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Eurydice

EACEA National Policies Platform:Eurydice
Fundamental Principles and National Policies

United Kingdom - Scotland

Last update: 11 March 2020
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Fundamental Principles

Most of the key principles and values on which education in Scotland is built are long established. Educational principles are not laid down by law. Instead, they are partly a reflection of Government educational policy, which aims to promote a "smarter Scotland", and partly a consensus view as set out in the many reports and advisory documents produced by the system. These are the basis of educational practice. The legislation that exists is mainly concerned with the administration and organisation of the system.

The Scottish Government's National Performance Framework is central to education policy, in particular the Strategic Objective "Smarter Scotland" and its associated Educational Indicators and Targets. These represent practical outcomes of the implementation of the country's educational principles.

The provision of free, compulsory education for all between ages of 5-16 is fundamental. The provision of free (though not compulsory) education has now been extended to children aged 3-5 (age 2 for children who are looked after or under a kinship care order). Another key principle is the broadly based curriculum, which was originally designed to ensure that young people could make progress in a range of occupations. It now prepares them for lifelong learning and, with certification, for the several changes of job that they may well have to face in an era of rapid socio-economic development.

Education also has to fit individual needs, be tailored to "age, ability and aptitude" (Education [Scotland] Act 1980) and aim to develop the "personality, talents and mental and physical abilities of children and young persons to their fullest potential" (Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000). Examples of the extension of this principle of appropriateness include concern to ensure that classroom work properly challenges and supports all pupils and increased attention to young people with additional support needs, whether in mainstream schooling or special units Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended).

A further principle is that there should be opportunities to continue voluntarily at school or to proceed to further or higher education, with financial assistance if necessary. Over the last 50 years this opportunity has been considerably extended by increasing the number of places available in further and higher education. There has also been expansion in informal (non-school based) education, with, for example, more community-based educational activities for both adults and young people.

The Scottish education system - including pre-school and school education and lifelong learning in higher or further education or through community learning and development - is expected to promote individual autonomy and to equip people to fulfil the variety of roles which participation in a changing society demands. These roles include becoming responsible for one’s own learning, contributing to the health, well-being, wealth, growth and cultural enrichment of society, maintaining its values and participating fully in the democratic process.

National Policies

There are currently two major and interrelated national policies designed to implement the principles of the education system and to achieve its aims

A range of other policies offer support to the achievement of the aims of these two overriding ones.

Curriculum for Excellence

Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) is one of the most ambitious programmes of educational change ever undertaken in Scotland. CfE seeks to create a single, coherent curriculum for all children and young people from the ages of 3 to 18. It aims to ensure a better balance between knowledge, understanding and skills development in order to equip young people with the skills for learning, life and work they will need for the modern world. The framework includes a broad general education from ages 3 to 15 and then more specialisation in working towards taking National Qualifications in the senior phase (ages 16-18). Important aims are to:

  • focus on making learning more engaging and relevant to the real world
  • increase personalisation and learners' choice within the framework
  • raise standards for all
  • enable young people to improve their confidence, skills, achievement and attainment
  • provide more flexibility, giving teachers greater professional freedom.

The framework places literacy, numeracy and health and well-being at the centre of all learning. It emphasises the important contribution to learning of the ethos and life of the school as a community, of the ways in which learning is organised and of inter-disciplinary work. It also encourages recognition of young people’s personal achievements within and beyond school, through partnerships which support learning with e.g. business, arts and community organisations, in addition to school-based learning.

As a consequence of this approach, Scotland's young people should have developed the four capacities defined in A Curriculum for Excellence (2004):

  • successful learners;
  • confident individuals;
  • effective contributors; and
  • responsible citizens.

The Experiences and Outcomes and associated Principles and Practice papers for the eight curriculum areas, which were published in April 2009, set the national framework for learning and teaching. The eight curriculum areas covered are:

  • Expressive Arts
  • Languages and Literacy
  • Religious and Moral Education
  • Social Studies
  • Mathematics and Numeracy
  • Sciences
  • Technologies
  • Health and Well-being

The Experiences and Outcomes are presented within a framework of levels for ages 3-15:

  • Early, for children aged 3-6, in pre-school and Primary 1
  • First by end of Primary 4 (age 7-8), but earlier or later for some
  • Second by end of Primary 7 (age 10-11), but earlier or later for some
  • Third and Fourth in Secondary 1 – 3 (age 12-15), but earlier for some.

