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Foreword

NATIONAL IMPROVEMENT FRAMEWORK FOREWORD

The National Improvement Framework for Scottish Education that we are publishing today sets out our vision and priorities for our children’s progress in learning. The Framework will be key in driving work to continually improve Scottish education and close the attainment gap, delivering both excellence and equity.

Scotland’s children and young people are our greatest asset and investing in their education is essential to achieving their aspirations and our ambitions as a country. I am committed to ensuring that our education system is amongst the best in the world and equips all of our children with the skills they need to get on in life and in work.

The draft National Improvement Framework was published in September 2015, alongside the Programme for Government which put education at its heart. Since then, we have undertaken extensive consultation, engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including over 5,000 teachers, parents and young people. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also published its independent review of Curriculum for Excellence, Improving Schools in Scotland: An OECD Perspective in December 2015. We now have a better understanding of the range of views across Scotland and international support for the development and implementation of the Framework. These conversations and this work are reflected in the revised Framework.

The actions set out in this document have all been developed to support high-quality learning and teaching, the core principle of Curriculum for Excellence. Over time, the Framework will provide a level of robust, consistent and transparent data across Scotland that we have never had before, to extend our understanding of what works and to drive improvements across all parts of the system. This includes the development of national standardised assessments in primary and early years of secondary school to inform teacher judgement.

To support transparency, accountability and consistency, and give the Framework the appropriate status, we have amended the Education (Scotland) Bill to place the Framework and reporting arrangements on a statutory footing. This will mean that there is a legal requirement on local and national government to share information, on a consistent basis, to drive improvement.

The combination of the strong foundations laid out by Curriculum for Excellence, targeted interventions through the Scottish Attainment Challenge, the professionalism of our teacher workforce and the strong leadership that exists at a national level put us in a good position to deliver on the huge ambition that we have for Scotland’s children and young people and the priority this Government attaches to our education system.

Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon MSP
First Minister of Scotland
January 2016

Our vision for education in Scotland

The central purpose of this Government, as set out in our overarching National Performance Framework is to: create a more successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth.

Prominent among the set of 16 National Outcomes that support this central purpose is one which directly reflects the core objectives of Scottish education, as established through the development of Curriculum for Excellence. That is ensuring that all our children and young people are equipped through their education to become successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens.

As this outcome indicates, we are committed to a Scotland in which all children and young people can realise their potential, regardless of their social background or learning needs, thereby developing the knowledge, skills and attributes they will need to flourish in life, learning and work.

Achieving improvement in education is closely related to achieving other key National Outcomes in the National Performance Framework, particularly:

Our children have the best start in life and are ready to succeed;

We have tackled the significant inequalities in Scottish society; and

We have improved the life chances for children, young people and families at risk.

As a core part of our drive to achieve fairer outcomes for our children and young people, we know that investing in their education is essential to achieving their aspirations and our ambitions as a country. A successful education system is a key factor in helping our children and young people to thrive.

Our vision:

Excellence through raising attainment: ensuring that every child achieves the highest standards in literacy and numeracy, set out within Curriculum for Excellence levels, and the right range of skills, qualifications and achievements to allow them to succeed; and

Achieving equity: ensuring every child has the same opportunity to succeed, with a particular focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap.

We need Scottish education to deliver both excellence in terms of ensuring children and young people acquire a broad range of skills and capacities at the highest levels, whilst also delivering equity so that every child and young person should thrive and have the best opportunity to succeed regardless of their social circumstances or additional needs.

Why develop the National Improvement Framework?

In developing this Framework we are building on a strong track record of improvements and reforms which have been driven forward across education and children's services in Scotland over the last decade or more. They provide strong, broad foundations on which we can build more targeted and focused efforts to improve further in key areas:

The Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) approach, as illustrated in the eight indicators in the Wellbeing wheel, recognises that children and young people will have different experiences in their lives, but every child and young person has the right to expect appropriate support from adults to allow them to grow and develop and reach their full potential.

We are investing in expanding access to high-quality Early Learning and Childcare and taking collective action through the Early Years Collaborative to improve outcomes in the earliest years of a child's life.

