Consultation on a bill to introduce radical reforms to the education system has been opened. During the Programme for Government the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, made clear that the Education (Scotland) Bill 2018 will be the centerpiece of the legislative programme for the year ahead. It will include a number of provisions to reform how schools are run and put schools in charge of key decisions about a child's education including; - More freedom to make choices about curriculum, improvement and funding at school level, - More freedom for headteachers to choose school staff and management structure, - New regional improvement collaborative's to provide streamlined and strengthened support to teachers, drawing on experts from local authorities and Education Scotland, - Strengthened engagement with young people and parents in schools. The new powers will be guaranteed in a statutory charter for headteachers, with provisions to ensure young people and parents als