The Fourth Level is broadly equivalent to SCQF level 4 (see 2.5 National Qualifications Framework). The fourth level experiences and outcomes are intended to provide possibilities for choice and further progression in some areas and to blend seamlessly with programmes of learning leading to qualifications in the Senior Phase.

CfE is not governed by legislation in Scotland, apart from the stipulation that schools must provide religious education and Religious Observance (though parents may withdraw their children from it). The Building the Curriculum 3 guidance, and the Experiences and Outcomes for Health and Wellbeing, highlight the expectation that schools should continue to work towards two hours of good quality physical education for every child, each week.

Curriculum for Excellence Senior Phase

All young people are entitled to a senior phase of education, which takes place broadly between the ages of 15-18. The Senior Phase builds firmly on the Experiences and Outcomes a young person will have experienced through the broad general education to age 15 and the CfE principles should continue to underpin the experience of all young people in their senior phase. This phase offers young people the opportunity to extend and deepen their learning as they build a portfolio of qualifications which recognises their learning, enables them to continue to develop their skills and offers pathways to the next stage. 

The publication 16+ Learning Choices (2010) sets out a strategy to ensure that every young person has an appropriate offer of learning in the Senior Phase of their education before their planned school leaving date. 16+ Learning Choices is an offer by local authorities and their partners to all young people and gives particular attention to those who face barriers to learning.

Building the Curriculum 3 makes it clear that young people are entitled to continue to develop their skills for learning, life and work in whatever type of provision is best suited to their needs and aspirations. They might stay at school in Secondary 5-6, go to further or higher education, gain an apprenticeship, volunteer, get a job or engage in community-based learning, including personalised approaches.

Career information, advice and guidance is available for all young people – with more for those who need it most. This helps young people make, take up and sustain their post-16 learning choices.  This intensive advice and guidance is particularly important for young people identified as being at risk of not progressing to or sustaining a positive destination after school.

Curriculum for Excellence: Assessment and Qualifications

Assessment for CfE puts the learner at the centre of the assessment process and emphasises assessment as part of learning and teaching. Assessment and qualifications policy and practice are designed to be fully aligned with the intentions of the curriculum, with assessment following rather than leading the curriculum.

Building the Curriculum 5 sets out guidance on assessment to support learning 3-18. It links the assessment approaches to the values and principles of CfE and identifies as principles supporting learning, promoting learners' engagement and ensuring appropriate support. A key element of the new system is quality assurance and moderation approaches which will build expertise in sharing, understanding and applying standards and expectations and build trust and confidence in teachers’ judgements. In conjunction with the on-line National Assessment Resource (NAR) these approaches are intended to support teachers and build expertise and capacity in the education system to deliver positive outcomes for children and young people. The NAR provides quality-assured materials exemplifying a range of assessment approaches.

The Framework states that assessment information should be used to report on learners' progress and achievement against standards and expectations (drawing on EOs and their equivalents in national qualifications), particularly at points of transition in the education system, and to inform self-evaluation and improvement by the learner, by schools and at local authority and national levels.

Qualifications beyond age 15

There is an important relationship between these curriculum levels and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). They are linked to enable young people to progress smoothly into the appropriate levels of qualification in the senior stages of the secondary school; however, they are not equivalent. SCQF levels relate to qualifications and not to expectations for the curriculum and associated assessment pre-15. See 2.5 National Qualifications Framework for more information.

Curriculum for Excellence Key Publications

A series of policy advice documents set out the broad details of CfE, but with schools and local authorities encouraged to innovate and find local approaches to planning and delivering the curriculum.  They can be accessed at the Scottish Government website or that of Education Scotland.