We now have a more coherent, flexible and child-focused curriculum which gives teachers more professional autonomy over how they teach and sets higher standards for achievement than ever before, through the development and implementation of Curriculum for Excellence.

We are building new schools and improving existing schools through Scotland's Schools for the Future programme.

We have put in place a new National Youth Work Strategy for Scotland through which a wide range of partners in the public and third sector are contributing to improving outcomes for young people, either in direct partnership with schools or in other community settings. We continue to value and strengthen Community Learning and Development provision. These vital services improve the life chances of communities across Scotland, and in particular, can help to empower and improve learning and resilience for our most disadvantaged communities.

We are improving the breadth of opportunities available to children and young people to experience high-quality, work-focused learning and develop their skills for work throughout, and beyond, their school years, through implementation of the Youth Employment Strategy.

We continue to invest in ensuring we have a highly professional, skilled workforce, who can exploit fully the potential of the new curriculum, including through the implementation of Teaching Scotland's Future.

Together, this range of key policies and reforms present a powerful programme of development and improvement, transforming our education system and wider children's services. The Framework recognises that improved educational outcomes are part of a wider children's services agenda. The success we have achieved so far has been based on strong partnership between national government, local authorities, schools, parents, children and young people, partners, teachers and other staff employed in education.

In focusing now on key priorities through the National Improvement Framework we will seek to build on this success and develop further the strong, existing partnerships. We will only be able to deliver our ambitious aims by supporting staff in schools and early years centres with the shared aim that all our children fulfil their potential across a range of outcomes.

We will also seek to capitalise on a deeper shift in understanding amongst Scottish educators of how children learn. Built on a powerful consensus about the kind of experiences that will best prepare our children for their future lives, teachers and schools have been moving to new approaches to learning and teaching. Through Curriculum for Excellence we have moved away from more rigid prescription, towards a system that defines what we are trying to achieve, and gives teachers and schools the flexibility to design a curriculum – a plan for learning – that will best meet the needs and aspirations for each individual child.

Curriculum for Excellence is now embedded in Scottish schools. We welcomed the findings of the OECD's recent review, Improving Schools in Scotland: An OECD Perspective, and will work with our partners to address its recommendations as we take forward the National Improvement Framework. The OECD review recognises that Curriculum for Excellence is an ambitious and far-sighted reform which has put Scotland in a strong position to compete with the best education systems in the world if we realise its potential and address some key issues.

This Framework is designed to address one of the key issues identified by the OECD, the need to develop an integrated framework for assessment and evaluation that encompasses all system levels and ensures all partners are focused effectively on key priorities. Its report noted that:

"In the next phase of the Curriculum for Excellence journey, Scotland has the opportunity to lead the world in developing an innovative national assessment, evaluation and improvement framework."
Improving Schools in Scotland: An OECD Perspective. OECD, 2015

We do not underestimate the challenge that presents. It requires very careful balancing of the need for appropriate data and evaluation at every level in the education system, whilst maintaining the principle that informaton is used effectively to drive improvement in the learning experiences of individual children and young people.

We are clear that the new Framework is for the benefit of Scotland's children. It will provide a level of robust, consistent and transparent data across Scotland that we have never had before:

We will collect nationally, and at local authority level, data on the achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels for literacy and numeracy at the end of P1, P4, P7 and S3. This will be based on teacher judgement – informed by standardised assessment – and will tell us how children and young people are progressing with their learning.

At a school level, teachers will have a nationally consistent standardised assessment on aspects of literacy and numeracy to inform their judgement. The development of these standardised assessments, which will be piloted in 2016 and available for use in 2017, will include an associated training package for schools. This will support a clear interpretation of results and how these connect to and inform other sources of assessment evidence.

In parallel to the development of the standardised element of assessment, we will also work with partners to refresh our collective support for other assessment approaches, including: setting out more clarity about standards and the evidence that should be in place to assure teachers about children's progress; substantial support for moderation of teacher's professional judgement within and across local authority boundaries; and clarity about recording practices.

