Marilyne MacLaren: A learning curve for schools

WHAT has been billed as the biggest shake-up in Scottish education for decades will be hitting schools after the summer break – and Edinburgh schools are being thoroughly prepared to deliver it.

Pupils can expect the Curriculum for Excellence to equip them with an improved ability to absorb what is being taught to them and teachers can look forward to more flexibility in how they structure and deliver lessons.

For the first time ever, Scotland will have a unified system for all stages of education, from nursery through to primary and secondary.

The City of Edinburgh Council has a dedicated team of experts to make sure this groundbreaking system is introduced as smoothly as possible. It has also been working on supplying information for staff, pupils and parents about the changes.

Anyone looking for practical information, can access a special page on the council website www.edinburgh.gov. uk/curriculumforlearning.

Scots tend to be shrinking violets when it comes to blowing their own trumpet, but I really do believe that the Curriculum for Excellence will transform the teaching and learning experience of our children and young people.

One of its strengths is its aim to educate children and young people for a world in which there will be many challenges both locally and globally.

While I am confident our pupils already benefit from a fantastic education system, like all structures, there comes a time when it needs reviewed and modernised.

I am confident the new curriculum will freshen up learning, inject new energy into teaching and most importantly, equip the next generations for the rapidly changing environment of the 21st century.

Councillor Marilyne MacLaren is the education leader for Edinburgh City Council