When former headteacher and SecEd editorial board member Alex Wood met Scotland’s cabinet secretary for education, topics for discussion ranged from the Curriculum for Excellence and wellbeing to inspection and recruiting new school leaders.

Alex Wood (AW): Most teachers seem enthusiastic about the principles underpinning Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), but are uncertain about how it should look in the classroom and key aspects such as assessment and reporting. What real evidence is there of its success in improving outcomes?

Mike Russell (MR): “I am already seeing evidence of improved achievements by pupils. Our annual sample survey – the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy – monitors national performance in literacy and numeracy in alternate years for school children at P4, P7 and S2. The results from the latest survey show that national performance in reading and writing skills is very good in both primary and secondary schools. 

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