole language learning’ model, the ‘phonics’ model, both, neither, and the extent of either.

Answer 3)

Head teachers and teachers are empowered to make the decisions on pedagogy and approach, in liaison with their local authority, to ensure that they are meeting the needs of their pupils. However, in that context, Education Scotland, as the national education agency, provides a range of guidance, access to resources and information across a range of education matters. In relation to phonics, we approachedEducation Sco tland for a contribution to this response and they provided the following:

“Education Scotland endorses the use of systematic approaches to teaching phonics in order to support children to learn to decode words in the early stages of learning to read. This is part of an overall approach which is learner-centred and allows teachers to work with learners to support reading for pleasure and to choose the approaches and interventions that are best suited to the needs of individual learners.

The skill of decoding is foundational to learning to read and it is important that systematic phonics approaches are used in Scotland’s schools to support young children to develop this skill. Education Scotland and local education authorities continue to work with educators at all levels of the system to share understanding of research-informed approaches to Early Reading, to enhance teachers’ access to research-informed support and to facilitate professional learning in order to improve early reading pedagogies.”

Education Scotland’s “Developing Skills for Reading” provides the relevant guidance to local authorities and schools and includes a section called “Implementation of phonic approaches”. This guidance is available at: https://education.gov.scot/resources/learning-to-read-in-the-early-years-a-professionalsupport-overview/ 

Question 4)

Copies of all directives and guidance documents issued by the Scottish Government since 2020, to schools directly or to higher authorities that oversee schools, that reference the teaching of literacy to children.

Answer 4)

Scottish Government does not issue directives to schools or higher education authorities on this issue, however Education Scotland, the Scottish Education agency, provides relevant guidance as well as national and regional support to practitioners. One way that they do this is by developing guidance and sets of resources, including professional learning such as webinars and access to a range of networks for practitioners.

As referenced in the answer to Question 3, in relation to early reading and literacy, in February 2024 Education Scotland published an Early Reading Professional Support Overview followed by a number of Professional Learning Resources from March to June 2024. This guidance provides the basis for future support to educators who support children and young people to learn to read, in particular those working in Primary Schools and Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings. It will also support staff to interpret Scotland’s curriculum guidance and support research-informed decisions for learning and teaching.

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The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.