Parents will be able to access information from teacher's professional judgement and the underlying standardised assessment data about their own child's learning, providing valuable, nationally consistent information about children's progress and signalling where further support may be required at home and in school.

Key principles of the National Improvement Framework

The development of the National Improvement Framework is based on the best practice which exists internationally on the use of data and intelligence to improve education at national, local, school and individual child level. This includes the OECD publications Synergies for Better Learning and Education Policy Outlook. Key messages we took from these reports in designing this Framework include the need to:

show clear alignment with the goals for the education system and classroom practice;

recognise that outcomes for children can be improved by improving practice at different levels of the system;

set out clear responsibilities at national, local, and school level and ensure everyone involved has the capacity to play their part effectively;

build relevant professional skills through initial teacher education and professional development;

use evidence to inform practice and share innovation;

look at all levels of the national system together and ensure they are aligned;

focus on improving classroom practice and self-evaluation as key drivers; and

place the learner at the centre.

The above principles are central to the design and development of the Framework. The 2015 OECD review stated that:

"… an important step (in developing the National Improvement Framework) will be to identify key principles … that would provide transparency throughout the system and criteria for subsequent evaluation of the system itself."
Improving Schools in Scotland: An OECD Perspective. OECD, 2015

As indicated earlier, the Framework is also actively building on the solid foundations already laid in Scotland through the collective commitment of all partners to implement the Curriculum for Excellence and Teaching Scotland's Future reform programmes.

Together, these complementary programmes of curriculum and workforce reform should ensure that we have an education system which has a clear, shared view of the aims and purposes of education and the professional skills and autonomy to ensure that the system continues to improve.

We have a strong foundation for further success. We are ambitious for Scotland and for our children and young people:

We will have the highest aspirations for our children and young people;

We will ensure that every child is ready for learning and able to succeed;

We will have the right structures in place to deliver the improvements we need;

We will help parents and communities to understand and to support children's education;

We will take a broad and flexible approach to the curriculum;

We will continue to refine and adjust our curriculum to ensure that it remains relevant and prepares our children for a rapidly changing world;

We will continue to set the highest expectations for our teachers and education leaders throughout their career; and

We will identify and address barriers to parental engagement to ensure that all parents can be involved in their child's education.

Key priorities of the National Improvement Framework

Our vision is of an education system which delivers both excellence and equity in equal measure for all children in Scotland. Within this broad overall aim we are now creating the National Improvement Framework to galvanise efforts and align our collective improvement activities, across all partners in the education system, to address our key priorities.

The current priorities for the National Improvement Framework are:

Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy;

Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children;

Improvement in children and young people's health and wellbeing; and

Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people;

Everyone working in Scottish education should be clear about what they are seeking to achieve in making their contribution to addressing these priorities. There may be further improvement priorities at school level, based on local needs and self-evaluation.

The priorities may change over time, depending on what the evidence is telling us. Indeed, we expect they will as issues are addressed successfully and new priorities emerge.

Key drivers of improvement

Key drivers of improvement will build on much of the positive work already underway in Scottish education. They provide a focus and structure for gathering evidence which can then be analysed to identify where we can make further improvements. As recommended by the OECD in the 2015 OECD review, these areas have been identified to ensure that we have the right type of evidence sources which contribute to our priorities and minimise unintended consequences:

"This Framework has the potential to provide a robust evidence base in ways that enhance rather than detract from the breadth and depth of the Curriculum for Excellence. Given Scotland's previous bold moves in constructing its assessment frameworks on the best available research evidence at the time, it now has the opportunity to lead the world in developing an integrated assessment and evaluation framework."
Improving Schools in Scotland: An OECD Perspective. OECD, 2015

The key drivers of improvement are:

School leadership

Teacher professionalism

Parental engagement

Assessment of children's progress

School improvement

Performance information

The synergies and interconnections across these key areas are essential to enable continuous improvement. They are all equally important. In this section, the individual contributions that these areas make, in particular the impact they can have on excellence and equity for all children in Scotland, are developed further.

We will be publishing a new annual report based on the Framework. This will provide a narrative which evaluates the strengths and areas of improvement in Scottish education, based on a balanced range of measures.

