This resource and supporting guidance explore the contributions of eight key partners in an empowered system. They encourage collaboration, collegiality and mutual respect between all partners.

​Explore this resource

What is an empowered system?

There are eight key partners who work together in an empowered system to improve outcomes for children and young people: 

• School Leaders
• Learners
• Local Authority and Regional Improvement Collaborative
• Scottish Government and National Organisations
• Partners
• Support Staff
• Teachers and Practitioners
• Parents and Carers

An empowered system is one that grows stronger and more confident, working in partnership to lead learning and teaching that achieves excellence and equity for all learners. Empowerment and collaboration for improvement happen at all levels in an empowered system. 

PDF file: An Empowered System diagram (54 KB)

PDF file: An Empowered System diagram (Gaelic version) (331 KB)

Empowered System Guidance

This suite of guidance documents have been developed in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders and aim to support partners to improve outcomes for children and young people. Scotland’s education system has been on a journey towards an empowered system as demonstrated by the following quotation in How Good is Our School 3 from 2007:

"Our approach is consultative and collegiate, securing shared commitment. When required, we drive action forward directly. Those with leadership responsibilities reinforce a culture where staff and learners feel able to exercise initiative and take lead roles within and beyond the classroom." Quality Indicator 9.3 How Good is Our School 3, HMIE, 2007

The June 2018 Joint Agreement between the Scottish Government and COSLA on school empowerment, collaboration, parental involvement and engagement and pupil participation further developed the empowered approach, setting out Scotland’s ambition and expectations for an empowered system. The empowerment guidance and other resources that are available here have been developed to support that agreement.

While much progress has been made towards an empowered system, we can achieve still more through collaboration. Responding to the 2018 joint agreement, the following guidance has been developed collaboratively and can be used by all partners to reflect on their role in supporting an empowered system. It reflects eight key contributors in an empowered system, however it is acknowledged that there are overlaps between these partners and that many in the system will be contributing in more than one way at any one time.

The guidance has been drafted in partnership with representatives from each of the key sectors and was further reviewed following Covid-19. In referring to this guidance and the associated case studies, partners may also wish to reflect on their own and colleagues’ learning from the Covid period. This may include reflecting on how the impact of the pandemic on traditional approaches to learning necessitated and further encouraged empowered ways of working between system and learning leaders, practitioners, children, young people and others in our learning communities.

The guidance set out here was initially published in 2019 as Draft, to enable partners to test and refine each element prior to further review. Following the post-Covid review of the key guidance, that draft status has now been removed and this guidance should be considered as agreed. As the Headteachers’ Charter draft was agreed and approved by the COSLA Children and Young People Board, in line with the 2018 Joint Agreement, the change in status of the Charter from Draft to Final has also been agreed by the COSLA CYP Board.

Creating an empowered system

Local authority self-evaluation framework

This self-evaluation framework is a key element of the overarching work in evaluating the progress towards an empowered system, built on mutual trust, cooperation and highly effective communication. In an empowered system, head teachers and local authorities are partners, supporting each other and respecting the different role each plays within our developing system. 

This document is provided to assist local authorities to evaluate and improve the way in which they deliver expectations of the Joint Agreement, and subsequent guidance documents, in the context of the empowerment of schools.

PDF file: Improving school empowerment through self-evaluation: a framework for local authorities (788 KB)

An evaluation strategy

This paper gives an overview of the agreed strategy for the evaluation of the impact of school empowerment. The agreed approach at this stage is to focus on the extent to which local authorities and schools are embedding the key principles of the empowerment agenda, and to what extent we are seeing changes in the intended short and medium term outcomes related to school empowerment.

The approach is based on the principles of mutual trust and cooperation which underpin the Joint Agreement. It seeks, where possible, to reduce requirements for new data sources, instead making use of data already available within the system.

PDF file: Creating an empowered system: an evaluation strategy (467 KB)

Case studies

These case studies illustrate ways in which empowered key partners worked together to address successfully some of the challenges the pandemic presented. They are intended to stimulate reflection, discussion and action on what steps need to be taken to build on successes and strengthen school empowerment further.

PDF file: Progressing towards an empowered system – September 2022

Reflective questions

When engaging with the guidance sections you may wish to consider the following reflective questions:

• What does empowerment look like in your context?
• To what extent are each of the contributors empowered in your context?
• What might you need to do differently to support empowerment?
• What examples of practice from your context could you share to exemplify empowerment?

The following slides can be used to support engagement with the empowered system guidance (if asked to enter credentials, click cancel):

PPT file: Empowered System Engagement (2 MB)

Key partners

School Leaders

The Empowering School Leaders guidance considers the contribution of school leaders in an empowered system.

PDF file: Empowering School Leaders guidance (122 KB)

The Headteachers’ Charter for School Empowerment considers the contribution of headteachers in an empowered system.

PDF file: A Headteachers’ Charter for School Empowerment’ guidance (209 KB)

Learners

The Empowering Learners guidance considers the contribution of learners in an empowered system.

PDF file: Empowering Learners guidance (204 KB)

Local Authority and Regional Improvement Collaborative

The Empowering Local Authority and Regional Improvement Collaborative (RIC) guidance considers the contribution of local authorities and RICs in an empowered system.

PDF file: Empowering Local Authority and Regional Improvement Collaborative (RIC) guidance (102 KB)

Scottish Government and National Organisations

The Empowering Scottish Government and National Organisations guidance considers the contribution of Scottish Government and national organisations in an empowered system.

PDF file: Empowering Scottish Government and National Organisations guidance (190 KB)

Partners

The Empowering Partners guidance considers the contribution of partners in an empowered system.

 PDF file: Empowering Partners guidance (202 KB)

Support Staff

The Empowering Support Staff guidance considers the contribution of support staff in an empowered system.

PDF file: Empowering Support Staff guidance (189 KB)

Teachers and Practitioners

The Empowering Teachers and Practitioners guidance considers the contribution of teachers and practitioners in an empowered system.

PDF file: Empowering Teachers and Practitioners guidance (208 KB)

Parents and Carers

The Empowering Parents and carers guidance considers the contribution of parents and carers in an empowered system.

PDF file: Empowering Parents and Carers guidance (274 KB)

The National Parent Forum of Scotland has produced the following nutshell guide to Scotland’s Empowered System, the importance of parents within this system and parents’ rights and responsibilities.

NPFS Empowering Parents and Carers Nutshell Guide