Professor John Robertson OBA
In the Guardian today, the above and:
A review of England’s curriculum has recommended reducing the amount of content and emphasis on exams and instead focusing more on life skills and “enrichment”.
The review, led by Prof Becky Francis, wants pupils to spend less time in exam halls and have more time “for all of those amazing other things that schools do”, such as plays, sport and work experience.
It also urged the government to cut back on policies introduced by the former Tory education secretary Michael Gove, including an overhaul of controversial grammar tests in primary schools.
From Curriculum for Excellence building the curriculum 4 skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work, published in 2009, 16 years ago, only two years after Labour were removed in Scotland:
Has it worked?
Scotland’s CfE develops soft skills [teamwork, better than England’s National Curriculum and comparably or slightly ahead of NI’s, due to its explicit, flexible framework prioritizing holistic capacities over rote learning. It’s widely regarded internationally as a model for 21st-century skills. At its core are the four capacities: successful learners (e.g., critical thinking, creativity), confident individuals (e.g., resilience, self-awareness), responsible citizens (e.g., empathy, ethical decision-making), and effective contributors (e.g., collaboration, leadership).
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
“Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) offers an inspiring and widely supported philosophy of education. Its framework allows for effective curricular practices and for the possibility of a truly fulfilling education for learners”
“Education is a source of pride in Scotland, which shows in the broad commitment to CfE and educational excellence for all. It has been granted great importance in the political debate to a degree that would be the envy of many a system”
“CfE’s originality continues to influence international curriculum policy. Scotland made great progress in developing and supporting teachers’ capacity to be curriculum makers, and the capacity of school leaders to lead the curriculum process in their schools. This work has become challenging for schools considering the multiple new policy initiatives; and Scotland’s comparatively high rate of teachers’ class contact time and its expectations for teachers to lead and plan curriculum locally”
just a few statements from http://www.oecd.org/en/publications/scotland-s-curriculum-for-excellence_bf624417-en.html
you’ll have seen any negative findings already, so I think it’s ok for me to focus on the positives the BBC & Jackie Baillie might have missed. To hammer home the message some key words or phrases are in bold type!
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