School leadership

What is this?
The quality and impact of leadership within schools and at all levels – including members of staff.

Why is this important?
Leadership is recognised as one of the most important aspects of the success of any school. Headteachers and teachers who are empowered, and who empower others to take ownership of their own learning, have a strong track record of ensuring the highest quality of learning and teaching. This in turn helps to ensure that all children achieve the best possible outcomes. Gathering evidence on the quality of school leadership will help us to identify and share what works and provide support and intervention where leadership needs to improve.

How will this help to achieve excellence and equity for all children?
Leadership is key to ensuring the highest possible standards and expectations are shared across a school to achieve excellence for all. Through evaluating leadership and, crucially, leadership of change, we will be able to focus on where leadership action is delivering excellent outcomes for all children and closing the attainment gap through targeted intervention. We will also have evidence on the extent to which professional skills and competences of headteachers are being developed and maintained.

Evidence we will gather | What this will tell us
Through school inspection, percentage of schools graded as 'good' or better for leadership of change. | This will tell us how good planning for improvement is and the impact of improvements and changes. It will focus on leadership at all levels within a school.
Number of new headteachers who meet the Standard for Headship, and numbers of experienced headteachers who continue to meet Standard for Leadership and Management. | This will tell us about the qualifications achieved and standards met by our headteachers.
Local authority self-evaluation reports on leadership of change. | This will tell us how well leadership is improving based on school and local authority self-evaluation and quality assurance activities.

Teacher professionalism

What is this?
Teacher professionalism demonstrates the overall quality of the teaching workforce in Scotland and the impact of their professional learning on children's progress and achievement.

Why is this important?
The quality of teaching is a key factor in improving children's learning and the outcomes that they achieve. In Scotland we have a highly professional, graduate teaching workforce with high professional standards, which are set by the General Teaching Council of Scotland (GTCS). We want to continue to improve the professionalism of our teachers and the quality and impact of their professional learning. The focus is on teacher professionalism, but we recognise that many other people contribute to children and young people's learning and development.

How will this help to achieve excellence and equity for all children?
There is a strong link between teacher's professional skills and competences and the quality of children's learning experiences. Ensuring the highest professional standards for all teachers in Scotland will help to ensure the highest standards and expectations for all children. Consistent, well-moderated teacher judgement data on achievement of curriculum levels in literacy and numeracy will help us to focus accurately on the difference in attainment between the most and least disadvantaged children and take further action as a result. We want all new teachers to develop as enquiring professionals who are experts in teaching literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. This is critical to ensure the strongest possible progression in learning for all children.

Evidence we will gather
What this will tell us

Increase the range of quality professional learning at SCQF Level 11 (Masters) and the level of engagement amongst teachers.
This will give information on Masters level programmes which relate directly to the Teacher Education Standards, particularly the Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning and the Standards for Leadership and Management.

Through school inspection and local authority self-evaluation reports, effectiveness of moderation of teacher judgement of Curriculum for Excellence levels in literacy and numeracy.
This will provide us with information on the effectiveness of moderation processes and therefore the consistency of teacher judgement of children's achievements of Curriculum for Excellence levels in literacy and numeracy.

Percentage of teachers in local authority and independent schools, within the annual cohort, having their professional learning successfully signed off by GTCS.
This will give information on the percentage of teachers who have continued to demonstrate their professional skills and competences through undertaking professional update.

Information from the GTCS on teacher induction and teacher views on teaching literacy and numeracy, health and wellbeing and opportunities for professional learning.
This will help to evaluate the success of initial teacher education and the success of the teacher induction scheme in supporting new fully registered and newly qualified teacher in the teaching of literacy and numeracy and the support of health and wellbeing. This will tell us about the range of professional learning available to teachers.

Information on initial teacher education programmes' coverage of literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing through GTCS evaluation of the programmes as part of its accreditation processes.
This will help us to evaluate how well prepared student teachers are to teach literacy and numeracy, and support health and wellbeing to the highest possible standards.

Parental engagement

What is this?
Parental engagement focuses on ways in which parents, families and professionals work together to support children's learning.

