A topic of conversation that often happens when I catch up with friends is recommendations about which TV boxset to get into next. The choice of high-quality TV is at times overwhelming and there are so many things that I’d like to watch but simply don’t have the time.

It’s always helpful when colleagues recommend a programme and point you in the right direction. It’s also helpful when Netflix (other providers are available) gives you suggestions based on what you’ve been watching.

As we get back into the cadence of the school term, I’m sure many of you have ideas of the professional learning you would like to engage in but aren’t quite sure where to find learning opportunities. That’s where our work will hopefully be able to help.

As a team, we aim to support the Scottish education system in two main ways:

• Support for professional learning – building capacity in the education system to lead impactful professional learning
• Leadership professional learning – enhancing the confidence of Scotland’s educators as leaders

Over the past six months, we have been reviewing our offer to ensure we respond to the needs of education settings. The team has developed an offer that is accessible and coherent, which is designed to support practitioners across the system.  .

We are, of course, just one of the categories on the 'Netflix menu'. Education Scotland offers professional learning covering a broad range of areas such as leadership; curriculum subject specialisms; inclusion, wellbeing and equalities; community learning and development; and early learning and childcare to name but a few. We also signpost to a range of programmes developed and delivered by providers that have received an Education Scotland endorsement.

And a bit like Netflix, if you like engaging in one offer we can signpost you to the next.

An example of this is the development of the Leading Professional Learning programme which was tested last year in collaboration with Aberdeenshire Council. This programme is designed to support and enhance the culture of professional learning in a whole school/setting or cluster. It allows settings to explore areas of interest and link them with high-quality resources to support their learning.

As highlighted by the research of Vivian Robinson (2007), we know that teams learning together has a measurable impact on the outcomes of learners. The research of Kyle Lipscombe (2021) and Peter Grootenboer (2023) also recognises the importance of middle leaders in leading and implementing change successfully in schools and learning settings.

As our suite of resources are designed to be accessed anywhere, anytime and individually or as a group, extended leadership teams can utilise the Middle Leaders Leading Change open access programme to engage in learning together.

Our vision of this approach is that from the engagement in the MLLC programme – which includes coaching as one of the key areas of focus – middle leaders may then wish to utilise the open access coaching resources.

Others may be keen to develop their knowledge of enquiry within their areas and so access the Enquiry in Education online resources. We also have the Aspiring to Middle Leadership programme  available as part of the open access offer with downloadable content to support groups and individuals explore the role of middle leadership, thereby building capacity by developing future middle leaders.

It’s not just the open access resources which are new this year. We have also made changes to the former Excellence in Headship programme which is now called ‘The How of Change’ and is open to all those who hold the GTCS Professional Standard for Headship. Participants will have the opportunity to network with other leaders, to engage in facilitated learning and explore the key conventions of leading change.

The Connected and Collaborative Systems Leadership programme remains the same this year with the opportunity for school and system leaders to undertake a collaborative enquiry with colleagues. The purpose of the enquiry is not simply to research and deepen shared knowledge but also to inform future action for improvement.

Professional learning is not a one-size fits all and we have designed a professional learning offer to meet different needs. We hope that you can see how the different elements of the offer can support you and your teams.

This is very much a year of testing to find out whether the new approach works and if you, or your colleagues, engage with the resources on offer. We would love to hear from you. We are keen to find out what works, what doesn’t and what impact you see the resources having on teams and ultimately your learners.

Robinson, Viviane, "The impact of leadership on student outcomes: Making sense of the evidence" (2007).

Lipscombe, Kyie, Tindall-Ford, Sharon, “Middle Leadership:  A partnership in teaching and learning” (2021)

Grootenboer, P., Tindall-Ford, S., Edwards-Groves, C., & Attard, C. “Establishing an evidence-base for supporting middle leadership practice development in schools.” (2023)