and relevant transference of global and national policy into local school context. It can also be said that a Headteacher’s ability to critically analyse policy is crucial, they should be able to use their knowledge and understanding of their local context to evaluate the effectiveness of policies. Effective Headteachers should also have the skills and confidence to decide whether policies should be delivered as they are or adapted to suit the needs of local context. As set out in the General Teaching Council for Scotland Standard for Leadership and Management (2012) a Headteacher should be able to ‘judge wisely and decide appropriately’ (2012, P. 9). Careful consideration should be given to the policy source, its influences and key drivers. Furthermore, it should be noted that political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legislative drivers can all adopt a changing level of priority at any one time and it is imperative that Headteachers demonstrate sound understanding of them. Global drivers such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNICEF, 2004) and Learning for All (World Bank, 2011) continue to be key influential forces in policy formation. Likewise, legal drivers such as The Children & Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 and Getting It Right for Every Child: National Practice Model (Scottish Government, 2012) remain at the forefront of decision-making processes made by a Headteacher. Policy drivers can be diverse, multi-layered and complex and many policies and initiatives can be in existence calling for consideration and implementation at any point in time.

It is the purpose of this part of this assignment to therefore critically analyse current policy context with a view to identifying and justifying a Strategic Change Issue. A proposal will then be outlined using educational evidence as argument.

Global institutions such as United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) all place tackling inequality and inequity at the centre of their practice and have subsequently prioritised positive early childhood development in their programmes of work. Policies such as the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Education 2030 (2015), the World Bank’s Learning for All (2011) and policy drivers such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) paper, How’s Life? (2015) also, visibly place children’s rights and nurturing approaches within the health and wellbeing agenda as high importance. How’s Life? states that ‘giving children a good start in life is important for wellbeing here and now, but it also improves a child’s chances later’ (2015, p. 7). Rizvi and Lingard (2010) suggest that policies are created and written to guarantee consistency in their delivery and whilst these policies demonstrate a desire for equity, equality and social justice within education whilst showing strong links to nurture and health and wellbeing, they lack consideration into execution and mod