Why is this important?
Parental and family engagement in their child's education is a key factor in ensuring successful outcomes. We want to improve and increase ways in which parents and families can engage with teachers and partners to support their children and increase the voice of parents in leading improvements with schools. Some schools have started to work successfully with partners to develop family learning programmes which help parents to meaningfully engage in their child's learning.

How will this help to achieve excellence and equity for all children?
Parental and family engagement is a key factor in helping all children achieve the highest standards whilst reducing inequity and closing the attainment gap. The information that we gather will inform our knowledge of where parental engagement is strong and where it requires further attention. This will include monitoring levels of parental engagement, involvement in, and satisfaction with, learning provision in different communities. Supporting all schools to work with partners to develop family learning programmes will help to improve children's progress and achievement.

Evidence we will gather
What this will tell us

From local authority self-evaluation reports, percentage of schools which work with partners to develop and offer family learning programmes.
We will be able to evaluate and improve the offer available to parents and families to help their children to progress in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. Schools, working with partners such as community learning professionals and third sector colleagues can offer support for learning which meets the needs of families within different localities.

Pre-inspection questionnaires.
Engagement, involvement and satisfaction, based on a sample of schools.

Evidence on the impact of parents and the Parent Council in helping schools to improve.
This will indicate progress towards parents and Parent Councils being empowered to help to improve their schools and have a greater say in decision making. Through annual standards and quality reports, schools will indicate ways in which parents are involved in decision making and if school improvement plans have been co‑created with parents.

Assessment of children's progress

What is this?
Assessment of children's progress includes a range of evidence on what children learn and achieve throughout their school career. This includes Curriculum for Excellence levels, skills, qualifications and other awards.

Why is this important?
We all need more robust and consistent evidence which will help us in raising attainment and closing the gap. We need to know the size of the attainment gap at different ages and stages, across Scotland, in order to take the right action to close it. And we need to know whether the attainment gap is narrowing over time in order to know that the measures we are taking are the right ones. Collecting data on children's progress as they move through their education from early years until they leave school will help teachers and schools to evaluate how well all children are achieving. It will help us to identify where we are doing well and which practices and interventions are having an impact. It will also help us to identify areas where, collectively we need to do more. A wide range of progress measures will be used at school level across the curriculum. The Framework will include teacher judgement data on achievement of CfE levels in literacy and numeracy. This data will be informed by a range of evidence, including standardised assessment and ongoing classwork and will be moderated. The Framework will lead to more consistent approaches within the broad general education phase of Curriculum for Excellence. The 2015 OECD review notes the importance of this:

"… the different approaches to assessment undertaken by local authorities opens up the risk of duplication and militate against a clearer all-Scotland picture."
Improving Schools in Scotland: An OECD Perspective. OECD, 2015

Progress in learning for children with significant additional support needs will be evaluated at an individual level, through agreed plans and next steps, which will be personalised.

Other important measures within this driver include positive destinations and the quality of career information and guidance available to young people. Additional measures to monitor progress from pre-birth onwards will be considered as part of the next phase of the Framework (from 2017).

How will this help to achieve excellence and equity for all children?
Data gathered on children's progress is essential to achieving excellence and equity. Improved data on children's progress at key stages, including differences between those from the least and most deprived areas, will allow for planning further interventions to ensure that all children achieve as well as they can. This data will help teachers to identify areas where good practice exists and which high-impact interventions should be shared. The quality of careers information, advice and guidance and monitoring positive destinations will tell us about how successful young people are when they leave school. This will also tell us about the choices young people make and the difference in the levels of positive destinations for young people from the most and least disadvantaged backgrounds. Data on SQA awards will tell us about the success of young people from the most and least disadvantaged backgrounds in gaining important qualifications for learning, life and work. Information about children's health and wellbeing is essential to enable progress in all aspects of learning, and we will be able to monitor differences in health behaviours and wellbeing between different groups of children and take action to improve equity.

