Curriculum for Excellence review: implementation framework

OECD Implementation Framework

The following sets out the key next steps and actions from the OECD's report and Professor Stobart's working paper. These will be led and further developed by Scottish Government with Partners: Scottish Education Council and Children and Young People's Education Council, Curriculum and Assessment Board, Strategic Board for Teacher Education, Education Scotland and SQA. Notwithstanding Professor Muir's ongoing work, the expertise in Education Scotland and the SQA will continue to be needed in support of this and other ongoing work until such time that a successor body/bodies are in place to fulfil these functions. A key principle underpinning all of the work will be to embed throughout it the empowerment agenda, working in collaboration with teachers, practitioners, children and young people and parents and carers.

Theme: Re-assess the vision of CfE

OECD Recommendations

1.1. Re-assess CfE's aspirational vision against emerging trends in education

1.3. Adapt the Senior Phase to match the vision of CfE

2.3. Structure a coherent communication strategy to support developments of CfE

3.4. Develop a systematic approach to curriculum review

4.1 Adopt a structured and long-term approach to implementation

Key next steps and initial actions

Convene and facilitate dialogue to re-visit and assess the 2019 refreshed narrative for Scotland's curriculum. This will be informed by user feedback, Professor Muir's consultation, and learning from the pandemic.

This work will support initial considerations for development of a review cycle for the curriculum (including the four capacities and the eight curricular areas), as set out in recommendation 3.4. These reviews will take account of the OECD commentary on areas such as the role of knowledge and skills.

This work will also help shape work on the alignment of assessment and qualifications.

Co-create a new communications strategy for Curriculum for Excellence with teachers, practitioners, children and young people, and parents/carers.

Timing

November 2021 to March 2022

Beginning April 2022

By Autumn 2022

Theme: Clarify roles and responsibilities

OECD Recommendations

2.1. Ensure stable, purposeful and impactful stakeholder involvement with CfE

2.2. Revise the division of responsibilities for CfE

3.2. Simplify policies and institutions for clarity and coherence

4.1 Adopt a structured and long-term approach to implementation

Key next steps and initial actions

Professor Muir's work will clarify roles and responsibilities in relation to the functions of Education Scotland and SQA, and their relationship to the education system as a whole.

Further to this, work will be undertaken to agree the division of responsibilities for CfE, including responsibilities for its strategic direction and on-going review.

This will include the central role and importance of empowering schools, teachers, practitioners and children and young people.

Establish the Children and Young People's Education Council with the right support, input and expertise to ensure it is an exemplar of practice in engaging children and young people in policy development, and can contribute effectively as a key part of education governance in Scotland.

Consider what further activities are needed to ensure that we are able to explore and understand the views of a wider selection of children and young people in Scotland through survey and similar techniques.

Timing

Findings available in early 2022

Early 2022 onwards

Established early 2022

October 2021 to January 2022, with activity to take place before the end of the academic year

Theme: Align assessment and qualifications

OECD Recommendations

1.2. Find a better balance between breadth and depth of learning throughout CfE

1.3. Adapt the Senior Phase to match the vision of CfE

3.3. Align curriculum, qualifications and system evaluation to deliver on the commitment of Building the Curriculum 5

and

Professor Stobart's Analysis

Key next steps and initial actions

Develop a shared purpose and principles for Scotland's assessment and qualifications system.

Develop proposals and recommendations for how the design of the current system could be changed in order to realise the shared vision.

Detailed plans will be developed as needed for design, development and delivery of new qualifications.

The advice set out in Building the Curriculum 5 and in other relevant sources will be reviewed and updated as necessary.

We remain committed to teacher professional judgement as the means of assessing progress in the BGE, and will consider how we can better support that and the Achievement of CfE Levels data in future. National standardised assessments will continue to have a role to play in this. We will also explore options for a sample-survey based approach to assessing progress across the four CfE capacities (see below). This work will be informed by the planned consultation on possible changes to the National Improvement Framework measures of progress.

Revised measures of progress and proposals for supporting teacher professional judgement and system evaluation will be included in the National Improvement Framework from December 2022 onwards.

Timing

November 2021 to February 2022

February 2022 to August 2022

Subsequent detailed design of new qualifications will take place between September 2022 and August 2024.

The annual review of the National Improvement Framework is underway and the 2022 NIF and Improvement Plan will be published in December 2021.

A short-life sub-group of the Curriculum and Assessment Board will be established in January 2022 to explore options for a sample-based survey and better support for teacher professional judgement and provide recommendations by March 2022.

The consultation on changes to the NIF measures will begin in January 2022 and conclude in September 2022.

Theme: Increase curriculum development capacity

OECD Recommendations

1.4. Continue building curricular capacity at various levels of the system using research

3.1. Provide dedicated time to lead, plan and support CfE at the school level

Key next steps and initial actions

Take in to account the forthcoming Regional Improvement Collaboratives' review and consider their current activities around enhancing curricular design capability.

Develop and agree next steps to further school empowerment with teachers, practitioners and other stakeholders.

Review the current role of measures and indicators associated with Curriculum for Excellence with a view to ensuring an appropriate balance between quality assurance and improvement within learning with sustainable workloads for teachers.

Work with the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) to agree how the commitment to reduce class contact time for teachers by 90 minutes per week will be delivered.

Work with local government to deliver the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party's shared policy programme commitment to recruit 3,500 additional teachers and 500 classroom assistants over this parliamentary term.

Evaluate current support and access for teachers and practitioners to professional development for curriculum design and development.

Review and clarify current national guidance on breadth and depth of learning. Exemplify good practice in the ways in which different schools achieve breadth and depth of learning across their curriculum, which meets the needs and aspirations of learners.

Timing

Beginning December 2021 to June 2022

Early 2022 onwards

This will be taken forward as part of the evaluation system work below.

Discussions ongoing

From January 2022

From January 2022

From January 2022

Theme: Agree measurement and evaluation approach

OECD Recommendations

2.1. Ensure stable, purposeful and impactful stakeholder involvement with CfE

2.3. Structure a coherent communication strategy to support developments of CfE

3.4. Develop a systematic approach to curriculum review

4.1. Adopt a structured and long-term approach to implementation

Key next steps and initial actions

The data and research required to inform an evaluation system and to support the systematic approach to curriculum review will be explored, via an evaluation of existing measures and an assessment of a requirement of any new data and measures.

Specifically, we will establish a short-life sub-group of the Curriculum and Assessment Board to explore options for introducing a sample-based survey with the potential to gather data across the four capacities and how this would align with the data we collect at present. The sub-group will be specifically tasked with considering the workload implications for staff of any potential survey.

As with the action in response to 3.3 above, this work will be informed by the planned consultation on possible changes to the National Improvement Framework measures of progress.

The outcome of this work will be reflected in the National Improvement Framework from December 2022 onwards.

Communications and stakeholder involvement strategies will be refreshed, including as part of the new communications strategy for Curriculum for Excellence, above.

We will consult with the Teacher Panel and other stakeholders about how to strengthen and expand the role of the Teacher Panel, and teacher and head teacher voice, in relation to this and the range of other work in this framework, linking with the empowerment agenda.

Timing

February to September 2022

As above, the short-life sub-group will be established in January 2022 and asked to make recommendations by March 2022.

The consultation on NIF measures will run from February to September 2022.

Early 2022 onwards