Tomorrow @parliament.scot will debate the Scottish Government's record on school education. Many of the problems, as well as policy recommendations, were outlined in the Commission on School Reform's manifesto published yesterday. Read it in full here: www.enlighten.scot/publication/...

The Commission on School Reform has published its 2026 manifesto. It calls for a return to a knowledge-based curriculum & offers proposals to strengthen academic standards, close the attainment gap & improve support for pupils with additional needs www.enlighten.scot/publication/...

New article: Paul Argyle McDonald warns that maths curriculum is suffering from a "structural collapse" due to "an educational roadmap that prioritises doing and calculating while largely omitting the why". Read his full article here: www.enlighten.scot/the-architec...

Paul McGinness of @stormid.com writes for the blog on the potential of AI to reduce administrative burden in the public sector & increase productivity. Read the full article here: www.enlighten.scot/automate-tas...

Join us on Mon 26 Feb for an online discussion on exclusive new polling in Scotland & Wales & what it might mean. @profnicolamcewen.bsky.social Charlie Buckley @moreincommonuk.bsky.social Dewi Knight @policywise.bsky.social @chrisdeerin.bsky.social www.enlighten.scot/event/online...

"Walking is one of the most inclusive and accessible forms of physical activity" Ian McCall of @walkingscotland.bsky.social writes for #NHS2048 on the positive impact walking and wheeling can have as part of a greater focus on preventing illness www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/walk...

Katherine Crawford of Age Scotland writes for #NHS2048 on the urgent need to address the problems facing social care. She highlights that while "many, if not most, of us will need social care at some point in our lives"..."it is not a political priority." www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/scot...

Penny Halliday writes for the Blog about A Listening Ear's call to follow Manchester City Council's lead and remove council tax for those in their last year of life. Read her full article here: www.enlighten.scot/the-bucket-l...

"rarely even mentioned in this debate are the potentially harmful implications of shorter degrees for schools & for school leavers" Prof Lindsay Paterson on the impact for schools from cutting degrees from 4 years to 3. www.enlighten.scot/three-year-d...

"If we want to improve attainment, close equity gaps & develop confident, capable mathematicians the work must begin in our primary classrooms" Primary school teachers Holly Drummond & Kirsten Fenton write for the blog on improving maths teaching. www.enlighten.scot/maths-journa...

A powerful read from Sean Duffy @thewisegroup.bsky.social on the need from real and implemented public service reform in Scotland. www.enlighten.scot/scotlands-pu...

The Scottish Government's consultation on the future of Council tax closes this week. Read our submission here: www.enlighten.scot/devolvingsco...

In a thought-provoking and timely article, Stewart McDonald argues that for too long "defence and security have been kept at arm’s length in Scotland’s devolved politics". Read the full article here: www.enlighten.scot/its-time-for...

"why don’t we do more? Is it because dementia & caring affect women more than men? Or because women’s unpaid labour has long been treated as an inexhaustible resource-natural, expected, & therefore invisible" Greg Stevenson's powerful piece for #NHS2048 www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/the-...

Research director @alipayne.bsky.social writes for @thescottishsun.co.uk on why the current HE funding system is unsustainable, and why we need a graduate payment. Up-front fees can be avoided & tuition free-at-the-point-of-use maintained if we act asap. www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1582007...

An anonymous secondary teacher writes for our blog on the problems facing school education in Scotland. Read their full article here: www.enlighten.scot/thoughts-of-...

Online Event: Monday 26th Jan at 1pm Join us with for a discussion looking at the future of colleges in Scotland with Gavin Donoghue from Colleges Scotland and Angela Cox from Ayrshire College in conversation with @chrisdeerin.bsky.social www.enlighten.scot/event/a-disc...

Catch up on our fascinating & informative discussion about Scottish & Welsh devolution in partnership with @policywise.bsky.social. Our panel included Adam Price MS, @kezdugdale.bsky.social, Lee Waters MS, and Paul McLennan MSP. Chaired by @chrisdeerin.bsky.social www.enlighten.scot/event/online...

Frank Gunn-Moore FRSB FRSE of @uniofstandrews.bsky.social writes for our #NHS2048 forum of the challenges and opportunities for Scotland in dementia research. Read his full article here: www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/grow...

We have a couple of great online events coming up this week - still time to sign up to attend. For more info www.enlighten.scot/events/ or email [email protected] @chrisdeerin.bsky.social @policywise.bsky.social @graemeroy.bsky.social @kezdugdale.bsky.social @paulmclennanmsp.bsky.social

well worth reading on Scottish further and higher education. There are systemic problems, identified here, which the Scottish government review is explicitly not even going to go near.

We've published a new report today from Huw Morris and Des Mcnulty which calls for a radical rethink of the purpose and functioning of Scotland’s tertiary education sector. Read the full report here: enlighten.scot/publication/where-next-for-scotlands-universities-and-colleges/

Ross Martin writes for the blog on the importance of regional economies. Read his full article here: www.enlighten.scot/scotlands-re...

New on the blog: “As the Scottish political parties pull together their policy agendas and manifestos for the next Holyrood election they must put ending the nightmare of retail crime at the top of their priorities” Ewan MacDonald-Russell on the worrying increase in retail crime.

Front page coverage today of the Commission on School Reform's worrying new report which highlights that only 39.5% of the S4 cohort achieved an A-C pass in Nat 5 maths. The report, including data tables, can be read here: www.enlighten.scot/publication/...

