Education, Children and Young People Committee
Annual Report 2022 - 2023
Scope of this Report
This annual report covers the period of 13 May 2022 to 12 May 2023
At a Glance
Scottish Parliament
At a Glance
Source Scottish Parliament
Introduction
In the last year, the Committee has looked at a wide range of issues affecting children and young people in Scotland, including the Scottish Attainment Challenge, College Regionalisation and the expansion of Early Learning and Childcare.
The Committee always tries to ensure that its work is informed by stakeholders. During this parliamentary year, the Committee has used different approaches to support its engagement including—
call for views, which ask people to respond to questions in writing;
virtual meetings, allowing people to speak to us from their homes or offices,
getting out and about again to meet people in locations to suit them.
This report provides a summary of the key activities undertaken by the Committee since May 2022. Full details of the Committee's work, including copies of Committee papers, reports and focus group notes, can all be found on our Committee web-page.
Membership Changes
The following members left the Committee during this reporting period—
Stephen Kerr MSP (Committee Member 17 June 2021 – 26 May 2022)
Oliver Mundell MSP (Committee Member 17 June 2021 – 22 September 2022)
Kaukab Stewart MSP (Committee Member 17 June 2021 – 18 April 2023)
Graeme Dey MSP (Committee Member 29 March 2022 - 18 April 20230
Michael Marra MSP (Committee Member 17 June 2021– 25 April 2023)
The following members joined the Committee during this reporting period—
Sue Webber MSP from 26 May 2022
Stephen Kerr MSP from 22 September 2022
Ben Macpherson MSP from 18 April 2023
Bill Kidd MSP from 18 April 2023
Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP from 25 April 2023
Key Statistics
In the period covered by this report, the Committee met 32 times and considered items in private 48 times over 30 meetings.
The Committee produced a Stage one report for the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill and is currently considering the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill and the Disabled Children and Young People (Transitions to Adulthood) (Scotland) Bill.
Inquiries
Scottish Attainment Challenge
A key aspect of the Committee's work during the first half of 2022 has been scrutiny of the Scottish Attainment Challenge. The Committee carried out an inquiry into the Scottish Government's policy commitment to close the poverty-related attainment gap.
A report on the Committee's findings can be found here.
The Committee has heard evidence over six meetings and held six engagement sessions with parents, young people and teaching staff.
The Committee received 29 responses to its call for views and took formal oral evidence at the following meetings—
College Regionalisation Inquiry
In February 2012, Scottish Ministers announced their intention to introduce structural change to the college sector as part of wider reforms. Ten years on, the Committee was keen to examine how regionalisation has been working in practice.
During our inquiry the Committee heard evidence at meetings and held engagement sessions on:
Stand-alone Evidence Sessions
Bòrd na Gàidhlig
The Committee heard evidence from representatives from the Bòrd na Gàidhlig, who are undertaking a consultation on the Draft National Gaelic Plan 2023-28. The Bòrd is required to consult the Parliament on a National Gaelic Plan under section 2 of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. You can access the draft National plan here.
Links to the official report of the evidence session is noted below both in English and Gaelic.
In Gaelic:29 June 2022
In English: 29 June 2022
Budget 2023-2024 Scrutiny
The Committee held an evidence session on Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) and the implementation of the 1140 hours expansion, as part of its pre-budget scrutiny. The Official Report from this session is below.
This followed on from an earlier session on 25 May 2022. Correspondence from the Scottish Government on the inquiries web page here.
The Committee heard evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and the Minister for Children and Young People on the Scottish Government's Budget 2023 - 2024 on the 18 January 2023 and again from the Cabinet Secretary on the 22 February 2023 . The Official Report for these evidence sessions are below.
Redress Scheme
The Committee heard evidence from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for COVID Recovery as part of the Committee's ongoing scrutiny.
In Session 5, the Education and Skills Committee was designated as the lead committee for scrutiny of the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill. The Bill passed at Stage 3 on 11 March 2021, becoming an Act on 23 April 2021.
As part of its post-legislative scrutiny work, the Committee has considered regular written updates from the Scottish Government on the operation of the redress scheme.
A link to the official report from the session is below.
Scottish Qualifications Authority
The Committee heard evidence on a range of issues including the 2022 exam diet and education reform from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). A link to the official report of the meeting is noted below
Universities
The Committee agreed to hold a one-off evidence session on Universities in September 2022. The committee subsequently agreed to expand this session to include pre-budget scrutiny.
This evidence session included the following topics:
University finances, including the resource spending review;
The Research Excellence Framework (REF);
Horizon funding
Student support for mental health and well-being,
International students and student housing;
Staff pay and conditions and the industrial disputes;
Widening access.
A link to the official report of this meeting is noted below.
