Education Summit

Swinney: Firm focus now on producing Delivery Plan

Reflecting on this morning’s Education Summit at Craigroyston Community High School in Edinburgh, Deputy First Minister and Education Secretary John Swinney said:

“It was clear from today’s summit that everyone around the table shared my desire to ensure Scottish education is the best it can be, and delivers the best possible opportunities for our young people.

“The summit started with an assessment of Scottish education from the international perspective of the OECD, which built on their recent report and gave a strong sense of what we are already doing well and where we need to challenge ourselves to improve performance.

"There was a tremendous willingness to build on the existing strengths of the Scottish education system, and deliver improvements that will ensure we can fulfil the potential of every young person in Scotland. There was also some consensus around ensuring education is better connected to the wider community.

“I heard a range of viewpoints from representatives of key organisations involved in shaping and delivering education in Scotland, young people and some of the organisations who support and represent them, unions, parent and teacher bodies, local government representatives and those from other political parties.

“My firm focus now is on producing a Delivery Plan that reflects today’s discussions and can be broadly endorsed by those I’ve engaged with from across the sector since I became Education Secretary; but more crucially, delivers the real difference we are all agreed we want to see. I will put my Delivery Plan before the Scottish Parliament before the end of this term.”

Notes to editors

The following people attended today’s Education Summit:

First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon
Deputy First Minister, John Swinney
Mark MacDonald, Minister for Childcare and Early Years
Shirley-Anne Somerville, Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science
Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Employability and Training
Ruth Davidson, Scottish Conservative Party
Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative Party
Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Labour Party
Iain Gray, Scottish Labour Party
Willie Rennie, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Tavish Scott, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Ross Greer, Scottish Green Party
Councillor Michael Cook, Cosla
Councillor Stephanie Primrose, Cosla
Sally Loudon, Cosla
Larry Flanagan, EIS
Seamus Searson, SSTA
Jane Peckham, NASUWT
Jennifer Barnes, Voice
Greg Dempster, AHDS
Jim Thewliss, School Leaders Scotland
Maureen McKenna, ADES
John Butcher, ADES
Angela Leitch, SOLACE
Iain Ellis, National Parent Forum Scotland
Eileen Prior, Scottish Parent Teacher Council
Bill Maxwell, Education Scotland
Janet Brown, SQA
Gillian Hamilton, Scottish College for Education Leadership
Morag Redford, Scottish Teacher Education Committee
Mhairi Harrington, Developing Young Workforce
Jean Carwood-Edwards, Early Years and Childcare
Louise Macdonald, Young Scot
Chris Chapman, Senior Academic Adviser Scottish Attainment Challenge
John Stewart, Scottish and Southern Energy PLC/DYW
Andy Hargreaves, OECD Review Team
David Istance, OECD Review Team
Maria Huerta, OECD Review Team
Timothy Frew, Youthlink
Ellen Doherty, GTCS
Sir John Dunford OBE, Education Consultant
Tam Baillie, Children and Young People Commissioner
Shona Struthers, Colleges Scotland
Alastair Sim, Universities Scotland
Katie Burke, Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament
Aqeel Ahmed, Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament
Steve Ross, Headteacher of Craigroyston Community High School
Jackie Brock, Children in Scotland

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