Let’s Talk Scottish Education

All Learners in Scotland Matter: Our National Discussion on Education was published on May 31 2023, with both a full report and a summary report available.

Versions of the summary report have also been published in Gaelic, Easy Read and BSL formats.

The report is based on the findings of a listening exercise which took place between September 21 and December 5 2022. 

The National Discussion was established in response to Professor Ken Muir’s report Putting Learners at the Centre which recommended that a national discussion take place to establish a compelling and consensual vision for the future of Scottish education. There was a particular the importance of placing the learner at the centre of all decisions. 

The National Discussion was co-convened by the Scottish Government and COSLA and it was independently facilitated by Professor Carol Campbell and Professor Alma Harris who are members of the Independent Council of Education Advisors. They consulted more than a hundred organisations dedicated to supporting children and young people as well as education partners and parent and carer groups in designing the National Discussion. The grassroots approach they adopted led to an estimated 38,000 people being reached by the National Discussion. 

A summary of the engagement is as follows:  

• events and discussions took place in every part of Scotland, from Shetland to the Borders, led by schools, community groups, local authorities and third sector organisations 
• feedback was received in a host of different ways – including drawings, mindmaps and videos 
• more than 5,600 survey and email responses were received 
• over 200 group responses were submitted 
• 26,000 pupils and students attended online school assemblies 
• more than 80 people attended a series of online public events 
• more than 6,000 posts on Twitter about the National Discussion using the hashtag #TalkScottishEducation 
• in excess of 10 million social media users have seen the hashtag 

Next Steps 

The Scottish Government and COSLA will consider the report from Professors Campbell and Harris and work to ensure that the vision for Scottish education is realised for all learners.

Why did we have a National Discussion?

There is some great learning taking place in Scottish education. Here are just some success stories.

There is excellent work taking place in education across Scotland, supporting our learners to reach their potential.

However, the world around us has changed a lot since the last time a national debate was held on education. We need to think ahead to the kind of education, skills and support learners need now and in the future. This will make sure we continue to provide a great education for all.

Education plays a key role in finding solutions to global and local challenges and in making sure children’s rights are respected.

That’s why we need to listen carefully to learners, parents, teachers, school staff and everyone who has an interest in the future of education. We want to hear in particular from those who we have not heard from in previous listening exercises.