Here at Conduit, we have been keeping a close eye on the progress of the Curriculum Improvement Cycle (CIC). This is the name that has been given to the process behind reviewing the curriculum delivered in Scottish schools. Work commenced in October ‘24 to communicate the reasons behind the need for change in the curriculum, but the developmental work started as far back as the 2023/24 session, when a number of pilot curriculum reviews took place.
Why is This Happening?
The CIC was developed after the publication of “Into the Future: Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence” (2021), following a review of the Scottish Curriculum by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Whilst it recognised strengths and values within the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), notably its overall vision, it also delivered 12 suggestions that would enable the curriculum to continue to be relevant in the coming years. One of the recommendations was to establish a process of regular curriculum review within a planned period of time. This model of curriculum review (the Curriculum Improvement Cycle) is projected to take 10 years, and the current cycle will end with a similar discussion on Scottish education in 2032/2033.
How is the Review Structured?
The review of the curriculum is to be approached as a cycle, the Curriculum Improvement Cycle. It involves:
Analysing – Key educational findings, reports and feedback are examined.
Engaging and co-creation – An engagement process is implemented to plan, consult and create draft workstreams from the analysis findings.
Sharing, learning and adopting – This is where new material is trialled, support mechanisms are implemented to share practice and monitor the impact on learners and educators.
Mobilising, monitoring and evaluating – Implementing approaches in the system.
Don’t Panic!
Whilst this information may create significant concern for educators, it is vital to remember its key purpose. The Curriculum Improvement Cycle (CIC) will improve and evolve Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). It is working to improve the existing curriculum, as opposed to replacing it.
Is the CIC Going to Change My Teaching?
The CIC is being viewed as an opportunity to address some of the difficulties that CfE has presented to educators across the Scotland. It has been highlighted that the sometimes ‘vague’ wording of experiences and outcomes (Es&Os) will be tackled along with the need to streamline the curriculum more effectively.
Terminology and the use of words in the curriculum will also be addressed in this cycle. A phrase which keeps appearing in CIC updates is the technical framework. The technical framework is what is used by educators to plan their learning and teaching. In Scotland, this includes Experiences and Outcomes, Benchmarks, progression and guidance as well as approaches to assessment and moderation. The CIC is being viewed as an opportunity to address the complexity that comes with Scottish education’s current technical framework.
The CIC can be viewed as an exciting opportunity for our schools, teachers and students. However, we are acutely aware that for some it will be overwhelming, anxiety-inducing and appear simply unmanageable due to the ever increasing priorities in school establishments.
It’s vital to consider the ways in which schools can work across learning communities to develop and share the journey they make to improve the curriculum. At Conduit, we will be here to support you. We are already in the process of bringing new content that will support you to review, develop and implement any improvement activities/priorities in your setting.
What Should I Do Now?
The first draft of the updated curricular framework to be published will be Numeracy & Mathematics, expected in December 2024. This high-level framework for Numeracy and Mathematics will highlight the concepts that learners should know, understand and be able to achieve. As soon as this has been published, we will create resources to support you with your understanding and implementation of any changes recommended.
Begin to engage in professional dialogue with colleagues to discuss the CIC. Use our resource What You Need To Know about the Curriculum Improvement Cycle as a discussion tool at collegiate meetings.
You can also begin work to examine the place the Four Capacities and the Four Contexts for Learning currently have in your setting.
Please continue to check back with Conduit for new resources to support you in your curriculum journey. Check out our SLT Hub and our Curriculum Guidance and support areas. We will keep you up to date as the CIC develops further and are here to support you with what you need.
The Conduit team is passionate about what we do. We want to support our colleagues, providing resources that are relevant and indispensable to you. However, we do need to know how best to deliver that for you. You can do that by sending User Requests to us so that we know what kind of resources you need or are missing from your collection. You can interact with us on our Social Media channels:
Instagram: Conduit_Connecting_Knowledge
Twitter: @ConduitScotEdu
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