The national discussion - charged with setting out a vision for the future of Scottish education - reported in May 2023, and boasted of having engaged with over 38,000 people.
Now it is being suggested that a similar exercise be carried out every decade in a bid to ensure that Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) remains “fit for purpose”.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) review of CfE, published in 2021, recommended that the Scottish government “develop a systematic approach to curriculum review” - so that reviews were “planned and proactive” and not carried out in response to “curriculum issues and controversies”.
It suggested that Scottish education was in “constant reactive mode” - and highlighted that the OECD review itself had been triggered by “a controversy”.
Today, Tes Scotland can reveal that a draft model for a curriculum review cycle has been put forward.
Papers for a Scottish government group, published today, reveal that the proposed model envisages that “an overarching ‘system level’ review of the curriculum framework”, including its vision and priorities, will be carried out “every 10 years” to ensure “it is still fit for purpose”.
This curriculum review would be “overseen by a governance group” and would be “similar to the national discussion exercise”.
The review would then determine - drawing on feedback from parents, pupils and teachers, as well as other sources of evidence such as inspection reports - “areas for particular focus”, so “what curriculum areas would be reviewed and over what time period”.
Maths review
These early plans for a systematic approach to curriculum review follow education secretary Jenny Gilruth’s announcement - in the wake of Scotland’s disappointing performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment - that the maths curriculum would be reviewed this year.
She said the focus on maths would mark the beginning of improvement to CfE “in a planned and systemic way”.
She said that literacy and English would be “the next priority for curriculum update”.
Meanwhile, Education Scotland is undertaking a pilot curriculum review of the expressive arts across art and design, dance, drama and music - prompted by the 2021 OECD review of CfE - although much of the detail around this process has yet to emerge.
Agility and constant change
On the pros and cons of a 10-year curriculum review cycle, the 2021 OECD review said that some countries had found that timeframe gave the system “stability but at the expense of responsiveness”.
However, it also said that “a process of rolling review can allow for an agile response as issues arise, but in turn generates constant change and updating”.
It said that to date in Scotland reviews had been reactive, not proactive, and had “drawn on expertise external to the system”.
The 2021 report added: “While external perspectives can be useful from time to time, building internal system capacity for curriculum review, and trust and confidence in that capacity should now be prioritised for Scotland.”
For the latest Scottish education news, analysis and features delivered directly to your inbox, sign up to Tes magazine’s The Week in Scotland newsletter
