National Improvement Framework
The National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan (NIF) was established in 2015 and set out a clear vision for Scottish Education based on delivering Excellence and Equity.
It has four priorities:
Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy
Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people
Improvement in children and young people's health and wellbeing
Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school-leaver destinations for all young people
To deliver this improvement, six ‘drivers’ were identified. These are:
School Leadership: how we develop and support our head teachers and how we develop leadership across all parts of our school community
Teacher Professionalism: how we support teachers in their professional development
Parental Engagement: how we ensure the maximum benefit of parental involvement and engagement in children’s learning and in the life of the school
Assessment of Children’s Progress: how we gather information about children’s progress and how we use this information to support improving outcomes for all
School Improvement: every school has a responsibility to evaluate how well it is doing against the National Improvement priorities and other performance measures. These are evaluated by the schools themselves, by the local authority and by HMI inspections
Performance Information: how we gather and analyse information to help us target areas for improvement, show where we have been successful and where we may need to do more.