Education and Childcare Assurance Board: April 2025

Attendees and apologies

Members

• Jenny Gilruth, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills - Chair (attended from 10am onwards)
• Councillor Tony Buchanan, COSLA Children and Young People spokesperson - Co-Chair
• Laura Caven, Chief Officer, Children and Young People (COSLA)
• Graeme Logan, Director of Learning (SG) 
• Clare Hicks, Director for Education Reform (SG)
• Andrew Watson, Director for Children and Families (SG)
• Alison Taylor, Deputy Director, Improvement, Attainment and Wellbeing (SG)
• Sheena Devlin (ADES)
• Derek Brown (SOLACE) (attended until 10am only)

In attendance

• Natalie Don-Innes, Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise - Chair on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills
• Lisa Bird, Deputy Director, Education Reform
• Eleanor Passmore, Deputy Director, Education and Childcare 

Secretariat

• Kit Wyeth, Head of the National Improvement Framework Unit (SG)
• Judith Tracey, Team Leader, National Improvement Framework Unit (SG)
• Katie Brydon, Policy Manager (SG)
• Michelle Kim, Policy Officer (SG)
• Matthew Sweeney, Policy Manager, Children and Young People (COSLA)

Apologies

• Laurence Findlay (ADES)
• Clare Hicks, Director for Education Reform (SG)
• Gillian Hamilton, Chief Executive of Education Scotland
• Janie McManus, Chief Inspector of Education (HMIE)

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions – Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise

The Minister welcomed members to the first meeting of the newly established Education and Childcare Assurance Board (ECAB). She said that the Board, which will be chaired jointly by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and Councillor Buchanan, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities' (COSLA) Children and Young People Spokesperson, will meet every 8 weeks and discussions will be minuted.

The Minister said that the Board has been established to allow members to consider the key national and local level data, discuss and set strategic priorities, and build a shared understanding and joint approach to those priorities in order to deliver on shared ambitions.

On behalf of the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, the Minister thanked members for agreeing to join the Board.

Paper 1 – Terms of Reference for the ECAB

The Chair invited members to raise any comments on paper 1 - Terms of Reference for the ECAB.

The following points were made in discussion:

• Sheena Devlin introduced herself and said that she has attended the meeting to represent Laurence Findlay. The Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) Executive Board welcomed the clarity of the terms of reference and agreed that it is essential for the Board to be evidence-led
• on the point about providing assurance to Ministers and Elected Members in discharging their responsibilities and to support decision making, she said that in order to reduce variation in outcomes, it is important to understand the causes behind it, and to look to reduce it in that context. She also suggested removing the reference to the current percentage of children and young people identified as needing additional support for learning, as it will vary nationally and between local authorities for numerous reasons, as outlined in the latest Audit Scotland briefing. It may be better to mention that the figure is increasing
• Councillor Buchanan welcomed the opportunity for the group to work together and hoped that the Board would support the goal of partnership working between national and local government
• the Board discussed the relationships between the ECAB and the other national level groups on education, including the Additional Support for Learning (ASL) Project Board, Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS), Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) Programme Board, National Improvement Framework (NIF) Programme Board and the Curriculum and Assessment Board, to ensure there is alignment of policy to get maximum value from the ECAB 

Actions/Decisions

• the ECAB Secretariat to remove the percentage of children and young people now identified as needing additional support for learning from the Terms of Reference and replace it with “an increasing number”
• the ECAB Secretariat to look at how the other national groups on education can be aligned with and involved in the work of the ECAB, and whether there is a structure to be formed with any of those groups sitting under the ECAB so that the ECAB has oversight and can ensure policy alignment

Paper 2 – Outline workplan for 2025

The Chair invited members to raise any comments or points on paper 2 and to identify any issues they think are missing from the workplan.

The following points were made in discussion:

• Sheena Devlin said that it would be helpful to discuss the links between teacher numbers, further reduction in class contact time and how that connects to learning hours at the June meeting. When taken together, the three subjects could be part of the solution, rather than looking at each one individually
• there was some discussion of the use of the term “deep dive” in relation to the proposed consideration of attainment data and the Board’s intended role as a strategic level group. Scottish Government officials confirmed that the officer level group, specified in the Terms of Reference, will carry out the deep dive analysis in advance of the meeting and will present it to the Board
• there was then some discussion about the need for a logic model to provide the overarching purpose and ambition of the Board and to help set the agenda for future meetings. Scottish Government officials mentioned that there are existing logic models in place, including that for the Scottish Attainment Challenge, and the Board could most effectively utilise one or more of the tools that are already in place. Laura Caven said COSLA could look across existing logic models to see if a bespoke, or overarching, model is required for the Board
• in terms of the proposed Board meeting in August, Derek Brown said that the Board would have a more effective discussion on the senior phase results in September rather than August, as it would have a more detailed breakdown of the figures by then

