Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Professor Lindsay Paterson about his paper, How a Knowledge-Based Curriculum Could Transform Scottish Education, which he co authored with Bruce Robertson.

The paper explores what a knowledge-based curriculum could look like in Scotland and why the authors believe it could improve learning and create greater equality across our education system. In this blog, I will share some of the key ideas from the paper. If you would like to hear Lindsay discuss these ideas in more depth, I would encourage you to watch our full conversation on our YouTube channel.

Knowledge and skills work together

One of the biggest messages from the paper is that knowledge and skills should not be seen as competing priorities.

We often hear discussions about whether schools should focus on developing skills such as critical thinking, creativity and problem solving, or on teaching knowledge. Paterson and Robertson argue that this is a false choice. Their view is that children need knowledge before they can apply it. In other words, skills grow from knowledge, and skills cannot be implemented to their full potential without knowledge.

A knowledge-based curriculum and educational equality

The idea that really stayed with me after reading the paper and speaking with Lindsay in person, was the authors’ argument that a knowledge-based curriculum can help create greater equality in education.

They suggest that when schools are clear about the knowledge that all children should learn, every pupil has access to the same important ideas, regardless of their background or where they go to school. A clearly planned curriculum helps ensure that all children are given the opportunity to build the knowledge they need for future learning.

I found this a particularly interesting perspective. We often think about equality in terms of support, resources or opportunities, but this paper highlights another aspect of equity – making sure every child has access to a shared body of knowledge.

What could this mean for Scottish education?

The paper also shares the experience of Berwickshire High School, where Bruce Robertson led the development of a knowledge-based curriculum. Staff worked together to clearly identify the knowledge, skills and experiences pupils should learn about in each subject.

The authors argue that this clarity helped improve teaching, learning and attainment. Building on this experience, they suggest Scotland could benefit from providing clearer national guidance about what pupils should learn, while still allowing teachers the professional freedom to decide how best to teach it.

Whether or not readers agree with every recommendation, the paper raises important questions about curriculum design and what we want every child in Scotland to learn during their time at school.

Final thoughts

One of the reasons I enjoy reading educational research is that it helps me find clarity in my ideas surrounding education.

I hope this short summary has given you an insight into some of the key ideas from this research paper. If you would like to hear Professor Lindsay Paterson explain the thinking behind the paper in more detail, I would encourage you to watch our conversation on YouTube. It’s a fascinating discussion, and I hope the video helps share the paper with a wider audience.

Thank you for reading

Joanna

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The post How a Knowledge-Based Curriculum Could Transform Scottish Education: Key Ideas from Professor Lindsay Paterson appeared first on The Scottish Primary Teaching Hub.

Earlier this year, I completed my research on primary teaching resources at Edinburgh Napier University. That research opened my eyes to an issue I had already experienced first hand: the shortage of accessible, high quality teaching resources for primary teachers in Scotland.

Before my MSc Publishing degree, I worked as an Early Years Practitioner and spent time in primary classrooms during my MA Primary Education placements. I often saw teachers creating resources completely from scratch, which I also had to do myself. It was rewarding but incredibly time consuming.

That experience of creating teaching resources from scratch sparked my love for educational publishing. I discovered how much I enjoyed designing and illustrating resources, which led me to pursue an MSc in Publishing. During my internship with an educational publisher, I learned how much time and expertise go into creating quality teaching materials. This helped me realise how unsustainable it is to expect teachers to be both full time educators and professional publishers at the same time.

Even as I continued my publishing journey, I knew I wanted to do something practical to help primary teachers but I was not sure how best to do that.

Turning research into action

Through my dissertation research in May 2025, one solution kept coming up again and again: the need for a central, easy to use platform where teachers can share and find resources. This idea had also been on my mind since my first experience working in education, so I decided to make it happen.

As I began building the website, the vision grew. I realised the platform could not only help teachers find and share resources but also support professional growth, connection, and wellbeing. I wanted to create a space that helps teachers save time, feel supported, and avoid burnout.

That is when our vision came together:

Sharing Resources . Learning Together . Reducing Workload.

Inspired by community

I have been greatly inspired by the Scottish Primary Teachers Facebook group, which has an incredible community of around 35,000 members. The collaboration and support within that group is amazing, and I hope The Scottish Primary Teaching Hub can work in a similar way, and support their amazing community work.

Looking ahead

The website will always remain free to access. All teachers need to do is create a free account to upload and download resources safely and securely.

There are many exciting features in development, and I can’t wait for teachers across Scotland to explore them. My goal is for The Scottish Primary Teaching Hub to become a central space where teachers can find what they need quickly, share ideas, and feel part of a positive, supportive community.

This is just the beginning, but I’m so proud of how far it has come already. I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, or feedback on how we can make it even better. So please comment below to get a great discussion started.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

With warm wishes,

Joanna
Founder and Director, The Scottish Primary Teaching Hub

The post Creating The Scottish Primary Teaching Hub appeared first on The Scottish Primary Teaching Hub.

In this post, I will walk you through some of the key features of the website and explain how you can get started.

Getting Started

When you visit the Home Page, you will find an overview of the hub, along with clear buttons to guide you around the site.

The best way to get involved is to create a free account and upload one of your own teaching resources. By contributing your resource, you will be helping to build the foundation of a shared library that will soon be available to primary teachers across Scotland to access for free.

You can also subscribe to our newsletter to stay connected. As a subscriber, you will receive updates about our progress, new features, and the official launch of our online resource library.

Easy Navigation

At the top of the website, you will find our menu bar, which makes it easy to explore. From there, you can:

• Create an account
• Upload a teaching resource
• Log in or log out of your account

Everything has been designed to be clear, simple, and easy to use.

Coming Soon

We are currently in the pre launch phase, focusing on gathering teaching resources from educators across Scotland. Once we have built a strong collection, I will create and launch the online library, where teachers will be able to browse, share, and download high-quality materials for free.

Our pre launch phase is an important step in building a collaborative community that supports one another by sharing ideas and resources. I am so excited to see how the Hub grows with your contributions.

If you have any questions, ideas, or feedback, please leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you.

With best wishes,
Joanna
Founder, The Scottish Primary Teaching Hub

The post Website Overview appeared first on The Scottish Primary Teaching Hub.