ADES PINCAQ March 2024 SG Update Overview Scottish Education CouncilVHA ICEA meeting Curriculum Improvement Cycle Ministerial engagements Scottish Attainment Challenge PEF sampling Stretch aims At the last meeting of the SEC in November
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At the last meeting of the SEC in November 2023 it was agreed that the current SEC membership was too large, meetings were used mainly to provide routine updates on current priorities, and it did not fulfil its overall function in providing a forum for challenge/scrutiny on education strategy and development.
SG officials have engaged with Council members to collate feedback on suggestions/ideas that could be made to enhance the effectiveness of meetings to contribute towards delivering improvements in the system.
It is crucial that we have a main governance group that is effective and that helps to deliver the best educational outputs for our children and young people. As such, we are considering reconstituting the SEC as part of the wider governance arrangements to help deliver the commitments of the Verity House Agreement.
We are continuing to hold discussions with COSLA and ADES on the governance and accountability framework for education under the Verity House Agreement, with the aim of having a structure in place by the end of June.
While those discussions are ongoing, we have scheduled another meeting of the SEC to be held on 5 June to be held jointly with the International Council of Education Advisers. Scottish Education Council/Verity House Agreement<br>
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The Cabinet Secretary announced in December 2023 that the government will initiative a regular Curriculum Improvement (Review) Cycle,
The Curriculum Improvement (Review) Cycle will seek to improve curricular areas and other aspects of the curriculum in a systematic way.
This will include considerations around the relevance of curriculum content, role of knowledge, transitions between primary and secondary and alignment between the broad general education (BGE) and senior phase.
The curriculum improvement cycle will have 4 key stages (see diagram). Review activity will engage with all key stakeholders including educators, local authorities, national bodies and key “subject specific” stakeholders. Local authorities will be key partners in this work.
Numeracy/maths will be prioritised as the first curricular area to undergo a substantive curriculum improvement (review) cycle in 2024.
The next curricular areas to be looked at in depth will be Literacy and English.
Andrew Creamer from Education Scotland presented on the pilot curriculum reviews to the previous ADES CAQ meeting.
SG and ES are currently considering/planning the full phasing and sequencing of the Curriculum Improvement Cycle, including all other subject areas and cross-curricular themes. Curriculum Improvement (ie Review) Cycle<br>
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Curriculum Improvement Cycle - Diagram<br>
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Parliament debate on the reform of qualification (Hayward review)
SG response being prepared and published shortly
Parliamentary debates on behaviour and attendance
Publication on census data including attendance on 19th March
National events in the Summer term
focus on reform of qualifications and curriculum review
secondary school leaders Ministerial engagement<br>
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Given the significant investment in the Scottish Attainment Challenge, of which PEF of £130m is a key part, it’s important that we collectively understand the important contributions PEF is making to improve the outcomes of children and young people impacted by poverty.
The purpose of this work is to identify and promote good practice/key learning, to then be shared with Local Authorities and headteachers.
This is a two-fold approach:
We are undertaking analysis across all 32 Local Authorities, to identify primary and secondary schools making progress in closing the poverty-related attainment gap between 2017/18 and 2022/23. This analysis will be based on the core measures around numeracy and literacy.
Alison Taylor emailed all Local Authorities Directors of Education requesting for any suggestions of schools who use PEF in an innovative and impactful way
Next steps
We hope to have these schools via our analysts and from local authorities by the end of this month.
Following this, we'll be considering how they have used their PEF by considering their school improvement plans and standard and quality reports and then following up with select schools directly to help draw out good practice and key learning for the system. SAC - PEF sampling<br>
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SAC – stretch aims – 2025/26 Smoother process than last year thanks to feedback from system informing key changes.
Key changes included:
Move from annual to three-year stretch aims
Move from fixed “baseline” to inform aims to a more nuanced local analysis of trends, cohorts, context etc
Adjustment to senior phase measures from “SQA only” to “All SCQF” at SCQF levels 5 & 6
Overall picture is a positive one:
The national ambition is that despite the various challenges of recent years, we want to see as much progress as possible: a picture of steady and sustainable progress – but is it enough?
Evidence of overall improvement and ambition for improvement over the long term, despite the challenges faced by children and young people – and of course schools and LAs – through the pandemic, cost-of-living pressures.<br>
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SAC – stretch aims – 2025/26 The yellow bar shows that aggregated aims for overall attainment to exceed overall performance each year from 2021/22 back to 2016/17 (the beginning of the SAC programme) – so both pre- and post-pandemic.
NB: ACEL data not gathered in 2019/20<br>
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SAC – stretch aims – 2025/26 The yellow bar shows that aggregated aims are for a narrower poverty related attainment gap than in each year from 2021/22 back to 2016/17 (the beginning of the SAC programme) – again, showing improvement both pre- and post-pandemic.
NB: ACEL data not gathered in 2019/20<br>
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SAC – stretch aims – 2025/26 What can we improve going forward?
Profile of and focus on the “plus” aims which recognise local ambitions for local priorities:
is it enough?
can we improve it?
How?
Reporting on ongoing progress through SQRs/NIF plans/reports. Lots of different levels of detail, difficult to develop a national picture that might inform options for further support, priorities, policy development.
How can we improve that?
Further guidance for September’s NIF reports?
As expected, there remains variation in progress and ambition in the 2025/26 stretch aims.<br>
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SAC – stretch aims – 2025/26 There is variation in both progress and ambition (as expected). If achieved, the aims would reduce that variation – is that reduction enough? Range:
2022/23: 23.1pp
2025/26: 19.3pp ACEL Literacy – overall attainment Range:
2022/23: 20.5pp
2025/26: 17.0 pp ACEL Literacy – poverty-related attainment gap Dark blue = stretch aims 2025/26; light blue = 2022/23 attainment<br>
