The aim of the Government’s education policy is to achieve excellence and equity for all our children and young people in a high-performing education system. To make that a reality, we must raise the bar for all and close the attainment gap in our schools.
Our education system is already delivering improving results. For the third year in a row, we have seen more than 150,000 higher passes, despite falling pupil numbers, and nearly 60,000 skills-based awards and achievements. We have seen the proportion of young people who get qualifications at Scottish credit and qualifications framework levels 4, 5 and 6—mainly national 4s, national 5s and highers—increase, and it is increasing fastest in the most deprived areas. Almost 23 per cent of school leavers in the most deprived areas are going into higher education compared with 16.5 per cent seven years ago.
International evidence demonstrates that successful education systems are those in which decisions about our children’s education are made as close to them as possible. That is why our approach is to empower schools—to empower headteachers, teachers, parents and the wider school community—to make key decisions that will affect the educational outcomes of children and young people. We set that out in our manifesto, in saying that we will
“put teachers, parents and communities in the driving seat”.
We have a great many high-quality professionals working in Scottish education, but they are not currently sufficiently empowered to work together and to use their skills, judgment and creativity in the way that they think best. It is critical that they can do so to ensure that the potential of curriculum for excellence is achieved.
Empowered professionals must also be supported by specific measures in the national improvement framework to secure improvements in Scottish education. The combination of the Scottish attainment challenge and pupil equity funding is already delivering results by empowering the teaching profession. Teachers and headteachers are taking radical, focused and innovative approaches to improve outcomes because that funding puts them in the driving seat.
The interim evaluation of the attainment Scotland fund showed that 78 per cent of headteachers had seen an improvement in attainment and wellbeing as a result of the fund and that nearly all headteachers—97 per cent—expected to see further improvements in the coming five years.
Some people say that all of that is progress enough and that the system does not need further interventions from the Government; some people say that many schools enjoy the empowerment that our reforms aim for and that great work is being done in a number of areas—and it is. In other words, some people say that children and young people have got the education system that they need and that some of them will reach their potential. However, it is simply not good enough that some children will reach their potential. We must raise the bar and close the gap for all.
A year ago, we published “Education Governance: Next Steps—Empowering Our Teachers, Parents and Communities to Deliver Excellence and Equity for Our Children”. Since then, significant progress has been made. We have worked intensively with local government to reach agreement on regional improvement collaboratives to provide additional support to schools. All six regional improvement collaboratives are up and running, their leaderships are appointed and they are collaborating with Education Scotland to respond to local needs and aspirations. The first set of regional improvement plans has been developed, and the second set of plans is due in September. All of that has been achieved at a pace that would previously have been thought highly unlikely—if not impossible—as a result of creative joint working between national and local government.
“Education Governance: Next Steps” also committed the Scottish Government to working with partners to support readiness for a school and teacher-led system. That has led to a rationalisation of the existing structures and governance arrangements in Scottish education.
I chair the Scottish education council, which brings together young people, education leaders and representatives from local authorities, the teaching profession and our partners in the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. It works collaboratively to ensure that there is a system-wide focus on improvement and to agree priorities for improvement activity and delivery.
Education Scotland has taken significant action to deliver on its enhanced role and remit. The Scottish College for Educational Leadership is now integrated into Education Scotland, building further the culture and the capacity of leadership throughout the system.
Last November, we consulted on proposals to achieve empowerment through an education bill, which included proposals for a headteachers charter. Our aim is to ensure that schools have wide-ranging powers over their own management, staffing and what is taught in their classrooms, thereby creating a culture of empowerment that enables all professionals to contribute to the improvement agenda.
The consultation analysis, which was published in March, showed that a great many people agree whole-heartedly with our aim of school empowerment, although many were not convinced about all the details of how we planned to achieve that aim. Those voices raised the question of whether we could deliver the headteachers charter faster and with less disruption in partnership with local authorities. If we could, why should we wait 18 months for an education bill?
In the light of those responses, I have been in detailed discussions with local government for some months. The work has not always been easy, but I can announce that we have reached a clear, shared commitment. I am today fast-tracking the reform of Scottish education. The Scottish Government and Scotland’s councils have reached an agreement that endorses and embraces the principles of school empowerment and that provides clear commitment to a school and teacher-led education system—and it does so without the need to wait 18 months for an education bill.
Although I am publishing a draft education (Scotland) bill today, along with its accompanying documents and appropriate impact assessments, I have decided that I will not introduce the bill to Parliament at this time. Instead of waiting for the passing of legislation that cannot be fully in force until 2019 or 2020, we have an opportunity to reform our schools more quickly through investment in consensus building and collaboration rather than through legislation.
In coming to my decision, I have also reflected on the advice of the international council of education advisers, which encouraged me to consider the benefits of pursuing a collaborative approach instead of legislating. I have listened to that advice and have taken the view that, by building on the joint agreement with local government, we have greater prospects of achieving more at a swifter pace. That means that the headteachers charter can become a reality faster and that school leaders will be able to make more quickly key decisions on the areas of curriculum improvement, staffing and budget, which are crucial to ensuring effective learning and teaching. By implementing our agreement jointly with local government and the education profession, we can develop guidance on empowerment and the charter as a matter of priority and more quickly than statutory guidance under an education bill.
On budget powers, we have begun work with our local government partners on new guidance for devolved school management schemes.
We will also launch a joint action plan on parental engagement next month and will continue the work that has been started in this year of young people to enhance the voice of pupils in schools.
Finally, on the General Teaching Council for Scotland, we will explore what can be done within the scope of current legislation to provide the benefits of regulation and registration to a wider group of education professionals. I accept the strength of feeling among teachers about the body’s independence and its guardianship of professional standards.
By taking the steps that I have set out to the Parliament today, we are demonstrating a clear commitment to working with local government and education professionals. We are fast-tracking progress, and we expect that progress to be sustained and swift. However, I make it very clear that, if sufficient progress is not made over the next 12 months to deliver the empowerment of schools that we have agreed with local authorities, I will return to the Parliament and introduce an education bill.
The approach that I have set out today requires tailored and targeted support. I am therefore announcing a total of £46 million of investment to support the improvement agenda.
I am announcing further investment of up to £4 million over three years, in addition to existing leadership development programmes, to ensure that headteachers can access high-quality professional learning. That includes further investment in the highly regarded Columba 1400 leadership academies.
I am announcing funding of up to £10 million to enhance regional capacity to support schools. That funding, through regional improvement collaboratives and Education Scotland working together, will help schools to close the attainment gap and tackle rural deprivation, and it will support collaboration to share best practice and the delivery of regional interventions.
To ensure that we maintain progress on the opportunities that are available for looked-after children, I will make available funding of around £8 million for the remainder of this year and £12 million in each of the subsequent two years to supplement pupil equity funding and the challenge authorities and schools programme.
This Government believes that every child in Scotland, whatever their background, should have the very best start in life, and the landmark agreement that was published today marks the next phase in reforming our school education system. It means that reform can be delivered more quickly than by legislation. It means that we will empower teachers to drive improvement in schools and help pupils to flourish. It means that the whole system—schools, councils and regional improvement collaboratives—will be focused on improving the outcomes for Scotland’s children and young people. Teachers and parents will be the key decision makers in the life of a school.
Education remains by far the most effective means that we have to improve the life chances of all our young people. I am confident that this approach—one that builds consensus and fosters collaboration, with high expectations of what we can achieve together—is the right approach for Scotland.