In December 2019, the Scottish Government released the 2020 National Improvement Framework (NIF) and Improvement Plan, originally introduced in 2016. It updates the original proposals around standardised testing, school self-evaluation and the role of parents in school development and improvement.
The key priorities of the National Improvement Framework are:
- improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy;
- closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people;
- improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing;
- improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school-leaver destinations for all young people.
The priorities in the 2020 NIF include continued support for maintaining the increased focus on early learning and childcare, and health and wellbeing. These are viewed as particularly important for delivering the skills required for learning, life and work that form part of the four capacities of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).
A summary of the main issues for the 2020 Improvement Plan is available on the Scottish Government's 2020 National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan web page.
The NASUWT has engaged extensively with the Scottish Government and other national-level bodies on the principles on which the NIF is based and its implementation.
The NASUWT will continue to ensure that the interests of teachers and school leaders are represented robustly in these discussions. Updates on developments will be available on this page.