Evidence we will gather | What this will tell us
The percentage of children achieving curriculum levels in literacy and numeracy at P1, P4, P7 and S3 by school, local authority and nationally. | We will know how many children are achieving the expected levels in literacy and numeracy at P1, P4, P7 and S3, at school, local authority and national level. We will also know the breakdown of children's progress by deprivation over time (using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation).
Data from a range of surveys on health and wellbeing showing changes over time. | This will give us information about a range of children's health, attitudes, behaviours and wellbeing.
Senior phase qualifications and awards data. | This will tell us about the standard and levels of qualifications that young people leave school with.
The percentage of school leavers in positive and sustained destinations. | This will tell us about the numbers of young people who are in further education, employment or training and the extent to which this is sustained at local and national level.
Through external review of careers information, advice and guidance services, percentages of these services graded as 'good' or better. | This will tell us how young people's career management skills are developing. We want to see continuous improvement in the quality of careers information, advice and guidance services delivered to all young people, teachers, parents and carers.

School improvement

What is this?
The overall quality of education provided by each school in Scotland and its effectiveness in driving further improvement.

Why is this important?
School improvement focuses on the quality of education, including learning, teaching and assessment, as well as the quality of the partnerships that are in place to support children and young people with their broader needs. These are essential elements to raise attainment for all children and close the poverty-related attainment gap. We have a good education system in Scotland, with schools achieving good outcomes for children. We want to continue to improve this so that more children experience very good and excellent education services, delivered by self-improving, empowered schools and key partners such as community learning and development professionals.

How will this help to achieve excellence and equity for all children?
Evaluating learning, teaching and assessment and the quality of what goes on in classrooms will tell us how good the experience is for children, as we strive towards excellence for all. We know that for children and young people from the most deprived backgrounds, the gap in learning can develop from a young age. Evaluating school improvement and work with partners will help us to focus on early and sustained intervention and support for children and their families. School inspection, school self-evaluation and local authority reporting on attainment and achievement will tell us how well schools are achieving equity for all children. This will include the school's success at raising attainment for all, whilst closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children. We expect that this evaluation will be carried out increasingly with partners and other services. Data on improving attendance and reducing exclusions are critical factors in ensuring that children time at school and their opportunities to succeed are maximised.

Evidence we will gather | What this will tell us
Through school inspection, percentage of schools graded as 'good' or better for learning, teaching and assessment. | This will tell us how good learning, teaching and assessment is in classrooms across Scotland, including the effectiveness of moderation of achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels in literacy and numeracy.
Through school inspection, percentage of schools graded 'good' or better for raising attainment and achievement. | This will tell us how well schools are raising attainment for all and closing the poverty- related attainment gap.
Level of attendance and number of exclusions per school. | This will tell us how successful we are at reducing exclusion from school and maximising the time children spend at school.
The number of schools who report positive findings in its school self-evaluation on raising attainment and achievement, and progress with the priorities set out in the National Improvement Framework. | This will tell us how well schools are improving based on self-evaluation and local authority quality assurance activities.
Local authority self-evaluation reports on raising attainment and achievement and progress with the priorities set out in the National Improvement Framework. | This will give us a range of local self-evaluation data to consider on school improvement. This will also help us to evaluate progress with the priorities set out in the National Improvement Framework at local level.

Performance information

What is this?
All of the information and data we need to get a full picture of how well Scottish education is improving. We will gather together and analyse the data collected from each of the other key drivers.

Why is this important?
Evidence suggests, and the feedback from the National Improvement Framework tells us, that we must ensure we build a sound understanding of the range of factors that contribute to a successful education system. This is supported by international evidence which confirms that there is no specific measure that will provide a picture of performance. We want to use a balanced range of measures to evaluate Scottish education and take action to improve further.

How will this help to achieve excellence and equity for all children?
Building on the 2015 Interim Report we will look across the key drivers and report annually using the evidence gathered. This will include overall progress towards our key priorities. As part of the analysis of the evidence gathered on where impact is being achieved on improving equity, we will share good practice. The report will also identify areas for further improvement and where action is required. This will have a specific focus on excellence and equity for all and will inform school, local authority and national improvement planning. It will also be used to inform policy developments and decisions about priorities moving forward, including the allocation of resources and support.

Evidence we will gather
What this will tell us

Data from each of the key drivers.
This will tell us how well Scottish education is performing and improving.