Other Major Educational Policies in the Context of Curriculum for Excellence

Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) is Scotland’s youth employment strategy. This aims to reduce youth unemployment by 40% by 2021 and enable more work ready young people, with the skills relevant to support securing positive destinations. DYW is one of the three key pillars of education policy in Scotland, alongside Getting it Right for Every Child and Curriculum for Excellence. 

Collaborative partnership working between employers and education and equality of opportunity is integral to DYW and CfE, raising attainment and helping young people improve their understanding and readiness for employment and later life. A number of guidance documents are available on the Education Scotland website to support all partners in this collaboration. •    Guidance documents •    Education employer partnerships

Health and Well-being

Good health and well-being is essential for children’s future. Under the Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007 there is a duty on government, local authorities and grant-aided schools to adopt a whole school approach to integrating health promotion into every aspect of school life. The Act is part of a package of measures aimed at ensuring young people learn about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and make healthy and informed choices.

Curriculum for Excellence has an important role to play : one of the eight main curriculum areas is health and wellbeing, where a number of experiences and outcomes are described including ‘mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing’, ‘food and health’ and ‘PE, physical activity and sport’. Guidance on health and wellbeing in schools can be found on the Scottish Government webpages.

Scotland’s wider approach to promoting, supporting, and safeguarding the wellbeing of all children, known as Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC), applies across all services that work with children and young people including schools.  

GIRFEC is about strengthening the wellbeing of children and young people; and, providing support if and when needed to address any concerns and to prevent any concerns getting worse.  This is delivered through the core components of:

  • a named person who is a clear point of contact for children, young people and parents to go to for initial support and advice; consideration of wellbeing; and, onward referral if needed and agreed, to a wider network of support and services. For school age children, the named person is usually a head teacher or promoted teacher at their school; 
  • a shared and holistic understanding of wellbeing and a single model of how this can be assessed, considered and analysed; and, 
  • a single, shared approach to planning for children and young people where support across services is needed, co-ordinated by a lead professional.

Building Curriculum for Excellence through Positive Relationships and Behaviour

Scottish Government policy recognises that social, emotional, and behavioural skills are key for learning, life and work. Readiness to learn and ongoing positive relationships and behavior depend on social and emotional wellbeing. Children and young people should feel safe, health, achieving, nurtured, active respected, responsible and included (often referred to as SHANARRI) in the learning environment and all staff should be proactive in promoting positive behaviour in the classroom, playground and wider learning community. Underpinning this is the emotional health and wellbeing of staff.

Education Scotland’s Rights Support and Wellbeing Team supports local authorities and schools to introduce and embed approaches to positive behaviour based on improved relationships, staged interventions, engagement and motivation, and emotional wellbeing.

  • The Scottish Government funds a national anti-bullying service, respect-me, to provide policy and practical support for developing and implementing anti-bullying policies across learning establishments and all agencies working with children and young people. In November 2017, the Scottish Government  published the refreshed anti-bullying guidance ‘Respect for All: The National Approach to Anti-Bullying for Scotland’s Children and Young People’. The approach forms part of our wider attempts to improve the health and wellbeing of our children and young people. It fits in with our ongoing work to ensure children and young people feel safe and secure and are able to build up strong and positive relationships with their peers and with adults as well as our work to promote positive behaviour.
  • In June 2019 we published updated guidance for local authorities and schools on managing attendance – Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1 - A Positive Approach to the Promotion and Management of Attendance in Scottish Schools.
  • This guidance provides clear guidance on children who may be at risk and states that child protection is of paramount importance and absence from school may indicate a child is at risk. 
  • In June  2017 we published updated guidance Included, Engaged and Involved Part 2: A Positive Approach to preventing and Managing School Exclusions,which gives a stronger focus on approaches that can be used to prevent the need for exclusion, ensuring all children and young people and Included Engaged and Involved in their education.

Better Support for Learning

Activity in this area has focused mainly on the implementation of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended), which aims to ensure that all children and young people receive the additional support required to meet their individual needs and enable them to reach their full potential. The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009 strengthens the original policy intention of the 2004 Act, without altering its thrust or ethos. The Act is structured around the concept of support being needed for any reason, and for short or long term periods determined by the individual learning needs of the child or young person. The statutory duties on education authorities are to identify, make provision for, and review provision for the additional support needs of all children and young people for whose education they are responsible.

