ABSTRACT
Political responsibility for education at all levels is vested in the Scottish Parliament. Inspections and audits of educational standards are conducted by Education Scotland for pre-school, primary, further education and community education. The current administration is committed to improving the education system in relation to ‘excellence and equity’ and has placed a major emphasis on improving the attainment of learners from economically poorer backgrounds. The Scottish Attainment Challenge was launched with high levels of political commitment. Later, in 2016, prior to the Scottish Parliament elections, the First Minister went on to commit her own political reputation to closing and ultimately eliminating the attainment gap, focusing on literacy, numeracy and health and well-being as the key measures. The Scottish Attainment Challenge is a significant effort to develop a national education system that is both excellent and equitable. As such it has many of the features that are essential to an effective system change strategy.
