All Learners in Scotland Matter - national discussion on education: final report

9.0 Coda

9.1 This report outlines the Vision, Values, and Call to Action that as independent facilitators, of the National Discussion in Scotland, we were asked to produce. The contents of this report are based solely on the responses received and heard as part of the National Discussion.

9.2 As noted earlier, the scale of response is unprecedented in the history of national engagements about Scottish education. We have listened to the voices of people across Scotland, including children and young people and the adults who parent, care for, and work with them. We have attempted to represent their views in this report honestly and faithfully.

9.3 We heard many concerns about whether the National Discussion would lead to genuine action and significant change. There is always a risk that reports, such as this, will be duly acknowledged and even celebrated but then not acted upon. We heard frustrations, cynicism, and anger, in some cases, about whether transformational educational reform, as recommended by the Muir Review, would be implemented in Scotland. We heard concerns about whether there would be a tendency to continue the status quo rather than embracing an opportunity for the entire system to do things differently to meet current and future needs for children and young people.

9.3 One thing is clear, and we cannot emphasise this enough, there is an overwhelming appetite for change - albeit the "right change" at the right pace with the right supports. There is an enthusiasm for ongoing engagement in discussions and action that make that change in Scottish Education a reality. It would be a huge, lost opportunity for Scottish education, therefore, if this groundswell of current support for educational improvement was lost, ignored, or side-lined. While we recognise that not every organisation, group, or individual will get the exact change that they want or desire, there are many areas of consensus and a genuine momentum within the Scottish education system to work towards a better future for every learner in Scotland.

9.4 The people of Scotland have spoken, and we have listened. So now it is time for action, most critically is time for the right action. We are not proposing that an avalanche of changes is imposed on the education system but rather that the National Discussion is viewed as a mandate for desired change that informs short-term, medium-term, and long-term actions. Change for change's sake serves no-one and inevitably generates instability and confusion within the system. We are very aware that the education system and the professionals working in it are stretched with current demands and resource constraints and we understand concerns about exhaustion, burnout, workload, work intensification, and working conditions. Hence, we are proposing that the pace of change needs to be realistic for quality implementation and sustainable improvement. This means changes cannot be frenetic but change also cannot be invisible or non-existent over the coming months and years. We heard about overdue and urgent changes needed. It is important to put in place carefully sequenced and adequately resourced improvements with time for consolidation over the short, medium, and long-term based on what we have outlined in the Call to Action.

9.5 It will be as important to build upon what is working in Scottish education and consolidating those aspects. In the National Discussion, we heard calls for follow through and implementation of changes already proposed and agreed in previous reviews or other educational decisions. There are potential quick wins with moving forward with these already agreed changes and improvements. In addition, it will be necessary to stop those activities that are clearly not having the expected return on investment and to deploy that resource productively elsewhere. Attention to removing activities that are time consuming but not beneficial is needed.

9.5 To be a true learning system means that every part of the system must be collectively responsible for innovation and improvement and accountable for every child. A learning system in Scotland will require all parts of the system to be actively engaged, committed, and included in deciding upon, designing, and implementing a future pathway of reforms for educational improvement. To be a learning system requires an openness, a transparency, and the skill of engaging all people involved in moving genuine improvement forward.

9.6 Ultimately, as we heard clearly in the National Discussion, the education system is fundamentally about people and relationships. Human-centred educational improvement requires an approach which values and includes all involved and affected – children and young people at the centre, education professionals and related staff leading they way with their expertise and judgement and supported in a culture and conditions that value their work, and parents/carers and communities actively engaged in educational improvements to achieve an ambitious, inclusive, and supportive future Scottish education system. This will require synergies between central and local government, more collaborative engagements, a willingness to actively hear and respond to alternative views, positions, and ideas, and the use of research and evidence as well as professional expertise to inform and evaluate changes.

9.7 We remain hugely impressed by the scale, scope, and impact of this National Discussion. It has been the privilege of our lives to be part of it and we feel very fortunate to have had such an opportunity.

9.8 We submit this report to Scottish Government and COSLA and ask that they take forward the Vision, Values, and Call to Action based on what we heard from the children, young people, adults, and organisations right across the Scottish education system and from related services and communities. In this report, we uphold the voices of all participants in the National Discussion and offer these voices as a mandate for the future vision, values, and actions for improvements within Scottish education. We will be watching with great interest and hoping that the changes that will unfold across the Scottish system will ensure, both now and in the future, that 'All Learners in Scotland Matter'.