News that Scot Gov is to carry out a review of university funding is to be welcomed, though long overdue. We can create a fairer, more sustainable arrangement which provides a better balance between taxpayers & graduates, but also maintains tuition free at point of use.

New on the blog: Jonathan Clark writes on the need for a renaissance in Scotland’s skills system. Read his full article here: www.enlighten.scot/towards-a-sk...

Front page coverage in @scotsman.com today of Lindsay Paterson's warnings that education statistics in Scotland are "deeply flawed": www.scotsman.com/education/le... Read his full article on the issue for Enlighten here: www.enlighten.scot/misleading-e...

"Scotland’s Parliament is not strong. In fact, we would go so far to say that it is institutionally hamstrung through structural design & cultural attitudes" @stephenkerr.bsky.social & James Bundy write for the blog on why reform of Holyrood hasn't been delivered. www.enlighten.scot/everyone-agr...

New ACEL data, which reports teachers’ judgements of literacy and numeracy across Scottish schools, has been published. Professor Lindsay Paterson of the Commission on School Reform warns it can misrepresent what’s really happening in education. Read here: www.enlighten.scot/misleading-e...

New ACEL data has today been published, but Prof Lindsay Paterson of the Commission on School Reform warns it can be misleading. In his new article, he explains how official statistics often obscure the real challenges facing Scottish education. Read here: enlighten.scot/misleading-e...

"All of these three measurement failings – the wrong doors, the wrong time zone, the wrong connotations – conspire to prevent the rigorous examination of cause-&-effect relationships in the health & care system that’s needed" @kurtstat.bsky.social for #NHS2048 www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/thre...

Online event: Monday 15th Dec at 12.30pm Director @chrisdeerin.bsky.social will be in conversation with @antonmuscatelli.bsky.social discussing how Scotland can unlock the potential of its regional economies. For more info, or to sign up visit: www.enlighten.scot/event/online...

Prof Peter Edwards, Aberdeen Uni Principal, says we need a “fundamental look” at the current funding model for universities. Our MSP briefing sets out how a fair graduate contribution can make the system sustainable while keeping tuition fees 'free at the point of use'. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Featured on today’s Scotsman front page: the Commission on School Reform warns Scotland’s ASN system is becoming unsustainable. Over 40% of pupils now have additional needs and exam invigilation costs have more than doubled. Read the paper in full here: www.enlighten.scot/publication/...

The Chancellor is wrong to consider a 3p per mile charge for EV drivers, instead a more comprehensive reform of road taxes is required. VED and fuel duty should be scrapped and replaced with pay-as-you-drive road pricing. Read more here: www.enlighten.scot/publication/...

In partnership with Edinburgh University’s SWAY programme, MSc student Joe Robinson explored Scotland’s regional skills challenges. Read his blog on the issues and full dissertation here: enlighten.scot/dealing-with...

A new piece from Alistair Veitch for our #NHS2048 forum exploring how a renewed social contract grounded in universality, transparency, and shared accountability can support the long-term sustainability of the NHS. Read in full: www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/trus...

Enlighten has published a new paper written by the Mercat group of former local authority chief executives, which calls for “a new democratic settlement” devolving power from the Scottish Government to local authorities. Read the report here: www.enlighten.scot/publication/...

Switching to social or supplemental health insurance won’t fix NHS funding, argues Professor @camdonaldson.bsky.social in our #NHS2048 Forum - better management of our tax-funded system will. Read here: enlighten.scot/nhs2048/why-...

Following our recent report by Gillian Hunt, which argued for a change to the school calendar, Dewi Knight from PolicyWISE outlines the attempt by the Welsh Government to make similar changes. Read the full article here: enlighten.scot/reform-of-the-school-year-lessons-learned-and-missed/

"As doctors and medical professionals, we have had enough of fighting the old. We know what’s wrong. It’s time to build the new.” Read more from Prof. Alan McNeill in our NHS2048 Forum, reflecting on last week's The Future Health of Scotland conference. enlighten.scot/nhs2048/weal...

"warm words are not enough: we need to see political commitment and prioritisation of sustainable funding of our valued college sector at this next Budget" Gavin Donoghue of @collegesscot.bsky.social writes for the blog on the fiscal crisis facing our colleges. www.enlighten.scot/a-budget-to-...

Online event: 10am Thursday 20 Nov Join director @chrisdeerin.bsky.social as he talks to @mareetodd.bsky.social, Prof Grant Jarvie and Joelle Murray about the rise and future of women's football. www.enlighten.scot/event/online...

Online event: Register for our online discussion on school reform on 17 Nov. Sir Nick Gibb and Keir Bloomer will be in conversation with director @chrisdeerin.bsky.social www.enlighten.scot/event/online...

New on #NHS2048 Clare Johnston writes about the potential of rebuilding strength and healthy aging. Read her article here: www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/rebu...

“Vaccination uptake is plummeting in rural communities and areas of high deprivation, creating a stark health inequality that threatens to divide our nation’s children into the protected & the vulnerable” A worrying article from Dr Ross Jaffrey #NHS2048 www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/has-...

NEW REPORT In our new report, former teacher & education consultant Gillian Hunt proposes a change to the school year to help address loss of learning and fatigue, which especially impacts children in poverty. Read the report here: www.enlighten.scot/publication/...

New on #NHS2048 Dr Alastair Noble writes about the importance of continuity of care and place based services. Read his article here: www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/cont...

Missed an event? Watch back our recent conversations on immigration, entrepreneurship, devolution, and health and social care - featuring leading voices exploring the issues shaping Scotland and the UK's future. Watch back now at www.enlighten.scot/events.