Actions/Decisions

• the ECAB Secretariat to adjust the schedule of the items in the workplan, to ensure the meetings take place at the point in the year when the Board can have the most useful discussions
• the ECAB Secretariat to clarify the use of the term “deep dive” in the workplan
• COSLA to look at producing a bespoke logic model if they feel that the existing SAC model is not suitable for the Board

Verbal update – Early Learning and Childcare – demonstration of the online dashboard element of the Outcomes and Measurement Framework and discussion 

Eleanor Passmore shared a presentation on the online dashboard element of the Outcomes and Measurement Framework (OMF). The OMF had been co-designed by the Scottish Government and local government over the past 18 months. It provides local authorities with a ‘one stop’ source of comparative data and aims to enable users to identify areas for improvement locally and track progress over time. The online dashboard will be available in April and will be refined over time. She shared a video demonstrating how the dashboard can be used. 

Eleanor invited members to raise any questions or comments on the online dashboard.

The following points were made in discussion:

• members agreed that the 1140 rollout was successful and that the online dashboard was a good example of how the Scottish Government and local government can work together
• there was a discussion about how the tool will work in different local authority areas and how it can provide an indication of potential issues in rural areas

Eleanor Passmore spoke about the National Improvement Project for eligible two year olds. A report will be ready at the end of 2025 which will synthesise a full economic evaluation, updates from the Scottish study of Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) and outcomes for children. It will also explain how policy has performed against outcomes. There is a Programme for Government (PfG) commitment to maximise uptake of the existing offer for eligible two year olds. The first uptake was at 52% in 2023, increasing to 59% last year. Work to improve uptake and strengthen service delivery started last year. The next phase will focus on engagement and co-design of solutions. 

Actions/Decisions

• Derek Brown to contact the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise’s private office to arrange a visit to the Highland Council

Paper 3 – Aligning LGBF, NIF, SSAILD and Insight Measures 

Judith Tracey provided the Board with an update on aligning Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF), National Improvement Framework (NIF), Scottish Statistics on Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations (SSAILD) and Insight measures. As part of the process to develop a monitoring and accountability framework, the measures used in SSAILD, NIF, Insight, and the LGBF need to be aligned, to ensure that these are proportionate, fit for purpose, and provide a single set of measures to be used for improvement purposes. The main area of divergence in the measurement used across all these frameworks is school leaver attainment. 

Judith invited members to raise any comments about aligning LGBF, NIF, SSAILD and Insight Measures.

The following points were made in discussion:

• Graeme Logan highlighted that it would be beneficial to agree on which measure to use across both Scottish Government and local government consistently to discuss school leaver attainment in order for discussions to be simplified and clearer
• there was an agreement to further discuss this topic at official level, reporting back to the ECAB at the next meeting. Members also agreed that there needs to be consistent set of measures used for improvement purposes
• Sheena Devlin said there would need to be a clear case for changing any measure, which focused on improving outcomes for young people and ensuring that aspiration and ambition is high

Actions/Decisions

• the ECAB Secretariat to set up a short life working group to discuss the alignment of measures, and bring a set of recommendations to the Board at the meeting in August/September
• Sheena Devlin to share any further comments and queries in relation to paper 3 with Scottish Government officials

Any other business and future meeting arrangements

The Chair raised an additional item on relationships and behaviour in school as the Cabinet Secretary had committed to raising the issue during topical questions on 1 April.

The Chair highlighted the importance of the Scottish Government working together with local government to improve relationships and behaviour, and mentioned the lack of common reporting standard for violent incidents against staff. 

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills joined the meeting and took over as Chair. She thanked the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise for chairing on her behalf.

The Chair invited members to provide feedback on how local authorities can share their current processes and practice for recording incidents, with a view to streamlining and improving consistency.

The following points were made in discussion:

• Sheena Devlin said that the Cabinet Secretary had met the Executive Officer team from ADES after topical questions, and they had a useful discussion on the way forward, recognising that planning and engagement work has begun with relevant stakeholders, with work scheduled to commence in early summer 2025
• there was a discussion about SEEMiS which is being used in all 32 local authorities. Members agreed that there needs to be more consistency in the approach to recording incidents
• the Chair thanked members for joining the first meeting of the ECAB, and confirmed that officials were in the process of organising the next meeting and would be in touch soon with further details