Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS or LT Scotland) was a

non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process o ...

of the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

, formed in 2000https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100056321 by the merger of the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum (SCCC) and the Scottish Council for Educational Technology (SCET). It was the main organisation for the development and support of the Scottish curriculum, and was at the heart of developments in Scottish education until its merger with Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Education to form

Education Scotland Education Scotland () is an Executive agencies of the Scottish Government, executive agency of the Scottish Government, tasked with improving the quality of the country's Scottish education system, education system. Education Scotland is respon ...

in 2011. The role of LTS was to provide advice, support, resources and staff development to enhance the quality of learning and teaching in Scotland, combining expertise in the curriculum 3–18 with advice on the use of ICT in education.

History

LTS worked in close partnership with the Scottish Government, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education, the

Scottish Qualifications Authority The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA; Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Ùghdarras Theisteanas na h-Alba'') is the Scottish public bodies, executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for accrediting educationa ...

, the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, the

Convention of Scottish Local Authorities The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) is the national association of Scottish councils and acts as an employers' association for its 32 member authorities. History Formed in 1975, COSLA exists to promote and protect the int ...

, education authorities, schools and with a range of professional associations, playing a key role in the drive to improve learning and teaching. LTS provided support for people working in the Scottish

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

education system—including ministers,

local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

, school managers,

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

s, and support staff—and was accountable to the Scottish Executive Education Department. LTS operated the LT Scotland Online Service, the successor to the National Grid for Learning in Scotland. It also ran a professional development programme known as ''Masterclass'', and a range of supported online communities of practice including ''Heads Together''. LTS managed Glow, a national intranet for schools and practitioners, offering a range of teaching, learning and collaborative tools across the Web, in a secure and fully authenticated way—bringing together more than 700,000 students, 50,000 teachers, all lecturers and students in initial teacher education and many others across the country. LTS had been charged with leading the development of Scotland's '

Curriculum for Excellence ''Curriculum for Excellence'' (Scottish Gaelic: ''Curraicealam airson Sàr-mhathais'') is the national curriculum in Scotland, used by Scottish schools for learners ages 3–18. The implementation of ''Curriculum for Excellence'' is overseen by ...

' programme. The purpose of the programme is to improve the learning, attainment and achievement of children and young people in Scotland. It is also about ensuring that pupils achieve on a broad front, not just in terms of examinations. LTS also led the innovative Assessment is for Learning programme in Scotland. On 14 October 2010, Cabinet Secretary for Education Mike Russell announced that Learning and Teaching Scotland would be subsumed, along with Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education into a new body named the ''Scottish Education Quality and Improvement Agency''. This was later renamed to

References

{{authority control Public bodies of the Scottish Government Education in Scotland Scottish Government Learning and Justice Directorate