Shaping the Future: Strengthening Scotland's education system through empowered schools

Appendix I - List Of Engagements

September 2025

• Nick Page, Chief Executive, Scottish Qualification Authority (now Qualifications Scotland)
• Greg Dempster, General Secretary, Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland (AHDS)
• Advisory Group

October 2025

• International Council of Education Advisers (ICEA) - gov.scot
• Laurence Findlay, President of Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES)
• David Barnett, General Secretary, School Leaders Scotland (SLS)
• Mike Corbett and Tara Lillis, General Secretary Team, National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT)
• Andrea Bradley, General Secretary for, Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS)
• Scottish Government Headteacher Panels
• Tim Wallace, Vice-President of AHDS

November 2025

• Seamus Searson, General Secretary, Scottish Secondary Teacher’s Association (SSTA)
• Education and Childcare Assurance Board - gov.scot
• Councillor Tony Buchanan, COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People

December 2025

• Advisory Group
• Ivan McKee, Minister for Public Finance
• Building On Collaboration Supporting Headteachers (BOCSH)
• Oliver Mundell, Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dumfriesshire
• Pauline Stephen, Chief Executive and Registrar of General Teaching Council Scotland

January 2026

• Children and Young People’s Commissioner
• Advisory Group
• Association of Directors Education in Scotland (ADES) Quad
• The West Partnership
• Tayside Regional Improvement Collaborative (TRIC)
• Kirsty Ayed and David Barnett, School Leaders Scotland (SLS)
• Association of Directors of Education (ADES)

February 2026

• Northern Alliance Collaborative
• Scottish Government Headteacher Panels
• Professor Lindsey Paterson, Professor Emeritus of Education Policy, the University of Edinburgh
• Dr Keir Bloomer, Commission on School Reform
• Teaching and Leaders Trade Unions roundtable.
• Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland (AHDS)
• National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Woman (NASUWT)
• Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS)
• Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA)
• School Leaders Scotland (SLS)
• COSLA Finance team
• Les Walton (CBE), Chair of the Association of Education Advisers (AoEA)

March 2026

• Advisory Group
• COSLA Children and Young People Board
• Lesley Brown, Association of Directors of Education (ADES)
• Local Authorities Directors of Finance, plus ADES and COSLA Officers
• Alastair MacArthur, Director of Finance and Resources at Renfrewshire Council
• Kirsty Flanagan, Executive Director for Argyll and Bute Council
• Richard Lloyd-Bithell, Service Director for Finance and Procurement at the City of Edinburgh Council

In addition, there were numerous engagements with officials from Scottish Government, Education Scotland, HMIE and Qualifications Scotland, used to gather information to inform the report.