Evaluating quality and improvement in Scottish education
The National Improvement Framework (NIF) and Improvement Plan (gov.scot) set out what needs to be done to improve Scottish education so that every child can achieve their full potential.
The NIF helps to deliver the two aims of excellence and equity in education. These are:
- ensuring children and young people develop a broad range of skills and capacities
- supporting them to thrive, regardless of their social circumstances or additional needs
The vision, priorities and drivers of improvement set out in the NIF underpin education reform and the improvement agenda.
NIF evidence report
The annual NIF evidence report gives an overview of:
- what the Scottish Government knows about Scottish education
- the context in which our children and young people learn
It brings together available current evidence on:
- achievement
- attainment
- health and wellbeing
- the wider education system
It has a specific focus on differences between children living in the most and least deprived areas.
It aims to give an objective picture of Scottish education, based on a range of sources. This includes evidence from inspection.
NIF Improvement Plan
The NIF Improvement Plan summarises the key evidence. It identifies both ongoing and new improvement activity the Scottish Government will take forward or support at national level.
It sets out the improvement activity the Scottish Government and partners will take forward in the year ahead.
Evaluation of the quality of education provision takes place at different levels within the Scottish education system.
Overall responsibility for the quality of education and securing continuous improvement sits with education providers. To achieve our ambition of excellence and equity for children and young people, everyone involved in education will need to work together. This is to create a learning system which drives continuous and sustained improvement.
The Scottish approach to improvement
In Scotland our approach to quality assurance and improvement is globally respected. It’s become known as the ‘Scottish approach’ to improvement. It’s based on the idea that establishments and services take responsibility for the quality of their education and they take action to secure continuous improvement.
This is complemented by external evaluation carried out by HMIE through inspection activity.
National Quality Indicators (QIs)
Scotland’s shared approach to evaluating quality is based on a set of National Quality Indicators (QIs). These enable providers to undertake self-evaluation leading to improvement. The QIs also form the framework HM Inspectors use to evaluate the quality of education provision as part of inspection.
Self-evaluation
This strong focus on developing self-evaluation is complemented by external inspection. This has been a defining characteristic of quality and improvement in Scottish education.
Where self-evaluation works best, everyone involved works together in evaluating the quality of education provision. This includes:
- staff at all levels
- learners
- stakeholders
- partners
The strengths and priorities they identify for improvement are verified through inspection.
Inspections and reviews also help providers to identify highly effective and innovative practice. They share this practice more widely so that others can learn from it.
There are times when inspections also identify areas for improvement which have not been identified through an organisation’s self-evaluation. Such cases highlight the importance of external inspection. This helps ensure learners experience consistently high quality learning and achieve the best possible outcomes.
In such cases, inspectors will continue to engage with the establishment or service to secure improvements for children and young people.
Inspectors may revisit to review progress. Where appropriate, they may carry out further inspection activity and reporting.