Author: Jamie Dungavell

Youth Voice Toolkit – Professional Learning (Oct to March)

Due to popular demand, Education Scotland are providing a range of future dates for professional learning on the Youth Voice Toolkit. The toolkit allows practitioners to support non-tokenistic and representative consultations of children and young people in schools, communities, organisations and local authorities, around any theme or topic. A complete list of these dates can be found below alongside a synopsis of the toolkit and why it’s important for all pracitioners and settings:

Dates

Youth Voice Toolkit: Professional Learning Tickets, Thursday, October 8  •  4 PM – 5 PM

Youth Voice Toolkit: Professional Learning Tickets, Wednesday, November 4  •  4 PM – 5 PM

Youth Voice Toolkit: Professional Learning Tickets, Wednesday, December 9  •  4 PM – 5 PM

Youth Voice Toolkit: Professional Learning Tickets, Thursday, January 14, 2027  •  4 PM – 5 PM

Youth Voice Toolkit: Professional Learning Tickets, Wednesday, February 17, 2027  •  3 PM – 4 PM

Youth Voice Toolkit: Professional Learning Tickets, Thursday, March 25, 2027  •  4 PM – 5 PM

 

What is the Youth Voice Toolkit?

The toolkit is a national package of guidance and resources designed to help educational, community, and place-based settings effectively consult with children and young people. It provides a clear, step-by-step approach, alongside practical tools and resources, to support meaningful and inclusive participation.

 

Why is this important?

Youth voice, whenever children and young people are asked for their views on a theme, issue, or decision, can often be rushed, unrepresentative, tokenistic or poorly planned. This can leave young people feeling frustrated, disengaged and as though their opinions do not matter. The toolkit addresses these challenges by guiding practitioners through a proven approach that gives clear and concise instructions with easy to use resources.

 

What difference can it make?

The toolkit equips settings with the tools and confidence to work with children and young people to agree how they want to be consulted on issues that matter to them. It also empowers young people to gather and represent the views of their peers. As a result, feedback is more accurate, inclusive of seldom-heard voices and more likely to lead to meaningful action and positive change.

 

What does the toolkit involve?

It requires a practitioner to lead on its adoption, following these key steps:

  • Creating a youth voice charter which details how children/young people wish adults to work with them when it comes to consultation
  • Deliver part 1 of the Empowering Youth Voices resource pack to a youth voice structure (e.g. pupil council, youth forum, class etc) to upskill them on how to work as a team to represent their peers
  • Deliver part 2 of the resource pack to the same youth voice structure to guide them through the process of planning and carrying out peer research on a chosen theme or issue within their setting.
  • Support the youth voice structure to analyse findings, share results and create an action plan based on what their peers have said.
  • Repeat part 2 of the resource pack when examining a new theme or topic

 

If you have any questions or thoughts please contact youthvoice@educationscotland.gov.scot

2026 Youth Voice Toolkit – Professional Learning

We have released new dates for PL on the Youth Voice Toolkit. Find more information in our events area or sign up directly at the links below:

Youth Voice Toolkit: Professional Learning 19/02/26 | Events | Education Scotland

Youth Voice Toolkit: Professional Learning 12/03/26 | Events | Education Scotland

The toolkit can be found here – Youth Voice Toolkit | Resources | Education Scotland

Get in touch at youthvoice@educationscotland.gov.scot

Recruitment for Education Scotland Associates (CLD)

We are seeking applications for Education Scotland Associates (ESA) with a specialism in Community Learning and Development (CLD) for roles which will focus on enhancing practice through digital approaches and/or stakeholder engagement.  The posts are on a part-time, pro rata basis and will be based throughout Scotland. Base location can be flexible.

ESAs will work to support improvement with a CLD specific focus in the areas of resource development, professional learning, stakeholder engagement and framework design, and utilising digital approaches to enhance impact. They will make an important contribution to our professional learning programmes, drawing on their experience as educators, their specialist skills, and their educational and system knowledge.

