Additional time for teachers - such as extra in-service days - will be needed so they can take part in the ongoing work to improve Curriculum for Excellence, the Education Scotland strategic director leading the review has said.
Ollie Bray is calling for additional time so that teachers can engage with the changes brought forward by the Curriculum Improvement Cycle (CIC) as part of its “sharing, learning and adopting” phase, which is anticipated to begin during the second half of 2027-28 and continue for a number of years.
The CIC, which is expected to run for 10 years, aims to address concerns about Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), including clarifying the knowledge that learners should have at each stage and “decluttering” the curriculum to make space for deeper learning.
Giving teachers time for CfE review
Speaking exclusively to Tes Scotland, Mr Bray did not specify the number of in-service days that should be made available to schools; he said this will have to be negotiated with key stakeholders, including professional associations. However, more than one day will be needed, he said, adding that the time afforded to school staff to engage should not be “tokenistic”.
The call for the extra in-service days follows the backing of a motion at the annual general meeting of the EIS teaching union in Aviemore earlier this month, which made a similar plea for “additional Inset days” so that teachers could “participate meaningfully” in the curriculum review.
At that meeting concern was also raised that the CfE review had been “lacking in the voice of early years and primary colleagues”.
More on the CfE review:
Susan Quinn, a primary headteacher and convener of the EIS education committee, told the AGM that there were several reasons for this, but the main one was primary teachers struggling to be released from school in order to participate.
“We have been very clear in our conversations with Education Scotland and others that money needs to be spent to release these teachers,” she said.
On extra in-service days, Ms Quinn said: “We’re putting on the table with Scottish government and [local authorities’ body] Cosla that they have to be factored in now, because if they are not there will not be time for schools and colleges to be involved in proper work in this area. There is too much already to fit into the five days that are there, so we need extra days for curricular change.”
For Mr Bray, it is also crucial that the days are agreed in good time.
He said: “We know this programme is going to last 10 years. We have got this awareness-raising stage in 2025-26, but from 2026-27 there will need to be more professional development for staff, so we know that at least a year in advance.
“If we know that at least a year in advance, let’s plan for it.”
Planning in-service days
Planning the days ahead of time could lead to alignment across councils so that national support can be provided, and primaries and secondaries in the same cluster are able to work together, Mr Bray said.
“If you look at this 24 months in advance, all of that is possible, but that’s all to do with the planning - as I often say, this is all about doing the right things in the right order at the right time.”
When CfE was being introduced, additional in-service days were planned for all schools in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.
However, teaching unions campaigned for extra days to allow for more training. The days were eventually granted, but the government came under fire for giving teachers “too little and far too late in the day”.
More recently, in June 2023, education secretary Jenny Gilruth asked that “the first in-service days of the new academic year” be used to allow teachers to engage with education reform.
Specifically, she asked that they be given time to reflect on the national discussion report and the interim report produced by the qualifications and assessment review.
However, headteachers and education directors complained that the request came too late in the day when activity had already been planned.
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “We understand that teachers will need sufficient in-service time to help with the successful implementation of curriculum reform.
“The Scottish government is engaging with both Education Scotland and Scottish Qualifications Authority through the Curriculum and Qualifications Assurance Board, to be clear about what is required and how this can be accommodated. We continue to keep wider partners informed of curriculum improvement cycle developments through forums including the .”
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