The Scottish Government began consultation on proposals to extend the rights of children with capacity under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended), and to repeal section 70 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. The consultation would close on 28 March 2014.
Source: Extending the Rights of Children with Capacity Under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (as Amended) and Repealing Section 70 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, Scottish Government
Links: Consultation document | Summary
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined variations in educational policy and performance across the different countries of the United Kingdom. There was considerable variation in child development between countries, with no single story of 'success'. But literacy development among children in England (particularly London) was, on average, greater than for children elsewhere.
Source: Chris Taylor, Gareth Rees, and Rhys Davies, 'Devolution and geographies of education: the use of the Millennium Cohort Study for "home international" comparisons across the UK', Comparative Education, Volume 49 Issue 3
Links: Abstract | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Sep
A think-tank report said that Scotland's further education sector was too centralized. Legislation was required to remove colleges' status as public bodies and enshrine them as fully independent charities. Young people between 16 and 19 should receive an annual entitlement (equal to the average cost of educating a child in their local authority area), which they would be free to use to access education at any college or school in Scotland.
Source: Ben Thomson, Geoff Mawdsley, and Alison Payne, A New Deal for Scotland s Colleges, Reform Scotland
Links: Report | Reform Scotland press release
Date: 2013-Jun
A new book examined how religious and/or secular beliefs were formed at school and in the family in five countries with very different educational systems (Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Malta, and Scotland).
Source: Emer Smyth, Maureen Lyons, and Merike Darmody (eds), Religious Education in a Multicultural Europe: Children, parents and schools, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Jun
The Scottish Parliament approved a Bill designed to widen access to university, and improve governance and accountability in colleges and universities. Widening access agreements would have legal backing.
Source: Post-16 Education (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government, TSO | Scottish Parliament Debate 26 June 2013, columns 21691-21722, Official Report, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | Research briefing | Official Report | Scottish Government press release | SNP press release | UCU press release | BBC report
Date: 2013-Jun
An article examined the education reforms of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom, with particular focus on value for money. It examined how the countries compared in terms of educational attainment during compulsory schooling years; inequalities in educational attainment, such as by gender and socio-economic status; and the effectiveness and value for money of different education policies and programmes. Evidence was found that increasing school resources improved results, and also that more targeted spending benefited able pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Although the value for money of certain policies – such as the literacy hour – could be reasonably well measured, for many other policies it was hard to do so accurately.
Source: Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally, and Gill Wyness, 'Educational attainment across the UK nations: performance, inequality and evidence', Educational Research, Volume 55 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jun
A paper examined the performance of children educated in the devolved Scottish system compared with those educated in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. There were many more similarities than differences in terms of educational attainment across the four countries: all four attained similar positions relative to the international community. But an analysis of national statistics suggested that Scotland's performance had been very stable over time, whereas England's performance had been improving. There were also deep levels of educational inequality in Scotland, particularly between pupils from different socio-economic groups, that devolution had been unable to solve.
Source: Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally, and Gill Wyness, Education in a Devolved Scotland: A quantitative analysis, Special Paper 30, Centre for Economic Performance (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-May
The Scottish Government published the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill. Children aged 3-4 would be entitled to 600 hours of funded early learning and childcare (up from 475 hours) – as would looked-after children aged 2, and those with a kinship care order. Every child and young person would have a named person from birth responsible for safeguarding their well-being, working with other bodies as required. Kinship carers would be provided with more support from local authorities.
Source: Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | Scottish Government press release | Cosla press release | BBC report
Date: 2013-Apr
The report of an independent commission said that education reforms over 50 years had failed to make a significant improvement to the exam results of children in Scotland from disadvantaged backgrounds. Among the reforms were raising the school leaving age, the launch of standard grade exams, and comprehensive schools. Scottish schools performed well overall, being consistently in the top quarter of countries for education results: but the trend had been generally downward, and Scotland was being overtaken.
Source: By Diverse Means: Improving Scottish education, Commission on School Reform (Reform Scotland/Centre for Scottish Public Policy)
Links: Report | BBC report | Open Democracy blog post | Scotsman report
Date: 2013-Mar
An article examined policy and practice in relation to the education of looked-after children in Scotland. There was evidence of considerable infrastructural development, both in the looked-after children sector and more widely in education services. There was also evidence of improvement in outcomes, notably in school attendance and the attainment of children in out-of-home care. Although outcomes generally still lagged behind those of children who were not looked after, those of children who were looked after while remaining in the family home remained relatively resistant to improvement.
Source: Graham Connelly and Judy Furnivall, 'Addressing low attainment of children in public care: the Scottish experience', European Journal of Social Work, Volume 16 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Mar
A think-tank report said that the Scottish Government would have to invest significantly more in the education system if the country were to have a world-leading 'learning society' by 2025.
Source: By 2025, Scotland Will Be Regarded as a World-Leading Learning Nation, Scotland s Future Forum/Goodison Group
Links: Report | SFF press release | BBC report
Date: 2013-Feb
An article examined whether the concept of social capital was helpful in explaining the educational under-achievement of looked-after children in Scotland.
Source: Michele McClung and Vernon Gayle, 'Social capital as a mechanism for exploring the low educational achievements of looked after children', Journal of Children's Services, Volume 8 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Feb
A think-tank report highlighted the inequality in government-funded nursery provision for pre-school children, and called for a simple change to the system that would make it fair and equal. Nursery education should begin at a fixed point in the year, rather than when a child reached the age of 3.
Source: Ben Thomson, Geoff Mawdsley, and Alison Payne, An Equal Start: Fair access to nursery provision, Reform Scotland
Links: Report | Summary | Scotsman report
Date: 2013-Jan
