Leading Excellence in Care (LEiC) Education and Development Framework Evaluation: May 2026

Executive summary

Background

The Excellence in Care programme and NHS Education Scotland (NES) developed a national online resource. It is designed to support leaders in nursing, midwifery, and allied health professionals. The resource helps users understand the knowledge and skills needed for effective leadership. It was launched in November 2023.

After two years of use, we reviewed how well the resource is working. We wanted to understand:

  • how people are accessing and using the resource
  • what supports or limits its use
  • whether it is helping leaders develop their skills

How did we evaluate it?

We analysed data on website and resource use, including visits and downloads. We also gathered feedback from users and stakeholders. We did this through surveys and interviews and reviewed local and national reporting. Bringing these sources together helped us understand how the resource is functioning in practice. It also told us what factors influence its impact.

What did we find?

  • Engagement is strong with the main sections of the resource. The landing page and the self-check tool attracted significant use. It had over 24,000 views and more than 1000 downloads. This suggests that self-assessment tools are particularly valuable for busy leaders seeking quick insight into their learning needs.
  • Use across health boards is varied. Some boards have built the framework into local development processes. Others face challenges due to competing priorities, limited time or workforce pressures.
  • Approaches to profession groups differ. Some boards apply the resource across all professions. Others maintain separate approaches for nurse and allied health professionals. This can make it harder to work in a coordinated way.
  • Factors that help users include:
    • visible support from senior leaders
    • linking the framework to existing education and training
    • protected time for learning
    • clear and accessible language
    • a highly valued self-check tool
  • Challenges users reported include:
    • limited time to engage with the resource
    • website navigation that can feel complex
    • no simple way for users or organisations to monitor progress
    • people who are new to leadership sometime need more structured support

What we learned

The evaluation highlighted several useful insights. These insights can guide future thinking about how the resource could develop:

  • Improving accessibility and visibility: There may be value in exploring ways to make the resource easier to navigate and more visible across the system. Shorter learning modules or mobile-friendly formats could help staff engage more easily.
  • Understanding use and impact: Future work could benefit from better insights into how people use the resource over time. This is at both at individual and organisational levels.
  • Supporting consistent use across professions: There is potential learning around how message and tools can support more joined up approaches across nursing, midwifery and allied health professions.
  • Keeping alignment with national priorities: Ensuring the resource stays current with update to the Excellence in Care Framework and other national programmes may help maintain clarify and consistency.