Community Learning and Development Strategic Leadership Group: terms of reference

Background

The Strategic Leadership Group (“the group”) will provide sustained strategic leadership, working to set out and deliver a clear, learner-centred vision of how CLD will provide the best outcomes for Scotland’s communities and the people in them. This aspiration is connected to the accepted recommendation 1.1 of the CLD independent review report Learning: For All. For Life, published in July 2024.

Group role and remit

• be action-focused, bringing together decision makers and influencers, covering matters across the breadth of the CLD offer
• provide leadership and advice to key sectoral interests, developing a strategic approach to decision making
• consider the establishment of an associated equalities forum and provide direction across the 20 review recommendations
• be informed by evidence from across the Education and Skills sector, to deliver measurable learner centred outcomes
• meet a cross-section of CLD learners, at least annually, to take account of their views, and action where appropriate, in accordance with the standards of Community Engagement, using appropriate learner voice toolkits
• work across organisational and structural boundaries to set, direct and oversee delivery of any agreed joint activities
• take account of related work and making appropriate cross cutting connections, at local and national level, including wider education reform, City and Region Growth Deals and relevant poverty and inequality work

Membership

See the group's membership. Members can send substitutes to group meetings, provided the substitute is empowered to act for the member.

The group will be alternately chaired by a Scottish Government (SG) Minister and COSLA elected spokespeople, known collectively as the “co-chairs”.

The membership will be reviewed periodically, at the discretion of the co-chairs.

Meetings

The group will meet quarterly as a minimum. The location and dates of meetings will be agreed on an annual basis in advance.

Meetings will be a forum for open, frank and respectful discussion about what is working well, and where improvement is required, aligned to the recommendations.

The continuation of the group will be reviewed periodically at the discretion of the co-chairs

Decisions of the group

As an action-focused group, the chair of the meeting will encourage all views and seek to ensure that decisions are informed by a sufficient breadth of discussion.

The group will be subject to collective responsibility. Where the group had made a decision, members of the group would own the decision publicly.

Confidentiality

Meeting papers and discussions are confidential unless specifically noted otherwise. No papers or information about discussions or views expressed in meetings will be shared with third parties unless explicitly agreed. This includes responding to media enquiries.

Where there is a requirement for the co-chairs or members to report on the work of the group, the confidential nature of discussions will be respected.

Keeping stakeholders informed

After each meeting a jointly agreed communique will be published on the Scottish Government website. Once published, members may freely publicise the communique through their respective channels.

Secretariat

Secretariat will be provided by the appropriate officials from Scottish Government or COSLA

Meeting papers

The secretariat will circulate an agenda, an action log and other meeting papers to members in advance of the meeting. Members may request items or papers to be included on the agenda ahead of the meeting. The agenda will be decided by the co-chairs.

The agenda and papers will normally be issued at least one week in advance of the meeting.

There will be no minutes of the meeting. The secretariat will prepare a draft communiqué and action log. The draft communiqué and action log will be circulated to members for approval. The final communiqué will be published on the Scottish Government website as soon as possible after the meeting.

Status of the terms of reference

The terms of reference is an agreement between the Scottish Government, CoSLA and members of the group and, once approved, is effective unless or until the group agrees any changes.