Education Scotland podcast

The Curriculum Improvement Cycle – Focus on Ethos and Life

This short podcast features practitioners from across Scotland who have been involved in developing the context of Ethos and Life in Scotland’s Curriculum. They discuss their experience of using a service design approach for this work and share what they have gained from the process, what challenges they have faced, and what they think the impact of this work will be for Scotland’s children and young people - and those who work with and for them.

The Curriculum Improvement Cycle - Focus on Mathematics

Education Scotland is leading a systematic review of the Scottish curriculum called the Curriculum Improvement Cycle. The focus of this podcast episode is the Curriculum Improvement Cycle for Mathematics. Ollie Bray, Strategic Director at Education Scotland, is joined by Robert McCallum, Quality Improvement Officer, East Ayrshire Council, to discuss the progress of the work so far and what’s next. Read more about this on our Curriculum Improvement Cycle blog.

The Curriculum Improvement Cycle – The Science episode.

Education Scotland is leading a systematic review of the Scottish curriculum called the Curriculum Improvement Cycle.  This podcast episode is all about science. Lise McCaffery, Interim Head of Learning, Teaching and Assessment at Education Scotland, is joined by Fiona Shaw, from Education Scotland’s Science team, to discuss the progress so far in the Curriculum Improvement Cycle for Science.

The Curriculum Improvement Cycle – the Gaelic education episode

Education Scotland is leading a systematic review of the Scottish curriculum called the Curriculum Improvement Cycle.  The focus of this podcast episode is the Curriculum Improvement Cycle for Gaelic. Graeme Wallace from Education Scotland’s Curriculum team is joined by National Advisors for Literacy and Gàidhlig - Marina MacLeod and Seonaidh Charity to discuss the progress of the work so far and what’s next.

Strathclyde University Pilot Placement Programme: Staff

Aberdeen City Council Pilot Placement Programme: Staff

The University of Aberdeen Pilot Placement Programme: Staff

This podcast features Alyson Young, PGDE (Primary) Programme Director from the School of Education at the University of Aberdeen. Alyson and her team were involved in a pilot programme which placed student teachers in a Local Authority Family Learning Team. She talks about their experiences of working with Education Scotland Parents and Families Team and Aberdeen City Council’s Family Learning Team to place their student teachers within an environment to support an increased understanding of parents and families and gain a deeper knowledge of different demographics.

The Curriculum Improvement Cycle – the Health and Wellbeing episode

In this podcast episode, Education Scotland Strategic Director Ollie Bray is joined by Health and Wellbeing National Advisors Amy McDonnell and Stuart McCracken to talk about moving forward with an evolved Health and Wellbeing curriculum that is grounded in evidence.

The Learning Conversations: Shaping life chances in the early years with Lucy Morton

In this episode of The Learning Conversations Gillian Hamilton discusses shaping life chances in the early years with Lucy Morton, Scotland Development Lead, from the Parent-Infant Foundation. The Parent-Infant Foundation supports the development, growth and quality of specialised parent-infant relationship teams.
 
This is the last episode of The Learning Conversations for the time being as Gillian Hamilton has now left the organisation. Education Scotland is changing and we’ll be pausing The Learning Conversations for now to work on new and engaging content. Watch this space!
 
 

PISA 2025 - in depth

Join us, as we explore from a Scottish perspective, one of the world's largest educational research studies ‒ the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
This podcast takes a deep dive into PISA to provide a background to the assessment, how it works, why it is important, and why more than 80 countries around the world take part in this study. In 2025, the assessment will focus on science but will also include questions on mathematics and reading. Through the perspective of the lead researcher for PISA in the Scottish Government and also Education Scotland, the video provides a valuable insight into the data provided by the PISA assessments and how the findings help to inform national policy and shape the future direction of learning in Scotland. Hear too from some of the classroom teachers who have worked with Education Scotland to develop a comprehensive support package for learners, parents and schools to help them prepare for their participation in the assessment.
This podcast is presented by TV presenter, speaker and writer, Dallas Campbell.
To access the full support package, including other related videos, visit Education Scotland’s website: https://education.gov.scot/resources/programme-for-international-student-assessment-2025/