Set for top of reform: Are schools ready for radical changes?

WHEN pupils begin the return to their classrooms across the country this week they will look very much the same as when they left them before the summer break.?

Indeed, they might not even notice a difference in their lessons. But the way they will be taught from this term onwards has been described as one of the most revolutionary changes to education in Scotland.

A lesson in food production will spread across both chemistry labs and modern studies classrooms in order to take a broad sweep of the subject.

In science, they will learn how fertilisers are used in farming and, in social science, how what we eat is distributed across the country and has impact on the economy.

The new approach in both the state and private schools sector is called the Curriculum for Excellence (CforE) and is designed not just to help pupils pass exams but to equip them more than ever before with skills that will allow them to flourish in a rapidly-changing world.

Its advocates claim it is a long overdue reform that will raise standards in an education system that, despite last week's record pass rate among children taking Highers, many believe is in gradual decline.

Rod Grant, headteacher of the private Clifton Hall school, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, is among those who believe CforE is the way forward after introducing some of the principles in his senior school last year.

"Curriculum for Excellence has created the conditions whereby interdisciplinary projects are becoming the norm. In the last academic year, Clifton Hall senior school students took part in eight such projects, linking departments to allow students a deeper understanding of the topic under investigation.

"The added bonus from a school's point of view is that departments are now working with each other on how they can ensure that learning and teaching throughout the school can be done in a more logical and creative way. This is motivating for the teachers but also allows students to develop their critical thinking skills. We have compartmentalised subjects for too long. The more that we see connections between subjects the greater our level of understanding becomes."

It is headteachers such as Grant who are now at the forefront of the CforE revolution, which despite being first mooted by the Labour administration at Holyrood six years ago as the answer to Scotland's educational ills, has been even more enthusiastically pushed through by Alex Salmond's SNP government and his bullish education minister Mike Russell.

But CforE is enjoying anything but a pain-free birth.Next month, a major teaching union intends holding a ballot on industrial action over implementing the new curriculum over fears that the reform has been rushed through.

So will CforE be the catalyst for raising standards in Scottish schools and instilling a whole new approach to learning as the government hopes, or will it be the spark for months of disruption in the country's education system as teachers work to rule?

Many opposition politicians believe schools are not yet ready. Des McNulty, Labour's education spokesman said: "We are in the starting blocks of the biggest shake-up in education but it's clear, the week before pupils embark on the new curriculum, that arrangements are not yet in place."

Concerns about the future direction of the Scottish education system and whether pupils are keeping up with overseas competitors in a global economy run deep and go back at least a decade.

The concern was compounded last year when a three-year analysis by HM Inspectorate of Education found the overall performance of Scottish schools was good and improving, but not fast enough to stop Scotland falling behind international rivals.

Although exam pass rates at every level were going up almost every year, schools were accused of being too focused on teaching facts to pass tests than producing a more rounded group of leavers.

CforE was meant to be the reform which addressed the balance, combining a change in teaching style with new classroom materials and exams.

One key factor was ensuring that pupils understood the relevance of lessons and were equipped with techniques such as problem-solving to allow them to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

The underlying principle, to prepare confident pupils who would go on to be active and responsible participants in society, was broadly welcomed. But the transition from the Scottish Labour/Lib Dem administration which spawned it to an SNP government at Holyrood brought inevitable delay in its introduction. But Russell is now adamant that CforE, after several years of doubts about the timetable, will go ahead this week throughout the country.

"As technology develops and our economy changes, the skills our young people need for the jobs of tomorrow will also change," Russell told Scotland on Sunday. "That's why the new curriculum puts a much greater focus on the skills and qualities, as well as the knowledge, that we want our young people to develop.

"By making sure our employees of the future are creative thinkers who are resourceful, adaptable, flexible, confident and responsible, then they - and Scotland - will be in a stronger position to succeed in a global economy."

While no-one has criticised the aims of the new curriculum - which spans the years from 3 to 18 to provide a consistent approach - there have been concerns from teaching unions who insist there has been too little time for teachers to adjust, too little training, insufficient details and no new text books.The Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association says it wants another year for training and for fleshing out the detail of the course content at secondary level.

A key change, the unions say, is that the new curriculum provides little guidance on lesson content - for example whether pupils should study the Vikings by age ten or by what age they should have a firm grasp of algebra.

Under the previous 5-14 guidance, as it was known for the ages it covered, there was far more content provided. But at the core of CforE is allowing teachers more freedom and control. However, this has left some teachers, more used to a more central direction, worried they will take the wrong approach. And while the central principle appears to be sound, unions argue that this was already the aim of any good teacher.

Some education experts believe that CforE will turn out to be more a change of teaching methods than course content.

David Clark, deputy director of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools in Scotland, said "I think there is a lot of misinformation about it, in that people think there's going to be a sudden big change. But it's not an event.

