Education Scotland Corporate Plan for 2026 to 2031: Our corporate, financial and performance planning cycle

It is important that this Corporate Plan clearly records how Education Scotland’s corporate planning, performance, and financial planning cycle continues to evolve through the period of education and wider public service reform. A description of the strategic, planning, performance and budgetary cycle is set out below:

2021-22: Education Scotland published a five-year Corporate Plan which set out how Education Scotland would continue to work towards a vision of achieving excellence and equity for Scotland’s learners, in partnership with Scotland’s educators
2022–24: Education Scotland published an updated Corporate Plan aligned to reform timelines set at that time and interpreted national expectations following the Scottish Government’s response to Professor Ken Muir’s review of Scotland’s education system.
2024–25: Education Scotland extended the 2022 – 24 Corporate Planning period by a further reporting year through publication of the Annual Action Plan 2024-25, retaining Strategic Priorities, updating the key actions, and highlighting the pivot towards a refocused Education Scotland. The Education Scotland Financial Strategy 2024–25 was published in tandem with the Annual Action Plan. The Annual Action Plan 2024 – 25 was consistent with the Accountability Framework, set out a proportionate set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and aligned with NIF. The Annual Action Plan 2024–25 recognised ‘Inspection’ as a ’refocus through reform’ area, supported the initial work to make the shift to an independent Inspectorate (HMIE) and set out a distinctive set of key actions for the Chief Inspector.
2025–26: Education Scotland extended the Corporate Planning period by a further reporting year through publication of the Education Scotland Annual Action Plan 2025–26 and Education Scotland Financial Strategy 2025–26. Iterative improvements were made to priorities, KPIs and alignment with NIF and Programme for Government. The Annual Action Plan 2025 – 26 and Financial Strategy 2025 – 26 covered an intensive period of reform. Taken together, the documents enabled an effectively managed divergence of Education Scotland and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education for Scotland accountability arrangements through good planning and reporting within the reporting year, recognising the break point in accountability between Education Scotland Chief Executive and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education for Scotland Chief Inspector (from April 2026).
2026 – 31: Education Scotland Corporate Plan (2026–2031) aligns the refocused Education Scotland Corporate Plan and Financial Strategy and sets out clear, refocused priorities and success measures. This includes publication of Annual Delivery Plan (ADP) for 2026-27.

Reporting year

Education Scotland’s reporting cycle follows the financial year (April to March) rather than the school year. This enables Education Scotland to meet its public body obligations, including the alignment of organisational performance and finance:

Quarter 1 relates to April to June
Quarter 2 relates to July to September
Quarter 3 relates to October to December
Quarter 4 relates to January to March.

As this reporting cycle differs from the school year, we will continue to work across different timeline and be clear about what timeline each quarter represents.

Resources

The Resource Budget for 2026 – 27 is just over £20 million, made up of core budget plus resources allocated in support of national priorities.

This represents approximately 0.5% of the Education Budget in Scotland. This resource covers staffing costs, contracts by external providers, digital, buildings and energy, and administration as well as some grants for external bodies. Our budget is, and will continue to be, under pressure due to several inter-related challenges that, when taken together reduce the level of available resources for programme and project activities.

This Corporate Plan makes a clear commitment to pivot resources behind the strategic priorities, with a primary focus on curriculum. In doing so, we are clear about the things that we will rigorously prioritise and pay closest attention to. We remain committed to aligning organisational strategy (this Corporate Plan) and financial strategy.

Measuring and monitoring our progress

This Corporate Plan sets out our strategic priorities and how we will deliver them over the 5-year period. The Corporate Plan is translated into delivery through Annual Delivery Plans (ADPs). It sets out updated success measures against the strategic priorities, in the form of KPIs, to monitor performance. The KPIs, taken together with quarterly delivery reporting and organisational evaluation practice, will provide a robust and transparent approach to organisational performance. This will be supplemented by external evaluation where required.

Management of the Corporate Plan and the ADPs that flow from it, is undertaken by the Education Scotland Leadership Team (LT) and monitored by the Advisory Board (AB). Reporting is also provided regularly to Scottish Ministers. Strategic Priorities – and the linkages across priorities and actions – are overseen by Education Scotland’s Delivery Board and associated arrangements for Corporate Services and Digital Services. Reporting is also undertaken to a newly established Shared Services Board for Education Scotland and HMIE.

Attribution and contribution

Organisational performance arrangements (delivery, evaluation, KPIs) focus on areas of organisational performance directly attributed to Education Scotland (‘attribution’).

However, our distinctive role within the education system in Scotland means that our reporting arrangements also include reference to some areas of focus and performance that we contribute to at an educational system level but go beyond the parameters of organisational performance (‘contribution’).

Going forward

Moving forward, we will continually improve qualitative and quantitative measures of success and capture not just the work we are doing, but how that work is experienced and the impact it has.