Thank you, convener.
I very much welcome this opportunity to give evidence to the committee on our proposed stage 2 amendments to the Education (Scotland) Bill that deal with the national improvement framework and the headship qualification.
The bill sends a strong signal, nationally as well as locally, about the value that we place on ensuring that the voice, needs and ambitions of all our children are central to everything that we do. The amendments will help to strengthen that signal, by placing the national improvement framework in law, requiring ministers and councils to work together towards the priorities that are set out in the framework and putting in place reporting arrangements. The amendments will ensure that all new headteachers in Scotland are suitably qualified.
The national improvement framework will make the links between national priorities and classroom practice. It will look at the full range of evidence and tell us how children’s learning is progressing and what more needs to be done to close the attainment gap.
We are currently consulting on the draft national improvement framework. We have held a series of engagements with stakeholders, including nine events across the country. Overall, the events were attended by more than 1,000 teachers, parents and others. We have also heard the views of around 700 children, through local and online events. A full summary of our engagement will be published next month, but I thought that a quick run through the emerging themes might help the committee.
There has been widespread support for the breadth of the framework and for the high-level priorities that it sets out. There is a sense that, if we all work towards those priorities, we will see the improvement for children that the framework is all about. We have also heard that there is a need for more consistent evidence, which can tell us whether we are making progress and allow for more sharing across schools and authorities of what is making the difference in closing the gap and raising attainment.
There has been concern about aspects of the framework, and I am keen to reassure people, particularly committee members, in that regard. Some people have worried that a narrow approach to assessment, or indeed the publication of data, might create perverse incentives. We have been listening to views and expertise during our consultation and we have been considering what local authorities already do. We know that standardised assessment is in use in different forms in schools across Scotland. Learning from that range of practice is informing our thinking about a national approach to a broad range of assessment data. Our engagement has reinforced what we already know, which is that teachers’ judgment is key to improvements for children and the success of the framework.
We have said from the beginning of the process that standardised assessment should only inform teacher judgment and should not replace it. A more consistent approach to a broad range of data is needed, to give everyone who has an interest in children’s progress—from parents to ministers—meaningful information with which to work. Our future publications should include a range of information that shows where we are making good progress and where we might need to do more to close the gap and improve standards more generally.
On the headship qualification, strong leadership and the best teachers are a fundamental part of improving attainment and achievement for our children and young people. The introduction of a standard for headship qualification will ensure that educational leadership in Scotland is top quality. The idea that prospective headteachers should be qualified before they take up post is not new and has been Scottish Government policy since 2005. The amendment will clarify what already exists in guidance.
I am happy to take questions on the two issues.