Education - National Improvement Framework - A consultation on enhanced data collection for improvement

Closed 18 Jul 2022

Opened 9 May 2022

Contact

nationalimprovementframework@gov.scot

Feedback updated 13 Dec 2022

We asked

For your views on improving the collection of education data in Scotland for improvement purposes and to assess progress towards closing the poverty-related attainment gap.

The consultation was launched on 9 May 2022, in response to both the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Audit Scotland reports which made recommendations relating to data collection and the need to ensure it reflects the ambitions of Curriculum for Excellence.  

The consultation asked 10 questions around:

  • How to ensure that the basket of key measures to assess progress towards closing the poverty related attainment gap reflects the wider ambitions of the curriculum; and
  • The value of the wider data for improvement purposes, both qualitative and quantitative, and the range of data needed by schools, education authorities and at the national level in order to fulfil their different requirements.

You said

The consultation closed on 18 July 2022. A total of 75 responses were received from a broad range of stakeholders and individuals. You provided views on the wide range of issues presented including those we asked about as well as around the themes more generally.

We did

The Scottish Government’s analysis of the consultation has been published as well as the consultation responses (where permission was granted).

The responses to this consultation have informed policy development in the form of:

  • The inclusion of two new key measures (attendance data and the initial 3 month measure of positive destinations) in the 2023 National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan; and
  • The intention to add a further two new key measures in the future (as set out in the analytical report) and;
  • Developing a more coherent approach to the quality and effective use of data across the system. The responses from the consultation will also be used alongside the outcome of the National Discussion to further develop and enhance the availability, quality and consistency of data to drive forward improvements across all parts of the Scottish education system.

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

In 2021, both the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Audit Scotland published reports (links to both are in the related  section further down this page) which made recommendations relating to data collection and the need to ensure it reflects the ambitions of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).

Audit Scotland recommended that the Scottish Government:

  • “work with stakeholders to develop and publish consistent and robust national data that reflects the ambitions of the national curriculum, national policy priorities such as health and wellbeing and confidence, and key priorities for Covid-19 recovery and improvement
     
  • "update the National Improvement Framework (NIF) to reflect data on these agreed outcomes and consider how to ensure that there is greater prominence on these broader outcome measures in public reporting and messaging, for example by inclusion in the NIF key indicators.”

The OECD report says:

  • “It is also important to recognise that the broad aims of CfE and the four purposes require considering the influence of the wider context in their accomplishment. Scotland should define indicators or a “matrix of success” aligned to the vision and four capacities to help understand students’ progress across all four capacities.

    "In addition to the National Improvement Framework’s measures of literacy and numeracy, other metrics informing progress on the four capacities are necessary, especially around health and well-being, enjoyment of learning and other key competencies.”

In light of these recommendations, there are two areas of focus for this consultation:

  • how to ensure that the basket of key measures to assess progress towards closing the poverty related attainment gap reflects the wider ambitions of the curriculum
     
  • the value of the wider data for improvement purposes, both qualitative and quantitative, and the range of data needed by schools, education authorities and at the national level in order to fulfil their different requirements

The results of this consultation will also inform the plans for a national discussion on the vision for Scottish education, which is being taken forward in response to the recommendation in Professor Ken Muir’s report Putting Learners at the Centre: Towards a Future Vision for Scottish Education, that:

  • The Scottish Government should initiate a national discussion on establishing a compelling and consensual vision for the future of Scottish education … in particular the importance of placing the learner at the centre of all decisions. The vision for Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) should be considered as part of this discussion as should consideration of how the education system seeks to address the purposes described in Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

The national discussion will include wider consideration of how to measure the effectiveness of the curriculum as a whole, as recommended by the OECD.

Read the consultation paper 

Why your views matter

The Scottish Government is interested in the views of anyone who is directly or indirectly involved with the Scottish education system aged 3-18 and those who have an interest in the issues covered in the consultation paper. We would love to hear the views of children and young people, practitioners, school staff, early learning and childcare staff, local authorities and Professional Associations. 

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