I am proud to be a product of the Scottish education system, to have seen my children flourish in its schools and to have been part of a journey of progress.

I participated in the 2002 Big Debate about education in Scotland. The vision that emerged saw children as people - not robots for passing exams, but individuals with a multiplicity of skills. Our job was to harness each child’s rich potential.

The vision was inclusive, reaching out to every child, not just the favoured few. From this debate came the mantra of successful learners, responsible citizens and so on, which is now known as Curriculum for Excellence. Whatever the shortcomings in implementation, the consensus that emerged across social, sectoral and political opinion was deeply worthwhile - and has been complimented in the recent Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development report.

A nation that does not know the core purpose for educating its children and young people has lost direction; it will soon be distracted by educational fads and political posturing, and be driven by comparisons with neighbours (in which we still do very well) more than evidence-led approaches. The consensus achieved in Scotland started at ground level and was not dictated to us by central or local government. This consensus is beginning to be challenged; if allowed to fester, this will be detrimental to learning.

Consensus and coherency

As well as consensus, the localised freedom -and creative opportunities that this encourages - is something to value in Scotland’s system. The steady improvement in literacy in Fife was a result of a programme that came from teachers and was developed by teachers. We looked at how literacy was taught and, over a decade, systematically began working with staff, children and parents.

We eventually became prescriptive in areas where the evidence showed us what was working. At its heart was the simple belief that we could fundamentally improve every child’s literacy levels through supporting the improvement of teachers’ skills - so professional learning and support were key. Systematic standardised testing took place over years, with the data used to drive improvement and deeper innovation at both individual and cohort level - but never to create league tables or a blame culture.

This type of exercise is more difficult in an environment of high-stakes testing and national imposition. Interestingly, while children’s literacy across the whole social spectrum in Fife has improved, results from children from the poorest families have risen very significantly: it is possible to raise and start to level the bar at the same time. (Although for this to take place across Scotland, it will require greater change than educational innovation alone.)

While never accepting poor-quality services for children and young people anywhere, let us beware of erecting barriers that stifle localised and creative solutions to increasing equity in learning outcomes.

Coherency is another area where Scotland is making big strides. Combining education and social work leadership roles in Fife was a forward-thinking strategy; I found it a challenge but a privilege to accept this new post. To redesign as one package the educational and care requirements of our most vulnerable families, centred around their needs has been highly exciting. It is leading to a very significant improvement in life outcomes of, for example, looked-after children.

Bringing together disparate groups of staff to think about meeting a child’s needs is exactly what the Christie report envisaged. While the distance travelled may seem insufficient, the direction is correct and we should avoid U-turns.

I do welcome the national push on the attainment gap, and the scale of resources committed by the government, but it would be very helpful if the multiple civil service directorates were aligned with education and children’s services in mind, so that policy and practice could knit together. This would stop the spreading malaise of “projectitis”, the endless wrangling over resources, and keep energy and focus on improving outcomes.

However, inequity in the system will only ever be addressed if we think even wider than education and children’s services, including how we bring up children in the world, and the pivotal role of family.

The gnawing away of family values has eaten at the core of our society. We would want all children to have a sense of belonging, to know what it is to be loved, read to, played with and treated with tender care and respect. Nothing in the educational system can replace the importance of the home. The focus on early intervention is hugely important in this regard, but we must go further.

Moral purpose

This final point of seeing the whole picture and the whole person has been part of the reason for my calling to be a full-time Christian preacher. I have loved my job and am a firm believer in addressing inequity in Scotland, but I have always found it hard to differentiate between the social and moral problems that I have encountered in people’s lives and the underlying spiritual issues they are facing.

We could make it a lot easier for our young people, and for citizens in general, to explore spiritual matters. What are the consequences in our materialistically driven society of constantly promulgating a view that everything has a materialistic explanation and objective? Meanwhile, by “privatising” faith (meaning that people can believe what they want as long, as they are sure to keep it to themselves), have we ostracised certain communities on one hand and stifled serious debate on the other?

Scotland’s Christian heritage is globally important historically, but how many Scottish children know anything about it or have ever explored it? Would our young people, for example, be encouraged to consider the evidence for why the vast majority of human beings believe in God? This is the deeper purpose that I fear Scotland is neglecting.

I have benefited personally from the wisdom, kindness and support of colleagues over the years, from my days as a physics teacher until the present. I will deeply miss this, along with serving Fife’s children and young people, but move forward into my new role with a deep sense of mission and purpose.

Craig Munro was director of education and children’s services for Fife Council, chair of the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland Forum and a member of the National Improvement Framework Strategic Board. He left in August to become a Christian preacher