The Scottish Education System Unit outline Overview of the education system in Scotland Introduction to Curriculum for Excellence Stages The examination system and awards School inspection

The Scottish Education System Birth until age 3 Broad General Education (age 3 – until end of S3 secondary school) Senior Phase (S4-S6 ages 15-18) College Education (16+) Higher Education

Senior Phase The senior phase of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) is for young people from S4-S6 in secondary School. A key aim of CfE is to ensure that all young people can continue to expect to gain knowledge or skills and work towards qualifications and awards, whatever their individual needs and wherever they are learning. You can support young people in the senior phase by working in partnership with others to offer a range of options, including work-based learning or community-based learning, volunteering or a combination of these.

Curriculum Framework Coherent curriculum 3 to 18 Broad general curriculum – early years to S3 Senior phase with opportunities to gain qualifications Skills for learning, skills for life, skills for work Personal support Support to move to destinations beyond school

Curriculum for Excellence The purposes of education: the four capacities Successful Learners Confident individuals To enable all young people to become: Responsible Citizens Effective Contributors

The purposes of education: the four capacities (1) Successful Learners With- Enthusiasm and motivation for learning Determination to reach high standards of achievement Openness to new thinking and ideas And able to- Use literacy, communication and numeracy skills Use technology for learning Think creatively and independently Learn independently and as part of a group Make reasoned evaluations Link and apply different kinds of learning in new situations Confident Individuals With- Self-respect A sense of physical, mental and emotional well-being Secure values and beliefs Ambition And able to- Relate to others and manage themselves Pursue an active and healthy lifestyle Develop and communicate their own beliefs and view of the world Live as independently as they can Assess risk and make informed decisions Achieve success in different areas of activity

The purposes of education: the four capacities (2) Responsible Citizens With- Respect for others Commitment to participate responsibly in political, economic, social and cultural life And able to- Develop knowledge and understanding of the world and Scotland’s place in it Understand different beliefs and cultures Evaluate environmental, scientific and technological issues Develop informed ethical views of complex issues Effective Contributors With- An enterprising attitude Resilience Self-reliance And able to- Communicate in different ways and in different settings Work in partnership and in teams Take the initiative and lead Apply critical thinking in new contexts Create and develop Solve problems

Understanding the CfE levels and curriculum areas The CfE levels are: Level Early (0) First (1) Second (2) Third (3) Fourth 4) Senior Phase Stage of Learning Nursery-P1 P2-P4 P5-P7 S1-S3 S4-S6 Age 3-6 6-9 9-11 11-15 15-18 *The “stage of learning” and “age” categories above should be used as rough guides only.

The eight curriculum areas Expressive arts (EXA) Languages and literacy (LIT) Health & wellbeing (HWB) Mathematics and numeracy (MTH & MNU) Religious & moral education (RME) Sciences (SCN) Social studies (SOC) Technologies (TCH)

Understanding CfE experiences and outcome codes Having explored my local area, I can present information on different places to live, work and relax and interesting places to visit. SCO 2-10a SOC refers to the Social Studies curriculum area 2 refers to the Level; 10a refers to a particular statement

Scottish Credit & Qualifications Framework

Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2009 “All looked after children and young people have additional support needs, unless the education authority determine that they do not require additional support in order to benefit from school education” The Local Authority must consider whether a Coordinated Support Plan is needed.

Included, Engaged and Involved: Part 2: A positive approach to managing school exclusions There is a section specifically around looked after children and questions for designated managers to consider around excluding looked after children (Page 42-46)

Joint Inspection of Services In September 2011 The Care Inspectorate were mandated to take the lead in developing a multi-agency approach to services around children. This Joint Inspection of Services, based on the following requirements: Getting it Right for Every Child A strong user focus A coordinated/joint approach which demonstrates a duty of cooperation It’s aim is to focus on inspecting a wide range of services working directly with children, parents and carers, focusing on the effectiveness of integrated working to improve outcomes for all children, as well as the most vulnerable. It will asses children looked after at home, children looked after and accommodated and the theme of corporate parenting.

Joint Inspection http://www.scswis.com/

Key Messages The four capacities of Curriculum for Excellence are: successful learners; confident individuals; responsible citizens; effective contributors. The early years curriculum is based on the principle of active learning. Nurture groups may be available to support vulnerable children. The eight curriculum areas used to structure school learning are: mathematics; languages; social studies; expressive arts; sciences; technologies; health and wellbeing; religious and moral education. The system of national qualifications, the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework, is the responsibility of the SQA. Joint Inspections of Services to Children.