Education Scotland, a government agency responsible for curriculum development, is facing criticism over official reports that were allegedly produced using artificial intelligence (AI) and contain significant errors.
An academic who reviewed the documents found approximately 20 references that appear to cite non-existent articles, books, and reports, suggesting the use of fabricated sources. One report, for instance, claimed that over 200,000 pupils had studied Higher Physical Education, a number substantially higher than the combined total of fewer than 150,000 students who sat National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher qualifications this past summer.
These reports were intended to form part of the foundation for curriculum changes planned by the Scottish government, set to be implemented from 2028. Education Secretary Màiri McAllan has indicated the initiative would underpin future teaching.
Brodie Runciman, a lecturer in initial teacher education at the University of Edinburgh, alerted Education Scotland to these issues. He identified what he described as fabricated references intended to provide an evidence base for curriculum reform on the Education Scotland website. "These are the evidence-based reports that form the basis for that knowledge. But the knowledge doesn’t even exist – it comes from fabricated sources," Runciman stated.
After Runciman raised his concerns, some errors were corrected, and a note was added to the reports indicating that AI had been used in their editing. However, Runciman questioned the extent of AI usage, noting that he first alerted officials to his concerns in April. He pointed to a specific example of a reference to a publication titled "Drama for Change: Empowering Learners Through Performance" by an author named Francis, dated 2025, which he found to be non-existent.
Scottish Conservative education spokesman Meghan Gallacher expressed concern over the inaccuracies. "Those with an interest in curriculum reform should be able to trust what is within these policy papers, instead of having to worry about false claims being included," Gallacher said. She added that ministers should clarify why concerns raised seven months prior were seemingly overlooked.
An Education Scotland spokesman confirmed that the agency takes any errors seriously and acted upon the concerns raised. A Scottish Government spokesman stated that Education Scotland was informed of errors in the curriculum improvement cycle evidence papers earlier in the year and has since rectified them.