"It is going to be a slow process. In ten years time we will say we have got most of the way there."

In answer to some of the criticisms, new textbooks have been created. Martin Redfern, publishing director of educational publisher Leckie and Leckie, said: "Secondary teachers told us that the cross-curricular approach is one of the most challenging aspects of the curriculum and so the books have a real focus on providing links between each topic and other subjects. What we've also set out to do is to apply and bring alive the knowledge gained by highlighting the practical relevance of each topic to everyday life."

Bringing learning up to date has also been a key element of the new curriculum, with text messaging and social networks to be used in literacy and English lessons, and financial education in maths or business.

Despite the changes, a Scottish Government-commissioned survey published in April found three-quarters of teachers were not confident about delivering lessons for senior pupils.

And a survey carried out by the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association found 90 per cent thought more textbooks and resources were needed to prevent it being a disaster.

Scotland's biggest teaching union, the EIS, are supportive of the new curriculum coming in this week, but would like the new Scottish Standard qualifications - due to replace Standard grades in 2014 - to be delayed until the new system has had time to bed-in.

Parents are equally wary.

Eleanor Coner, information officer for the Scottish Parent Teacher Council said: "A lot of parents are quite confused.The government is trying very hard to communicate with parents now, but it's all a bit late in happening.

"We have produced our own leaflet but there has been quite a lot of confusion.

"Parents have a great deal of confidence in teachers and quite a lot of primary school parents realise that quite a lot of what is Curriculum for Excellence has been happening in primary schools for quite a lot of time.

"Where more people have concerns is at secondary school on how it is going to be introduced there.

"But it is not really a new curriculum, it is a whole new way of teaching children.It is not that the curriculum itself is changing but the approach to how they learn."

Russell is currently in the middle of a "roadshow" across Scotland, visiting schools where parents and teachers can engage him on the new system.

However, critics pointed out these began just weeks before the system was due to be introduced and that in and some of the events will take place after the schools return. There have been attempts too to appease teachers by providing more training and funds to clarify how CforE should be implemented. Leading academics, including Professor Lindsay Paterson, professor of education policy at Edinburgh University, derided instructions as "woolly" and "vague. "

He has, at presentations, meetings and education conferences across Scotland, repeated the mantra that the rules of subjects such as physics and French grammar will not be changing, just the way they are taught. However, critics said the moves were too little too late.

McNulty says Russell has only himself to blame. "Mike Russell is making empty gestures rather than tackling the mess his party has created," he said.

"He has announced initiative after initiative to distract attention from his mishandling of Curriculum for Excellence. Scotland's children should not be treated like guinea pigs."

ANALYSIS

Michael Russell, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning

AS PUPILS return to schools this week, Curriculum for Excellence is being put into practice in each and every Scottish school.

I've already seen many fantastic examples of Curriculum for Excellence in action in our schools and it is good news that all our pupils will now benefit from it.

As technology develops and our economy changes, the skills our young people need for the jobs of tomorrow will also change.

That's why the new curriculum puts a much greater focus on the skills and qualities, as well as the knowledge, that we want our young people to develop.

By making sure our employees of the future are creative thinkers who are resourceful, adaptable, flexible, confident and responsible, then they – and Scotland – will be in a stronger position to succeed in a global economy.

Let me be clear, the knowledge that underpins learning in physics and French, for example, will remain the same and will still be taught in our schools.

How we engage learners in making better use of all they learn and in achieving higher standards is where the difference needs to lie.

Curriculum for Excellence guidance supports this approach by providing opportunities for more choice in how learning is delivered.

Many of our teachers have already made great strides in preparing for the changes and developing lessons that make the most of the new approaches to learning and teaching.

Back in March, I recognised that there was genuine concern among some and announced a ten-point plan to provide real support.

Much progress has been made in providing this support – from hands-on tailored support from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education to summary versions of key curricular documents and a number of Excellence Groups up and running. A great deal of support is now available for teachers.

This work will continue. For example, further support will be provided to teachers to help them assess pupils' progress and achievements, including a new National Assessment Resource.

What's more, I will continue to listen to the views of teachers – expressed through comments on my innovative engageforeducation.org website or perhaps during school visits.

We've also done a great deal of work to provide information to parents – for example, a toolkit to give teachers slides and films to explain the changes, short films that can be used during parents' evenings or assemblies and my letter in June to all parents of primary seven pupils.

A lot of hard work has been done across the board to provide tailored information and support as we approached the 2010-11 term.

Teachers and others at the sharp end have been working equally hard to prepare for the new curriculum.

I believe Curriculum for Excellence will make real improvements to our education system.

That's why I hope that, as a country, we can unite behind these improvements and harness the full potential they offer future generations of Scots.