Progress towards achieving the priorities set within the Framework, drawing on all the evidence gathered.
We will match the evidence from the drivers to the priorities within the Framework. This will help us to understand progress and improvement at local and national level. We will report this in a clear and transparent manner. This evidence will inform the action we need to take to secure further improvement.

Use of Performance Information The purpose and uses of data across Scottish education

Level
Use of data
Purpose
How will the data be used?

Child

Feedback to the child on their progress

Improving learning and child development

Improving learner confidence and engagement in the learning process and planning next steps

Support learner's knowledge of their own progression

Greater understanding of assessment

Increased involvement in own learning

Parent/Carer

Feedback to parent/carer on their child's progress

Wider range and type of feedback for parents

Improving parental confidence and involvement in the learning process

Consistent approach to parental feedback across Scotland

More meaningful information to support improved parental engagement at home

More meaningful information to support improved parental engagement at school

School and Early Learning

Reviewing progress of individuals and groups

Planning for learning and meeting learning needs

Improving the progression of learning and development

Provided targeted interventions for children

Improving career-long professional learning

Improving transitions

Collaborating across the cluster and learning community

Learner and parental confidence

To support teacher professional judgement

Identify support for individual children

Development of School Improvement Planning

More meaningful information for parents/carers and children

Development of local support for children, teachers and parents

Community Planning Partnership and Local Authority

National benchmarking

Defining and monitoring standards

Quality assurance

Review of progress of year cohorts and identified groups

Moderation and improvement of professional judgement, monitoring transitions

Improving educational policy development

Public confidence

Local government sharing on a national level

Supporting career-long professional learning and improving practice

Improving transitions

Sharing at an authority level

Development of local plans aligned where possible to existing reporting

Identify where support required at a local level

Development of local support for children, teachers and parents

National

International comparisons

National benchmarking

Defining and monitoring standards

Quality assurance

Improving educational policy development

Strategic resourcing

Public confidence

Improving career-long professional learning

International sharing of data

Annual review of National Improvement Framework

Development of a National Improvement Plan

Measure achievement against key priorities

Identify support required at a national level

Reporting, analysis and planning for improvement

We know that simply having information is not enough to secure improvement. Reporting, analysis and planning for improvement as part of the Framework will help to satisfy three key requirements for our education system:

It will improve the quality and availability of information available to children, parents and teachers;

It will improve the quality of information available to support education authorities and Community Planning Partnerships in planning and delivering services; and

It will improve the quality of information available to support the development of national education policy.

How information is interpreted, used and acted upon is critical to achieving success.

Children and young people need high-quality feedback about their progress and a clear understanding of the support that is in place to help them succeed.

Parents and families must have access to information that allows them to form a clear understanding of how their child is progressing, and the information they need to help them play a key role in their child's education.

Teachers, schools and partners need a clear, coherent, consistent set of evidence and data locally and nationally to help them to self-evaluate and plan further improvements to achieve excellence and equity for every child in their care.

Local government has the statutory role and function of providing education for Scotland's children and a duty to secure improvement. Local arrangements are already in place to support improvement but that more could be done to increase the pace of improvement and bring focus to improvements required, either in particular areas or for particular groups of children.

Education Scotland as the national improvement agency for education needs to continue to extend ways of working collaboratively with staff in local authorities to promote and drive improvement. Its school inspection activities will increasingly take account of the key drivers and priorities within the Framework.

Scottish Government will use evidence from the Framework to inform policy development. It will bring partners together to focus on our specific priorities and the activities needed to support them. We will review the arrangements we have in place to bring partners together to ensure that all relevant stakeholders are included. The new arrangements will lead to the development of a joint implementation plan. This plan will be developed and delivered in partnership.

Throughout all of our work with children and young people, we need to ensure that we embed evidence-based approaches in our activities. It is crucial that we work together to deliver on the priorities set out in this document.