Rights of the Child and Child Protection

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (the 2014 Act) includes measures to ensure that children’s rights properly influence the design and delivery of policies and services, as well as to keep under consideration steps which would or might secure better or further effect of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and promote public awareness and understanding of children’s rights. The 2014 Act also places a duty on Scottish Ministers to report to Parliament every 3 years on relevant progress on taking forward the UNCRC, and plans for the next 3 year period. The first Report and Action Plan were laid before Parliament in December 2018.

The Action Plan, which was developed in consultation with children and young people, included 4 high level strategic actions to better take forward children’s rights, including to:

  • Incorporate the UNCRC into Scots law;
  • develop through co-production, an ambitious programme to raise awareness and understanding of children’s rights;
  • develop a strategic approach to children and young people’s participation; and
  • evaluate the Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA).

The first annual report on progress made in taking forward the strategic actions in the Plan was published on 20 November.

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 includes measures to ensure that children’s rights properly influence the design and delivery of policies and services; to improve the way services work to support children, young people and families; and to strengthen the role of early years support in children’s and families’ lives.

The National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland is relevant to all whose work involves contact with children and/or their families, across departments and agencies as well as being relevant to those working in the statutory, third and independent sectors together with members of the community. This non-statutory national guidance describes responsibilities and expectations for all involved in protecting children in Scotland. The guidance sets out how agencies should work together with parents, families and communities to prevent and protect children from harm caused by abuse and neglect. Work is currently ongoing with stakeholders and partners from across education, social work services, health, justice, the third sector with views from children and families to revise Scotland's national guidance on child protection. This version reflects six years of changes in legislation; standards and policy; developments in practice; findings from research, Significant Case Reviews and Inspections.

National Child Protection Guidance defines multi-agency statutory responsibilities and parameters of community engagement for the purpose of reducing harm. The National Guidance is the basis for local procedure and guidance.

The Scottish Government published a revised National Action Plan on Child Sexual Exploitation in 2016, accompanied by a practitioner definition and briefing paper as setting out commitments to prevent and tackle child sexual exploitation. The Scottish Government also published a National Action Plan on Internet Safety for Children and Young People in 2017 setting out action to support children and young people to be resilient and safe in the digital world. 

The Children Missing Education (Scotland) service provides guidance and advice to local authorities on good practice concerning cases of children missing from education. This service also co-ordinates tracing activity at national level when a child has moved to another area, by enabling exchange of information between local authorities and between different countries in the UK and Ireland.

There is a range of legislation, including measures introduced by the 2014 Children and Young People (Scotland) Act, and guidance to help improve outcomes for children who are looked after by a local authority and to ensure effective partnerships between those who are responsible for their care. Further information can be found on the Scottish Government and CELCIS, the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection websites. 

The Deputy First Minister announced to parliament in November 2019  that the Scottish Government will introduce a Bill this year to incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).  The Bill will take a maximalist approach to incorporation and will seek to incorporate in full and directly – using the language of the Convention – in every case possible. Our expectation is that a vast majority of the Convention’s provisions can be incorporated by Parliament. The Bill will also make provision to allow incorporation of reserved  provisions of the Convention into our domestic law if the powers of the Scottish Parliament change in the future.

Incorporation will mean that every devolved body, every health board, every council – and the Scottish Government itself – will be legally obliged to respect children’s rights. And, if they don’t, children and young people will be able to use the courts to enforce their rights.  The Bill will aim to ensure that there is a proactive culture of everyday accountability for children’s rights across public services in Scotland.  This will mean that children, young people and their families will experience public bodies consistently acting to uphold the rights of all. 

Reduction of Class Sizes

The Scottish Government made regulations in 2010 to limit the number of pupils in a Primary 1 class to 25 from August 2011. All other Class sizes are determined by the tripartite Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) and is defined in the SNCT Handbook of Conditions of Service at Appendix 2.9. 

