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Publication - Minutes

Curriculum reform subgroup minutes: 3 October 2023

Published
30 July 2026
Directorate
Learning Directorate
Topic
Education, Equality and rights
Date of meeting
3 October 2023

Minutes from the meeting of the group on 3 October 2023.

Attendees and apologies

 

 

Items and actions

1. Welcome and introductions

 

The chair welcomed all to the meeting and noted apologies.
The group was very pleased to welcome new and substitute members. 
The new Building Racial Literacy manager and the workstream lead for the Racism and Racism Incidents (RRI) workstream within the wider Anti-Racism in Education Programme (AREP), were in attendance to provide updates and make connections.  
The purpose of the meeting would be to provide updates across the various priorities, take stock of progress and hurdles, and an opportunity to discuss and agree next steps. 

2. Minutes and actions from last meeting

 

The chair invited any comment or queries on the previous minutes and checked through the actions as follows: 

  • share details on the Historical Association data – confirmed that details were on the SATH website, and queried whether they could go on the Education Scotland Glow website - action;
  • members will be invited to be part of the testing of the website development on the principles – this was done and thanks to those that participated.
  • Scottish Government will provide updates on the financial position as soon as possible – this was done and further details will be provided across the course of the meeting.

The minutes were agreed and would be published on the Scottish Government website.

3. Updates

 

Scottish Government updates were as follows:

  • we continue to await a date for the Anti-Racism in Education Summit and will update as soon as there are any developments;
  • within Scottish Government a range of work is raising and consolidating the profile of anti-racism in education: 
  • the recent Programme for Government included the commitment to further advance inclusive education in our schools through our AREP which will continue to embed anti-racist practice and principles in initial and ongoing professional development for teachers and educators, including the promotion of a decolonised curriculum which reflects diversity, social justice and Scotland’s role in trans-Atlantic enslavement, as well as the development of robust measures for tackling racist incidents in schools.

The Cabinet Secretary responded to a question in the Scottish Parliament on the implementation of the anti-racist curriculum principles.

The Cabinet Secretary is due to meet with the Drumchapel High School Anti-Racist Society on 9 November to discuss the curriculum.

The funding of programmes has been established through grant offers to Intercultural Youth Scotland for their schools partnerships, to the University of Glasgow for the Teaching Slavery in Scotland programme, to West and East of Scotland Development Education Centres for their leadership of the development of new curriculum resources and funding is protected for the Small Grants Fund for children and young people-led activity.

A range of support and design sessions have been led by Education Scotland using the Anti-Racist Curriculum Principles as a framework for change.

Education Reform continues to dominate the education policy landscape and internal activity continues in Scottish Government and Education Scotland to articulate anti-racism within that. a further deadline of 13 October has been set for any comments on the Hayward report and the secretariat will respond on behalf of the group reiterating previous points made around potential teacher bias and assessment.

The developments were welcomed and it was noted that anti-racism and social justice should be being framed within the curriculum review work if it was to be considered as a contender for prioritisation.

The imminent GTC Scotland Review of the Memorandum on Entry Requirements to Programmes of initial teacher education was flagged and noted that anti-racism would be considered as part of that work.

Update on the Building Racial Literacy programme:

  • cohort four will begin in November 2023;
  • over 300 applications were received with space for 150. Within that will be a focus on senior leaders, middle leaders, community and learning development, and Black and minority ethnic educators;
  • additionally there will be a Building Racial Literacy (BRL) In-person day for headteachers and showcases and events for the BRL Alumni and Anti-Racist Clubs network.

It was advised that the Racism and Racist Incidents subgroup has reconvened in September and would meet again in October. Plans were underway to ensure links between the workstreams on key areas such as curriculum resources, the role of the inspectorate, centring the voices and experiences of children and young people that had experienced racism and the small grants fund.

4. Action grid

 

The actions grid was introduced as a way to take stock of our core priorities and recommendations and the actions, milestones and outcomes against which we can measure progress. It would remain a work-in-progress that can be developed and updated to remain relevant. The group worked through the grid as a way to reflect on and capture updates and to consider where there was a need for clarity and more information, and support for what should prioritised in coming weeks, months and beyond. A number of points and amendments were raised as follows, and the grid has been updated accordingly.

  • review and reform of the curriculum framework from the early years onwards to articulate and embed anti-racist practice and learning. The grid will be updated to better reflect early years settings and activity;
  • development and curation of high-quality resources that support and grow anti-racist learning and teaching across the curriculum (aligned with professional learning to support and enhance implementation and embedding co-design and community involvement as integral features). 
  • it was noted that resources were underway led by Development Education Centres focused on early years and health and wellbeing/personal and social education and that members of the group were involved. The Teaching Slavery in Scotland programme led by academics and the Scottish Association of Teachers of History is now open for applications.
    The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) award recognising Inverclyde was flagged in relation to the collaborative development of lessons and resources about local links to TransAtlantic Slavery in Scotland. The Coalition of Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) Black History month programme of events was highlighted and members were hugely positive about its scope and appeal. The demand for professional learning on empire and colonialism, in primary secondary and early years, was noted. Colourful Heritage’s role in developing curriculum resources and professional learning in relation to the Second World War was highlighted. Links were made with the Empire, Slavery and Scotland's Museums recommendation and steering group on education and the need for more emphasis on Empire articulated as part of that. This has been a common theme over the period of discussions and it is emerging as a priority for the next phase of work. The importance of including the network of Independent schools in Scotland was highlighted;
  • establish and fund an Anti-Racist Curriculum Senior Education Officer post in Education Scotland (ES) with a national remit that aligns with the key recommendations and principles of the Anti-Racism in Education Curriculum Reform group. - No comments to add at this point;
  • work alongside His Majesty's Inspectorate (and Care Commission regarding early years settings) to embed and grow antiracist education expertise and leadership into the inspectorate approach that will help embed and drive awareness and improvement across the system. - the grid will be updated to reflect the explicit role of HMIE and distinction from Education Scotland, and amended the correct title of Care Inspectorate for early years. Specific links will be made to align with similar aims in the RRI and ELPL workstreams;
  • design and administer a small grants fund for young people-led activity to create and support antiracist change projects within their schools and communities - No comments to add at this point;
  • in recognition of the impact of national qualifications in shaping educational priorities, that the Scottish Qualifications Agency (SQA) work with partners, including the AREP Curriculum Reform group, to ensure appropriate inclusion of race equality and anti-racist practice and content in the development of new or adapted course specifications, and relevant guidance - SQA representatives supported this commitment and the following points were made which will be reflected in the updated grid: Based on the wider timeline it’s anticipated that the group engagement would take place from early 2024 with an intention that SQA subject specialists would meet in advance with academic experts involved in key subject areas.

5. Reflections, agenda for next meeting and close

 

A number of areas were flagged for consideration at the next agenda, in particular the wider Social Justice, Rights and Equalities in the curriculum work that is underway, updates on the developing resources for early years and health and wellbeing, and the small grants fund. The January meeting was identified as the ideal time for exploring the SQA work on social studies and anti-racism.

 

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