National reporting of data has begun, with the publication of the Interim National Improvement Framework Report published in January 2016. It is our intention that the legal requirement on schools to prepare annual School Improvement Plans and Standards and Quality Reports linked explicitly to the Framework will take effect in 2017, as will the duty on local authorities to produce annual plans and reports. Schools and local authorities will continue to self-evaluate and report against local priorities. We will consult on the statutory guidance linked to those legal requirements in summer 2016.

Planning and reporting on the Framework will form part of a wider public service planning and reporting landscape. There will be clear links to Local Outcome Improvement Plans, Children's Services Plans and education standards and quality reports. We recognise the importance of supporting individual local authorities in deciding how best to align these planning and reporting requirements and will reflect this in the statutory guidance linked to the National Improvement Framework as well as other relevant guidance relating to, for example, children's services planning.

What next?

The full implementation of the National Improvement Framework will be phased in over time. Not all of the evidence under each driver will come on stream at the same time. The Framework itself will be reviewed annually to ensure that it continues to reflect the right priorities to secure continued improvement.

We intend to work with partners to implement a new annual cycle of improvement, aligned at school, local and national level, taking account of local community planning and priorities. We will continue to work with stakeholders through the implementation plan for the Framework to deliver major new developments, including the national standardised assessments and a new data set for primary schools which can be published on Parentzone. We will build in the learning and experience from the Scottish Attainment Challenge in relation to what works in closing the gap in our most deprived communities.

We will work with colleagues in a range of sectors, including Early Years and in Community Learning and Development to ensure that the Framework fully reflects the activity and evidence that significantly impacts on outcomes for all children. We will also work with partners to develop a thorough evidence base for improvements to children's health and wellbeing.

2016

Development and piloting of new national standardised assessments

Publication of advice and guidance on achievement of a CfE level in literacy and numeracy

Interim reporting arrangements for schools and local authorities

Increased moderation and support for teacher professional judgement

Work with local authorities and parent organisations to improve the consistency of reporting to parents of children's progress

Further work to develop evidence from early years activity and alignment with school years

Inclusion of Key Performance Indicators from Developing Young Workforce programme

Consideration of a wider range of awards and achievements including those gained from Community Learning and Development

Development of statutory guidance on reporting duties under Education (Scotland) Bill

2017

Introduction of new national standardised assessments in schools

New reporting duties under Education (Scotland) Bill

Introduction of more evidence on early years

First statutory Framework reporting for schools and local authorities

2018

Development of standardised assessments for Gaelic Medium Education

Consideration of evidence of children's progress in other curricular areas

Dashboard for school, local authority and national use

References and useful links

OECD Report Improving Schools in Scotland: An OECD perspective
http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/improving-schools-in-scotland.htm

Synergies for Better Learning: An International Perspective on Evaluation and Assessment, OECD Reviews of Evaluation and assessment in Education, Organisation for Economic Development (OECD), April 2013, OECD Publishing, Paris ISBN: 9789264190641

Parentzone http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/parentzone/

Insight http://www.gov.scot/insightbenchmarking

GIRFEC http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/1141/0065063.pdf

Teaching Scotland's Future http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2011/01/13092132/0

Curriculum for Excellence http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/thecurriculum/whatiscurriculumforexcellence/index.asp

Curriculum for Excellence: Building the Curriculum 5: A Framework for Assessment,
Scottish Government, February 2011, ISBN: 978-0-7559-994-5 (web only)
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/BtC5Framework_tcm4-653230.pdf

Developing the Young Workforce – Scotland's Youth Employment Strategy, Scottish Government, December 2014, ISBN 978-1-7854-4033-5

Education Working for All! :Commission for Developing Scotland's Young Workforce Final Report, Scottish Government, June 2014 ISBN 978-1-7841-2523-3

How Good is Our Community Learning and Development?, Her Majesty's Inspectors of Education, May 2006, ISBN 0-7053-1090-6
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/hgio2cld_tcm4-684586.pdf

How Good is Our School?, 4th edition, Education Scotland, September 2015,
ISBN 978-0-7053-1889-1
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/HGIOS4_tcm4-870533.pdf

OECD Education Policy Outlook 2015, Making Reforms Happen
http://www.oecd.org/edu/education-policy-outlook-2015-9789264225442-en.htm