School Buildings

In September 2009 a joint Scottish Government and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) Working Group published a new School Estate Strategy, Building Better Schools: Investing in Scotland's Future. This sets out national and local government’s shared vision and aspirations for the school estate. It outlines nine guiding principles and objectives for good school estate management, including consultation with pupils and ensuring schools are whole community resources. The Strategy aims to ensure that more than 90% of Scottish children are taught in schools which are in "good" or "satisfactory" physical condition and that plans are in place to improve the condition of the remaining schools. Guidance documents issued as part of the strategy can be accessed on the Scottish Government website.

School Closures and Safeguarding Rural Schools

The Schools (Consultation) Act (2010) establishes a coherent, open and transparent consultation process for all school closures and other major changes affecting schools that commands the trust and confidence of the public. It aims to safeguard rural schools by ensuring that a decision to consult on a closure proposal would not be made until the local council had explored all possible alternatives and fully assessed the likely implications of closure. The Cabinet Secretary for Education has the power to call in closure decisions where there have apparently been failures in the consultation or decision-making processes. This arrangement provides a reassurance to those affected by a closure proposal that a safeguard exists in the circumstances where it appears that statutory duties have not been fulfilled. Statutory Guidance was published in July 2014 to reflect amendments to the Act by the Children and Young People Act 2014 and recommendations from the Commission on the Delivery of Rural Education.

Technologies for Learning

Technologies are an integral component of the education system, including the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. The Government's ICT in learning Vision is for: "Scotland’s educators, learners and parents take full advantage of the opportunities offered by technology in order to raise attainment, ambition and opportunities for all." Scotland’s ambition for the application of technologies in learning and teaching is typified by the flagship initiative, Glow.

Launched in October 2007, Glow is a national education platform offering an integrated suite of tools and resources that enable teachers and learners to explore, create, share, collaborate and showcase - skills and behaviours regarded as extremely important in the 21st century. Glow is available and accessible across all 32 local authorities in Scotland. It serves a potential user base of some 1.5 million people (including teachers, students and parents), almost 3,000 schools (including pre-school establishments and primary and secondary schools) and a wide range of associated interests such as the eight universities providing Initial Teacher Education, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and Education Scotland. More information can be found on the Glow Connect website.

More Choices, More Chances

The More Choices, More Chances strategy was published in June 2006. It drives a multi-agency partnership approach – at national and local levels – to ensure the learning and wider support system delivers better outcomes for those young people who are at risk of failing to achieve a positive or sustained destination beyond school.  It is delivered by local authorities and their partners in all 32 local authorities in Scotland.

The strategy proposes a three-fold approach to helping young people who need more choices and chances: prevention – early identification of those at risk of disengaging; engagement – providing the right opportunities and supports to help these young people to stay in learning and achieve; and sustaining – re-engaging those who have already disengaged and providing the opportunities and support to get them back into the system. 

The National Improvement Framework

The National Improvement Framework for Scottish Education has been placed on a statutory footing through the Education (Scotland) Act 2016.  The purpose of the Framework is to drive the work necessary to continually improve Scottish education and close the attainment gap, delivering both excellence and equity.   The Framework is designed to support high-quality learning and teaching, the core principle of CfE.  Over time, the Framework will provide an unprecedented level of robust, consistent and transparent data across Scotland, will extend understanding of what works and drive improvement across all parts of the system.  The key priorities of the Framework are, currently, to: raise attainment; close the poverty-related attainment gap; improve health and wellbeing, and; improve positive school-leaver destinations.

Legislative References

Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (Act of the Scottish Parliament): 2014, asp8.

Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (Act of the Scottish Parliament): 2004, asp4.

Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009 (Act of the Scottish Parliament): 2009, asp7.

Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (Act of Parliament): 1980, c.44.

Schools (Consultation) Act 2010 (Act of the Scottish Parliament): 2010, asp2.

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007 (Act of the Scottish Parliament): 2007, asp15.

Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000 (Act of the Scottish Parliament): 2000, asp6.

Education (Scotland) Act 2016