2015 Education Bill (introduced by the Scottish Government March 2015)

The proposals in the Bill include duties on local authorities in relation to:These proposals include duties on local authorities in relation to

  • reducing pupils’ inequalities of outcome;
  • provision about Gaelic Medium Education (GME);
  • appointing Chief Education Officers.

The Bill also includes modifications to previous legislation relating to Additional Support for Learning (ASL), the provision of school meals and the duty to provide early learning and childcare to certain childr

1. Reducing pupils’ inequalities of outcome and reporting by the LA on progress and planned actions every second year

National context

The Scottish Attainment Challenge

Stretch Aim 1

To ensure that 85% of children within each school cluster have successfully experienced and achieved CfE Second Level Literacy, Numeracy and Health and Wellbeing outcomes in preparation for Secondary School by 2016.

Stretch Aim 2

To ensure that 85% of children within each school cluster have successfully experienced and achieved CfE Third Level Literacy, Numeracy and Health and Wellbeing outcomes in preparation for the Senior Phase by 2019.

Stretch Aim 3

To ensure that 95% of young people within each school cluster go on to positive participationdestinations on leaving school by 2018.

Stretch Aim 4

To provide the leadership for improvement, both nationally and locally, across the country

  • Major funding for the attainment challenge nationally.
  • Attainment advisers posts just advertised – will work with LAs across the country.
  • Edinburgh is already fully committed to the goal of reducing social and educational inequity, to improving attainment and to closing the gap in attainment and other outcomes for pupils in the city from different backgrounds.
  • Raising attainment, reflected in the annual improvement planning priorities for schools, attainment discussions as part of the support and challenge agenda, including the 4 key Insight benchmarks
  • Edinburgh is involved in the national learning sessions of the Scottish government’s newly introduced Raising Attainment for All (RAFA) programme. Officers attended launch session Glasgow in March 2015:
  • Meeting held with J MacInnes (primary), D Leslie (secondary) with the national programme improvement advisers to devise strategic approaches locally to build on this collaborative model
  • Input by national advisers into QIT CPD on June 15th.
  • Currently 5 primary schools have undertaken training. Another 4 primary school undergoing training ‘boot camp’ on 27 May.
  • Minimum of 4 secondary schools (one in each locality) to be identified to undertake training in August. (D Leslie will coordinate)
  • Network of CEC staff and RAFA colleagues to be established.
  • On-going collaboration and liaising with officers leading on Edinburgh’s strategy to respond to child poverty.
  • Input planned for secondary CfE HT meeting 9 September 2015.

Provision about Gaelic Medium Education (GME)

There are three key proposals relating to Gaelic education in the Bill.

  1. A duty on local authorities to promote and support GME
  • In terms of CEC’s Gaelic medium primary education, the Bill does not place any further requirements or duties on CEC as Edinburgh is a local authority where these duties are being met.
  • The Bill will help in terms of placing a duty on local authorities to monitor and respond to demand for GME.
  1. The establishment of a national statutory process for authorities to assess parental requests for GME.
  • The Scottish government is preparing guidance which will define the

arrangements under which GME should operate in a school and be managed by a local authority. In other words they will produce a national framework and guidance for the delivery of GMW.

  • A national strategy will support local authorities in planning for delivering GME.
  1. The development of statutory guidance on the arrangements for the delivery of Gaelic education in schools and by authorities
  • The Bill places a duty on local authorities to report on the demand for GME in their area but does not lay out any guidelines or policies for the assessment of this demand.
  • Edinburgh already has well-established and effective processes in place to meet its obligations to assess demand for GME.
  • Throughout there is full consideration of the extent of the demand, existing capacity in the city at all levels, the cost, the availability of teachers and the potential to recruit teachers. CEC should therefore be well-placed to meet proposed statutory obligations within the Bill.

Chief Education Officers

  • Authorities must appoint a Chief Education Officer - possibly on the lines of the Chief Social Worker post
  • The proposal for a Chief Education Officer originated from the Association of Directors of Education Scotland (ADES). This was because, in some authorities, the integration of children’s services has led to the appointment of non-education specialists to lead these services.
  • The Scottish Government predicts that filling the Chief Education Office role will have no financial implications for councils because councils will be able to determine that an existing officer meets the statutory requirements.

Modifications to previous legislation relating to Additional Support for Learning (ASL)

  • The Bill would extend rights under the Education (Additional Support for Learning (ASL)) (Scotland) Act 2004 to children aged 12 and over with capacity.
  • In Edinburgh the “having your say” pro formais used through GIRFEC meetings to capture the views of the child if that child has capacity.
  • Extending rights in this direction is therefore to be welcomed.

May 2015