Scotland’s education system is the most devolved out of all the nations within the United Kingdom, employing the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) instead of a national curriculum. The CfE has been marked out for improvement in recent years and in 2021 it was reviewed by The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The recommendations made by the OECD were accepted in full by the Scottish government, prompting the inception of the new Curriculum Improvement Cycle (CIC), a decade-long review process.
The Curriculum Improvement Cycle
The ethos of the CIC is to avoid sporadic, disruptive curriculum change, instead creating an ongoing curriculum review journey that responds to changes in educational research and policy, incorporating insights from stakeholders throughout the education sector to co-create the new curriculum.
The 2021 OECD report lauded the CfE for the autonomy and breadth of knowledge it provides, with curriculum being shaped by leaders at the individual school level, and described Scotland as a ‘pioneer.’ A key recommendation for improvement was to rebalance the CfE to retain this autonomy while ensuring coherent learning across students aged 3-18, which has informed the new CIC. The CIC aims to clarify exactly what learners should know and understand, and what they should be able to do by the end of each key stage of education. Aiming to strengthen the progression between key stages in learners’ educational development, the CIC will create a more coherent curriculum between Broad General Education (early stage to S3) and the Senior Phase (from S4 onwards).
The CIC does offer a sustained approach to curriculum reform but the recent PISA report has invited fresh criticism of the Scottish Government’s education system: PISA results showed that Scotland has dropped from 12th in the world in 2000 to 28th in 2025, and that English students are a year ahead of Scottish peers in maths and science.
Empowering schools in Scotland report
Former head teacher John Wilson, an independent professional adviser to the Scottish government, released a report on the 28th of September that identifies priorities for reform in school funding systems and governance. Among recommendations to create Local Schools Authorities to enable a ‘joined up’ approach to devolved responsibility and to ring-fence national educational funding to improve consistency, Wilson raises concern over the pace of Scottish curriculum change.
“While it could be argued that our direction of travel has been broadly positive, the pace of our journey has without doubt been too slow.” – John Wilson
Qualifications Scotland, one of three new national education bodies created as part of the CIC, has just held its inaugural year of examinations. Results show a slight reduction in disadvantage gaps in attainment and education secretary Màiri McAllan reported ‘record numbers of vocational qualifications’.
McAllan confirmed in June that extra in-service days and training will be provided for implementing the new curriculum guidance as part of a phased implementation, starting with the adoption of the new framework at the start of 2028’s academic year for learners up to Third Level (P1-S3). Changes to Fourth Level (S4) and beyond are set to begin from August 2029, and the integration of changes to National 4 and 5 qualifications will be in place by August 2031.
Will Scotland prioritise vocational education and apprenticeships?
James Withers’ report ‘Fit for the Future: developing a post-school learning system to fuel economic transformation’, published in 2023 to support the CIC, feels particularly relevant in the wake of Andy Burnham’s plan for post-14 technical and vocational education in England. Will Scotland act on Withers’ similar recommendations?
The answer seems to be ‘probably.’ Analysis from the David Hume Institute shows that uptake of National Progression Awards in Scotland have more than doubled, rising from 19,640 in 2022 to 44,303 this year. Combined with Qualifications Scotland’s move to hold engagement events on reforming vocational and technical qualifications between September and December 2026, it seems that Scotland will at least somewhat replicate the English government’s renewed emphasis on skills and employability within education.
Are you prepared for the next decade of Scottish curriculum change?
As Education Scotland promises the arrival of full draft frameworks for the eight areas of the curriculum in ‘early autumn’ of this year, we look forward to analysing the details of Scotland’s improved curriculum.
The OECD emphasises the importance of coherent communication in supporting teachers and practitioners with these curriculum developments. Oriel Square is well-equipped to guide you through communication strategies as well as product development and publishing as these changes unfold. Get in touch to discuss how we support you.