Informed Scotland March 2020 – COVID-19 & digital inclusion

March was a month of two worlds for learning & skills: before and during lockdown.

The impact of COVID-19 could have been the only Hot Topic listed on this month’s cover, however the rapid shift to online and remote learning and teaching, and the surge in the need for basic digital skills for everyone have also been paramount.

Digital skills has been the hottest topic around for many years, but tackling the challenges of digital inclusion has reached a new level of importance and urgency.

Compiling this edition presented its own challenges. How to provide subscribers with information in the most helpful format? How to keep them up to date with such fast-moving decisions? We opted to include a ‘COVID-19 response & support’ section for each sector of learning & skills and key items published or announced in April. Feedback will determine how helpful this has proved.

March wasn’t all about COVID-19 however. There were plenty of other interesting reports and developments.

There were scenarios on future schooling from Scotland’s Futures Forum and the Goodison Group in Scotland, and on the future of work from the RSA and Skills Development Scotland. Education Scotland published an inspection report on assessment in the broad general education, the Scottish Government published a report on the implementation of the 1+2 languages policy in schools, and launched a new £500k Family Learning Scotland programme, to be led by Peeple.

Finally, I’d like to pay personal tribute to the hard work, ingenuity, generosity of spirit and collaboration of individuals and organisations right across the landscape at this time of crisis, in addition to all those who are risking their own health and lives to support others – it is both awe-inspiring and heart-warming.

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