Education Reform – “the views of teachers will be key to Scotland’s education reform journey”.
With the publication of the ‘All Learners in Scotland Matter’ and ‘It’s Our Future’ reports, Jenny Gilruth MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills said, “the views of teachers will be key to Scotland’s education reform journey”. The Cabinet Secretary has asked all schools to provide opportunities to engage teachers at the in-service days in August as most secondary school teachers have only had a limited, if any, involvement in the process. It is expected that all schools will prepare suitable amounts of time for meaningful discussions that have the potential to have a major impact on the future of Scottish education. Correspondence on behalf of Jenny Gilruth MSP Cab Sec for Education and Skills
Please see the links to the reports below.
It’s Our Future: Report of the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment
Professor Louise Hayward’s final report on qualifications and assessment has been welcomed by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills https://www.gov.scot/news/hayward-review-published/
Key recommendations of the Hayward report on the reform of the senior school phase include:
- the Scottish Diploma of Achievement as a graduation certificate for all senior phase educational settings
- the end of exams in S4 and a wider range of assessment methods used in Highers and Advanced Highers
- a digital profile for all learners which allows them to record personal achievements, identify and plan future learning.
The Full report can be found here.
All Learners in Scotland Matter – national discussion on education: summary report
The Muir Review ‘Putting Learners at the Centre: Towards a Future Vision for Scottish Education’ recommended a National Discussion to establish a compelling, consensual and renewed vision for the future of Scottish education. This was undertaken by independent facilitators and commenced work in July 2022. The report provided an overview of the National Discussion and outlined the vision, values, and the high-level Call to Action (C2A) based upon all the evidence collected. The overarching theme is Educating Our Future supported by four inter-related components: Learners and Learning, A Learning System, Digital Futures and Human-Centred Educational Improvement.
The action point related to Educating Our Future is as follows:
Educating Our Future requires a Scottish education system that is proactive, flexible, integrated, and upholds the rights of all children and young people. A future Scottish Education system will offer high-quality teaching and learning, different learner pathways, alternative routes to success, and a range of appropriate assessments that reflect the unique talents of each learner, supports their ambitions, and meet the needs of a changing world.
The full report can be found here.
Scottish Teachers’ Pension Schemes’ Consultation
This consultation is seeking views on draft regulations to implement the retrospective phase of the 2015 remedy. The Regulations are part of a package of measures to address the age discrimination that was identified by the Courts in the transitional protections afforded to some scheme members in public service pension schemes. Please note the consultation runs from 23 May 2023 until 23 July 2023.
The Scottish Teachers’ Pension Schemes’ Consultation on implementing the 2015 Remedy is available here
STUC Education Programme – Teaching Resource
The STUC has developed a ‘Cost Of Living Political Education Course’. The Course links through to the Padlet materials, all of which are online here.
All materials are free and can be adapted by teachers. If interested in having the course in your workplace or community, please see link: https://forms.office.com/e/swaYaWnpFE
STUC Trans Equality Guidance
This guide has been developed by the Scottish Trade Union Congress’ (STUC) LGBT+ Workers’ Committee. It is designed to be a practical tool for union reps and activists to further support trans workers/members and how trade union reps can help to embed trans equality and inclusion at work. Please find a link to the STUC’s Guidance
TES Newsletter
Sign up (for free) to the newsletter. For anyone who does, every Friday afternoon they’ll get a short bit of commentary and links to four stories from that week to keep up to speed with the latest news, we’ve been told! https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/tes-newsletters