To find out more information and apply please see the link below:

Education Scotland Associate: Community Learning and Development | Vacancies | Education Scotland

Youth Voice Toolkit

Education Scotland is please to announce the launch of it’s new Youth Voice Toolkit. This toolkit has been co-designed by practitioners in the formal education, CLD and third sectors. It provides guidance and resources to support those who facilitate youth voice in a meaningful and non-tokenistic way, ensuring that the views of many children and young people are heard.

The toolkit is designed to be delivered with youth voice structures and can be used with any theme or topic that is important to children and young people.

If you are looking to find out more please contact youthvoice@educationscotland.gov.scot and if you are implementing the toolkit in your setting let us know: http://bit.ly/esyouthvoice 

The toolkit can be found here: Youth Voice Toolkit | Resources | Education Scotland and upcoming professional learning sessions are taking place on the 18th September at 9:30 and 24th September at 4pm

 

 

Launch Event Recording and Sessions

Education Scotland – Youth Voice Toolkit launch – YouTube

 

Sections (and associated lengths)

Introduction – https://youtu.be/dWBkTlNmBRk?si=OwygpVk9S2OoTWfm (3 min)

Foundations and Acknowledgements – https://youtu.be/dWBkTlNmBRk?si=rzz4k5jGRLp5re_7&t=220 (7 min)

Toolkit Demonstration – https://youtu.be/dWBkTlNmBRk?si=iY7UBmlCCYYs77Lp&t=599 (15 min)

Why this is important – https://youtu.be/dWBkTlNmBRk?si=xTp3ZjP7RA8KdnwK&t=1678 (4 min)

Stakeholder Input – Stirling Youth Participation Team – https://youtu.be/dWBkTlNmBRk?si=HEKyQ8vMtqNe3STL&t=1917 (6 min)

Stakeholder Input – Clackmannanshire Council – https://youtu.be/dWBkTlNmBRk?si=kEBITxLh69ECy3_A&t=2280 (6 min)

Stakeholder Example – Harrysmuir Primary (Extra video) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKdY2v550s4 (10 min)

The difference the toolkit can make – https://youtu.be/dWBkTlNmBRk?si=_naofWq8TOAsLGqI&t=2834 (2 min)

Professional Learning and let us know – https://youtu.be/dWBkTlNmBRk?si=r1po0PQ6UahsDpql&t=2941 (2 min)

Building Racial Literacy

Applications are now live for the seventh cohort of Education Scotland’s Building Racial Literacy programme (close Friday 5th September).

The national Building Racial Literacy programme promotes anti-racism as a baseline professional value, empowering educators to identify and implement anti-racist behaviours and processes in their everyday practice. The ultimate goal of the Building Racial Literacy programme is to make every educator in Scotland racially literate, effective at dealing with racism and confident in leading anti-racism.

We have had a high number of CLD participants on recent cohorts of the BRL programme and they have spoken of how much they have gained from taking part. Further information and application form: Building Racial Literacy | Programmes | Professional learning programmes, webinars and events | Professional Learning | Education Scotland

Aspiring to Middle Leadership

This programme can support aspiring middle leaders to develop their understanding of the roles of middle leadership and the skills required to carry out the main aspects of these roles.

The programme is also suitable for new middle leaders, those in an acting middle leadership role or those who are new to leading an area of work in their setting. If you are more established in your middle leadership role you might want to consider the Middle Leaders Leading Change programme. Although the underpinning research is schools based, Aspiring to Middle Leadership is open to CLD and ELC educators and practitioners as well as teachers.

 

We would love to see more CLD representation on this programme and would see it as applicable to those in a senior CLD practitioner role. For further information and application form: Aspiring to Middle Leadership | Programmes | Professional learning programmes, webinars and events | Professional Learning | Education Scotland. Please note you can also undertake the AML programme through self-directed learning.

The Alexander Report at 50: What is the Relevance Today?

Join us to celebrate 50 years of the Alexander Report and discuss the relevance today for CLD practice.

 

The event will take place on 16th May, 1.00 – 4.00pm, Moray House, University of Edinburgh

 

Agenda will include a keynote address from Lyn Tett, Professor Emerita, University of Edinburgh, input from current practitioners and an opportunity to discuss with colleagues the impact and continuing influence of the Report.

 

To register your interest, please use the following link: Alexander Report