Gathering views on probationer teachers' readiness to teach

Introduction

The National Improvement Framework (2016) states the central principle of education in Scotland to "create a more successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth". This is premised on meeting the needs and aspirations of children, families and communities, enabling all to fulfil their potential, closing the poverty-related attainment gap, striving for excellence in our education system and increasing sustainable economic growth.

This aspiration for Scottish education builds on and references the recommendations of Teaching Scotland's Future (2010) with its ambition to continue to invest in a highly professional and skilled workforce to support children's progress and attainment.

The current key priorities for the National Improvement Framework are:

• Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy
• Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children
• Improvement in children and young people's health and wellbeing
• Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people.

The key drivers of improvement are:

• School leadership
• Teacher professionalism
• Parental engagement
• Assessment of children's progress
• School improvement
• Performance information.

Source: National Improvement Framework 2016

These six key drivers provide a focus and structure for gathering key evidence to inform the improvement agenda within the education system. Each key driver is equally important and all are interconnected to support continuous improvement.