Current status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 21 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the consistency with which digital literacy and online safety expectations are being delivered across Scotland’s schools and local authorities, and what measures it uses to assess whether children and young people are acquiring the skills intended through that provision.
The associated headteacher questionnaire as part of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Results 2025 indicate that pupils in Scotland attended schools where headteachers agreed or strongly agreed that teachers had the necessary skills to integrate digital devices into teaching (64.9%) and that professional learning resources were available to support teachers in using digital devices (68.7%). Around three quarters of pupils (77.8%) attended schools where an effective online learning platform was available, while two thirds (66.9%) attended schools where headteachers agreed that the curriculum supported the effective use of digital devices.
The ongoing Curriculum Improvement Cycle, led by Education Scotland, is considering the skills, knowledge and understanding that children and young people will be required to develop, including in relation to Digital Skills and how this should be managed as a crucial element of the updated curriculum. This work has been co-created with a group of practitioners and stakeholders and will help improve learning and teaching in digital literacy.
Our schools can have a key role in ensuring children and young people are safe, resilient and equipped to respond to the challenges and opportunities that the internet brings. At the core of this learning is the values of healthy, safe and respectful relationships, including those that take place online. Education Scotland have provided guidance on digilearn.scot for teachers on what digital skills they should have and what digital skills learners should be developing in the Teacher and learner digital toolkits. They have developed a Teacher and Educator Digital Skills toolkits to help develop a baseline of digital skills. The toolkits support the GTCS professional standards which require all teachers to know how to embed digital technologies safely and effectively to enhance learning and teaching.