The most significant reform of Scotland's curriculum in
more than ten
years is underway, as the first
early samples of new curriculum materials have been shared with
councils across the country.
Plannedupdatesto thecurriculum, prepared
by Education Scotland and co-designed with input
from over 1,500 teachers, nursery practitioners, and partners
through the Curriculum Improvement Cycle (CIC),will clarify
knowledge and progression, making it clearer what children should
know, understand and be able to do at every stage of school.
Discussions are taking place with the Scottish Negotiating
Committee for Teachers (SNCT) for two additional in-service days
to be offered during the 2026-27 academic year, to help schools
prepare for change.
Education Secretary MÃ iri McAllan said:
The Curriculum Improvement Cycle is driving the single largest
update to the curriculum in over a decade. The new curriculum
will make the place of knowledge and skills clearer. It will
drive excellence. It will be taught in schools from August 2028
and it will be benchmarked against international standards.
The materials shared by Education Scotland this week are a
preview ahead of the full draft curriculum framework later this
year, as we work with the profession on implementation from
August 2028.
We are proposing additional in-service days to provide
teachers the time and support needed to prepare
for these changes which will support Scotland's young people to
reach their full potential in our education system. These will
form part of wider support up to 2028 to
ensure teachers can fully engage with the updates
andhowthey canuse them in theclassroom.
Background
As part of the Curriculum Improvement Cycle
(CIC) co-design process, Education Scotland has
shared with councils early draft
samples from the new
curriculum so that educators have access to materials
that can help them understand how curriculum improvement work is
progressing. These materials
are being developed for distribution to
schools for the start
of the 2026-27 academic year. A
full draft technical Curriculum Framework will be shared in the
early autumn.
Subject to agreement with the SNCT, councils willdecide the
exact datesforthe additional in-service days, which are intended
to be aligned to the existing autumn and spring holidays, based
on local holiday timetables. Dispensation for the in-service days
will be granted under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980.
TheOECDcompleted an Independent review of Curriculum
for Excellence in 2021, which led to theestablishment of the CIC.
Anindicative timeline for
education reformwas published in June 2025.
