Glasgow's education head John McGhee vows to restrict tablets in nurseries, revive deep reading and push for curriculum and support reforms
Published 17th May 2026 — In his first public outline of priorities for Scotland’s biggest education authority, John McGhee has set out a plan that recalibrates the role of technology in classrooms while underscoring a return to core skills. After leading the council that pioneered issuing devices to pupils from P6, Mr McGhee now argues for a more measured approach to iPads and other digital devices for younger learners.
He has also revealed he has effectively blocked routine screen demonstrations in council nurseries, reflecting a belief that strong adult-child interaction is central to early development.
Mr McGhee brings three decades of classroom experience — he has taught since 1993 and began his career at St Gerard’s in Govan — and combines that background with system-level responsibilities.
Alongside technology choices, he is pressing for renewed emphasis on deep literacy, a reassessment of assessment and qualifications, and better delivery of support for pupils with additional needs. These strands shape a strategy that touches nursery practice, primary pedagogy and the senior phase of secondary education.
Rebalancing technology and the early years
Mr McGhee identifies both the promise and pitfalls of classroom tech. He accepts that some digital tools are valuable, particularly for older pupils, but wants to curb device exposure for younger children. Practically this means limiting tablet-based activities in early primary and asking nursery staff not to present children with phones or iPads as routine learning props. He frames the change as following evidence and professional judgement: school teams should weigh the difference between healthy uses of ICT — those that genuinely enhance learning — and unhealthy uses that may crowd out interpersonal interaction and play.
From system rollout to local judgement
Glasgow’s earlier rollout provided one device per pupil from P6, with younger children sharing devices at a higher ratio. Mr McGhee accepts that the hardware proved useful during remote learning phases, but he cautions against treating access as the whole answer. He has already ended the council contract for a popular maths app, arguing that software must demonstrably add value beyond what teachers can provide. For older students, he praises how tablets can help organise work and deliver targeted feedback, including voice-note marking that he found effective as a classroom teacher.
Reading, curriculum and academic rigour
A central theme of Mr McGhee’s agenda is strengthening reading and comprehension. He is critical of aspects of the current Curriculum for Excellence, believing it left too much to local discretion without clear mechanisms to secure basic outcomes such as fluent reading. To him, the ability to read deeply underpins civic resilience and critical thinking, making pupils less susceptible to superficial claims or misinformation. As part of this emphasis, he prioritised restoring and refurbishing school libraries and chose to remove computers from those spaces so that quiet, immersive reading could be reclaimed as a regular habit.
Philosophy and thinking skills
To encourage young people to interrogate not just how to do things but whether they should be done, Mr McGhee wants philosophy reintroduced into the secondary curriculum. These lessons in ethical reasoning and reflective thought aim to give pupils tools to discuss the implications of technology, policy and social change. He frames this as a practical complement to literacy: the ability to read, reason and ask purposeful questions is central to becoming an informed citizen and a thoughtful worker.
Support needs, transitions and routes to work
Another pillar of the plan focuses on pupils with additional support needs. Mr McGhee defends the principle of mainstreaming while acknowledging delivery problems at key transition points. He uses the term presumption of mainstream to describe the policy stance that most children should be educated alongside peers, but argues the system must improve its support so parents feel confident this approach is working. Glasgow is collaborating with Glasgow University on research to identify practical responses and improve consistency of provision.
Beyond classrooms, Mr McGhee has joined the Glasgow Economic Leadership Board to strengthen the connection between schools, colleges, universities and employers. He supports reforms to the senior phase—referencing proposals such as the Scottish Diploma of Achievement—and urges ministers to move on long-standing recommendations for assessment change. His critique of the existing exams system is that it suits a minority well and leaves many young people without clear, structured pathways; he wants qualifications and apprenticeships to offer a clearer line of sight to employment and further learning.
Conclusion
John McGhee’s approach signals a cautious but comprehensive reset: fewer screens for the youngest learners, a renewed commitment to reading and reasoning, improved support for additional needs, and closer alignment between education and local economic opportunity. While he accepts technology cannot be rolled back, he advocates for deliberate choices about when and how to use it. The overarching message is that human relationships, robust literacy and thoughtful curriculum design must guide decisions about devices, assessment and support across Glasgow’s schools.
