National Improvement Framework 2026: improvement plan

Outcome 5

Highly skilled teachers and school-leaders driving excellent learning, teaching and assessment for all, especially those with additional support needs.

What the evidence is telling us

Findings from HM Inspectors through school inspections tell us that the majority of schools have established shared frameworks that support consistent, high-quality learning and teaching. In the most effective practice, staff collaborate to define what constitutes a high-quality lesson and use this shared understanding to plan and deliver learning that is coherent and responsive. Teachers reflect on their practice and engage in professional dialogue, contributing to a culture of continuous improvement. However, in a minority of schools, the quality of learning and teaching remains variable. There is a continuing need to ensure teaching approaches both support and challenge children and young people effectively, enabling them to make sustained progress in their learning.

The majority of primary schools demonstrate a clear commitment to supporting children and young people who require additional help with their learning. In these settings, staff plan and deliver targeted interventions effectively, often in collaboration with support for learning assistants. These approaches are informed by assessment data, enabling timely and appropriate support. However, learning is not always sufficiently differentiated to meet individual needs, particularly in secondary schools. Teachers and senior leaders would benefit from more consistent sharing of effective practice.

Across all sectors, most children and young people demonstrate motivation and enthusiasm for learning, engaging well in lessons and working effectively both independently and collaboratively. In schools where practice is strongest, teachers plan regular opportunities for personalisation and choice, enabling learners to select contexts for learning, decide how to present their work and contribute to planning next steps. In these settings, they engage enthusiastically in leadership roles within and beyond the classroom.

Learning through play is widely recognised as an important approach across primary schools. A number of schools demonstrate strong practice at Early Level, with well-planned environments, a balance of child-led and adult-initiated experiences, and effective use of observations to inform next steps. This, however, is not yet consistent across all schools. There should be a continued focus on professional learning and engagement with national guidance to ensure play is progressive, developmentally appropriate, and embedded as a core approach to learning, particularly at Early Level.

The number of children being identified as having additional support needs (ASN) is growing, with 43% of our school population now being identified as having ASN compared to 10% in 2010, and 19% of children (registered as having ASN) in funded ELC compared to 14% in 2019. The growth in need presents a significant challenge at all levels of the system. We now have a far greater understanding across society, and specifically in schools, about ASN and how needs are identified and supported.

Pupils with ASN are more likely to have poorer educational experiences and outcomes against existing measures in terms of attendance, exclusions, and attainment, and less likely to progress to a positive destination. There is also a strong link between ASN and poverty - across Scotland the proportion of pupils with an additional need in Scotland’s most deprived areas is almost double that in the least deprived areas. We know from qualitative evidence that children and young people and their families are in some cases struggling to navigate the system and to get the support they need.

An Audit Scotland briefing note in February 2025 on additional support for learning (ASL) found that gaps in data hinder an understanding of ASL and its complexity across Scotland. Audit Scotland recommended that better quality data is fundamental to understanding pupils’ additional support needs and the resources required to provide support. The Scottish Government and local authorities should:

In the next 6–12 months

• agree how they collect and record data on pupils’ additional support needs, including collecting data required to inform the national measurement framework for ASL that is being developed. National data should be recorded more consistently and should allow for a better understanding of where multiple or complex needs exist and how demographic and equalities issues impact on learning needs.

In the next 12–24 months

• roll out a national measurement framework that better demonstrates the outcomes for pupils with additional support needs. The outcomes should reflect all children’s statutory right to an education that develops their ‘personality, talents and abilities to the full’.
• annually publish data that enables them to better identify the scale, complexity and nature of additional support needs (Scottish Government only).

In the longer term

• using the national measurement framework, publish clear and transparent annual reports on outcomes for pupils who receive ASL.

These recommendations were accepted by the Scottish Government and COSLA.

What we will do to deliver

We have commissioned Enquire, the National Advice and Information Service on ASL, to improve communication of the key information which different audiences need to meet the needs of children with additional support needs. This includes children and young people, parents and carers and the teaching profession.

Following a series of reports by Audit Scotland, the Children's Commissioner, and the Education, Children and Young People Committee of the Scottish Parliament, we agreed to a review of ASL, which is due to commence in 2026.

Following on from the data summit on ASL which was held in November 2025, a data improvement plan will be developed to set out the short, medium and long-term actions that can be taken to implement data improvements in ASL. This work will form a core part of the wider ASL Review.

Scottish Government will work with Education Scotland, SMO and Stòrlann on the career-long professional learning (CLPL) offer for GME teachers, including for immersion techniques and Gaelic language support.

We are working with the ELC sector to understand the challenges experienced by local authorities and funded providers in meeting the needs of all children in ELC settings, and to identify priority actions to address these challenges. Future work around agreed priorities, including training and qualifications, local authority support for funded providers of ELC and national guidance and resources, will take account of the duties and role of local authorities in identifying and meeting the additional support needs of children in ELC settings.

In order to ensure that the childcare profession has the knowledge, skills, experience and confidence to deliver the appropriate support for an increasing prevalence of additional support needs and speech, language and communication needs we will ensure that skills related to ASN are embedded within the qualifications required for registration for those entering the profession. We will also work with partners to review the available Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) resources on ASN, and promote these through the SG-funded SSSC online CPL Portal.

Recognising the importance of supporting our teachers, we have established the Centre for Teaching Excellence, hosted by the University of Glasgow, with several research hubs across the country, including one dedicated to inclusive and diverse classrooms with a focus on ASN. The Centre will ensure teachers including those in GME, are armed with the latest research on teaching practices, filling a critical gap linking research and evidence to help develop their practice. This will help them to deliver excellent learning and teaching to improve learning outcomes for children and young people across Scotland.

How we will measure progress

Progress with the ASL Action Plan will be monitored by the ASL Project Board.

The ASL National Measurement Framework, the first iteration of which has now been embedded within the NIF Interactive Evidence Report, will support the data improvement work, and will help to develop an understanding of ASL and its complexity across Scotland.

A monitoring and evaluation strategy has been embedded into the work of the Centre for Teaching Excellence, to ensure we are monitoring progress, impact and effectiveness of its work