Informed Scotland May 2023 – All Learners Matter

The hottest topic in May was publication of the National Discussion on Education – Final report. The National Discussion was led by Prof Carol Campbell and Prof Alma Harris, who describe the scale of the response as ‘unprecedented in the history of engagement about the Scottish education system’.

We now wait to see what impact its findings might have. The Scottish Government and COSLA, who launched the Discussion in September 2022, are to ‘consider the report … and work to ensure that the vision for Scottish education is realised for all learners’.

Other items to highlight this month:

• The findings of two surveys on skills shortages and upskilling: by the Open University in Scotland on SMEs, and by Business in the Community on older employees
• An EngineeringUK report and discussion paper on current and future engineering skills needs
• Young Women’s Movement’s Young Women Code review of CodeClan digital skills academy and the wider challenges for women entering and progressing in the tech sector
• An EIS survey of teachers’ workload, health & wellbeing and the cost of living crisis
• Glasgow Caledonian University’s UK-wide survey of food education in schools
• Scottish Funding Council’s annual College Performance Indicators
• Advance HE’s Leadership Survey for Higher Education
• Time to Learn, a snapshot of how adults are investing in their own learning by the Learning & Work Institute
• And Education Scotland’s new podcast series, Learning Conversations, for teachers, parents and pupils.

This edition marks Informed Scotland’s 11^th anniversary!
As ever at this time, it’s interesting to recall what was shaping the learning & skills landscape back in May 2012, with an eye to what’s changed – or not:

• Youth unemployment was a shocking 23.1% (now 6.1%).
• Education Scotland had just audited secondary school preparations for implementing Curriculum for Excellence.
• The regionalisation of Scotland’s 41 colleges was underway (now 26 in 13 regions).
• The Scottish Parliament was set to increase free early learning & childcare from 475 to 600 hours per year (now 1,140 hours).
• A Scottish Parliament committee concluded that the attainment gap for looked after children was ‘unacceptably wide’.
• And there was no mention of green skills or energy transition in a press release for Scottish Enterprise’s new Oil & Gas Strategy 2012 2020: Maximising our Future.

If you’d like to see what else was in Informed 1, email [email protected] to request a copy, plus the latest issue, and discover what you’re missing.

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