Conceptualising social risk as a strategic risk in public service transformation: Preliminary research findings from a Scottish case study.

This paper studies the social risk implications of transforming Scottish school education services (SSES) from the perspective of the ‘people pillar’ - one of four pillars underpinning Scotland’s public service transformation (PST). Currently, SSES transformation focuses on both reducing the school education gap between young people from deprived households and their counterparts in affluent households and improving educational attainment for all young Scots. Senior council officers responsible for the provision and transformation of school education in Scotland were interviewed. The key findings suggest that although beneficial for young people, adopting the people pillar in SSES transformation as recommended by the Scottish Government could reduce attainment levels in young people from “Just-About-Managing” households who already cope well with school education; and deny others access to the same high standards of SSES. These findings highlight the need to incorporate social risks in strategic considerations.