The initial report from the First Minister of Scotland’s International Council of Educational Advisors (ICEA) has highlighted the need to focus on cultural change and capacity-building as well as structural reform.

The ICEA also recommended that further investment to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom and unleash untapped leadership potential within schools is required.

The ICEA believes the system needs to focus on building stronger collaboration and partnerships.

Professor Christopher Chapman, a member of ICEA and co-director of What Works Scotland said:

“For Scottish education to fulfil its ambition of levelling the playing field so all our young people achieve their full potential we need to create a system that ensures every child has access to the very best learning and teaching. We also need to build leadership capacity by investing in professional learning that impacts on teachers and leaders day-to-day practices. To achieve this it is important to build a collaborative culture that celebrates success and moves knowledge and expertise around the system. The Education Governance Review provides a significant opportunity for the system to rise to this challenge by rethinking and re-culturing ways of working within Scottish education.”

The report highlights the strengths of Curriculum for Excellence and the National Improvement Framework, noting that they provide a clear and positive narrative which have the potential to close the poverty-related attainment gap.

The Scottish Government said: “We value the Council’s expertise, robust challenge and input into our policy thinking, and our decision to further empower schools and teachers took its advice into account alongside other evidence.”

• Read the ICEA Initial Report on the Scottish Government website
• See all the resources from What Works Scotland about collaborative leadership