Created on: 28 Sep 2026
The EIS notes the publication of the report, Shaping the Future: Strengthening Scotland's education system through empowered schools.
Whilst the EIS recognises the potential benefits of some aspects of the proposals, the detail of the report and the interface between the range of recommendations will require careful consideration through the Institute’s democratic structures.
The report, which focuses on improvement, funding and governance of the school system, makes a welcome call for change to be underpinned by adequate funding and resources in education, acknowledging the challenges which schools currently face and concluding that ‘high-quality education is an investment in both the present and the future’ - a tenet which the EIS has long advocated.
The EIS welcomes in principle the report’s recommendations which would see national funding for education being clearly defined and ring-fenced, whilst improving consistency in the way that funding is recorded by local authorities.
These proposals would go some way to improving transparency and providing assurance that funding allocated nationally will reach its intended recipients and deliver on key policy objectives.
The report also highlights the importance of teacher empowerment, collegiate practice and professional development in the delivery of quality education, and acknowledges that ‘addressing gaps in teacher staffing is essential for accelerated system improvement’.
The EIS believes that the proposal to create Local Schools Authorities will require significant additional scrutiny, as will any recommendations which might add, inadvertently or otherwise, to workload and top-down performativity drivers in terms of data-gathering and perceived metrics of educational success.
Commenting following the publication of the Report, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “This Report is a substantial piece of work, and outlines a range of significant proposals for Scottish education.
"There are some aspects of the Report which will resonate with teaching professionals and reflect a recognition of the value of empowering teachers and providing them with dedicated time for collaboration and the sharing good practice."
Ms Bradley continued, “A particularly significant proposal is that of ring-fencing national funding for education, to ensure that money allocated to education at national level is spent on its intended purpose.
"This is something that the EIS has long called for, and could potentially see an end to the recurring and infuriating blame-game that often occurs between national government and local authorities over specific aspects of education funding, such as dedicated funding to maintain teacher numbers or to recruit and train more ASL teachers."
Ms Bradley went on to add, “The potential benefits of the proposal to create Local Schools Authorities will require detailed consideration, and teachers will want to see much greater detail on how this might benefit the day-to-day operation of schools, and the working environment of pupils and teachers.
"At the end of the day, it is the level of resourcing and the number of qualified teachers in our schools that have the greatest impact on the quality of teaching and learning in schools.
"To deliver real improvement, we need to see increased resourcing in education to provide reduced class sizes and greater ASN provision."
"Without a commitment to additional, permanent, ring-fenced funding for education, the challenges facing Scottish education will not be addressed and the culture change, which is so badly needed to deliver better outcomes for children and young people and more rewarding working conditions for teachers, will be thwarted.
"As the report highlights, we need to see investment in education – investment which will ultimately result in savings across public services, such as health and criminal justice, as positive educational outcomes for young people transform into positive outcomes for them in later life, for their families and for society as a whole."