The Committee then had an evidence session with the Minister for Higher and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training to follow up on some of the issues raised during the session in September, including student housing, mental health and well-being, and student places.
A link to the official report from this meeting is below.
Legislative work
The Committee has carried out work on three Bills this year.
The National Care Service (Scotland) Bill
The Disabled Children and Young People (Transitions to Adulthood) (Scotland) Bill
The Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill
The National Care Service (Scotland) Bill
The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee were designated the lead Committee on this Bill. However, given the range of Committee remits engaged by the Bill's provisions, several other Committees were also involved in Stage 1 scrutiny of the Bill including the Education, Children and Young People Committee.
Whilst the Bill itself primarily relates to the creation of a National Care Service (NCS) for adults, section 27 of the Bill also makes provision for children's services to be brought under the NCS in future.
The Committee heard evidence over several meetings from a variety of stakeholders. The Official Reports from these evidence sessions are noted below;
The Committee published its Stage one report on 19 December 2022
The Disabled Children and Young People (Transitions to Adulthood) (Scotland)Bill
The Bill as introduced aims to improve opportunities for disabled children and young people as they grow up. This Bill considers children to be under 18 and young people to be between 18 and 26. The Bill was introduced as a Member's Bill on 20 April 2022 by Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP. The details of the Disabled Children and Young People (Transitions to Adulthood) Bill can be found here.
This Bill was first introduced in Session 5 by Johann Lamont, but due to timing restraints the Bill fell at the end of the session.
The purpose of the Bill is to have a national transitions strategy explaining how the Scottish Government is going to improve opportunities for disabled children and young people; to have a Scottish Government Minister in charge of improving opportunities for disabled children and young people going through transitions; and for transitions plans to be created for each disabled child and young person as they move into adulthood.
The Committee issued a call for views which ran from 1 September 2022 to 27 October 2022, with 47 responses received to the call for views, 31 to a survey and 1 response to British Sign Language consultation. The analysis of the survey can be found here
Four formal evidence sessions were held at which the Committee heard from health professionals, representative of the Scottish Transitions Forum, academics, and representatives of organisations who work with young people. Links to the official report of these meetings are noted below.
In addition, the Committee held informal private engagement sessions which were organised by the Scottish Parliament's Participation and Communities Team with support from ARC Scotland. These sessions covered young people, parents and carers and practitioners. Members of the Committee also visited Buchanan High School in Coatbridge.
Links to the anonymised notes from these sessions are listed below.
The Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill
The purpose of the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill is to make changes to the law in relation to the care of children and the involvement of children in the criminal justice system.
The changes relate to the children's hearings system and several parts of the criminal justice system. This includes courts that hear cases relating to children and the places where children can be detained.
The Committee issued a call for views which ran from February 2023 to 17 March 2023, with 47 responses received, with a further 18 responses to a survey and 3 responses to the British Sign Language survey.
Four formal evidence sessions were held at which the Committee heard from health professionals,representatives of the Scottish Transitions Forum, academics, and representatives of organisations who work with young people. Links to the Official Report of these meetings are noted below.
Subordinate Legislation
This year, the Committee considered the following pieces of subordinate legislation—
Affirmative
The Cross-border Placements (Effect of Deprivation of Liberty Orders) (Scotland) Regulations 2022
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exclusions and Exceptions) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Order 2022.
The Police Act 1997 (Offences in Schedules 8A and 8B) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2022.
Provision of Early Learning and Childcare (Specified Children) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2023
Negative
The Committee considered the following negative instruments—
SSI 2022/156 Education (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2022
SSI 2022/157 Student Support (Scotland) Regulations 2022
SSI 2022/172 St Mary’s Music School (Aided Places) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022
SSI 2022/173 Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (Modification) Regulations 2022
SSI 2022/164 Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Rules of Procedure in Children’s Hearings) Amendment Rules 2022
SSI 2022/294 Education (Listed Bodies) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2022
SSI 2022/362 Education (Fees and Student Support) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2022
SSI 2022/377 St Mary’s Music School (Aided Places) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2022
SSI 2023/18 Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Independent Child Trafficking Guardians) (Scotland) Regulations 2023
SSI 2023/37 Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (Modification) Regulations2023
SSI 2023/66 Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Safeguarders Panel) Amendment Regulations 2023
Public Petitions
The Committee considered two public petitions—
PE1548: National Guidance on Seclusion and Restraint in Schools;
PE1692: Inquiry into the human rights impact of GIRFEC policy and data processing.
PE1548: The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders on the basis that national guidance has now been developed to minimise the use of physical intervention and seclusion in Scottish schools.
The Committee also agreed to highlight the petition in its Session 6 legacy paper, with a view to suggesting its successor committee review the effectiveness of the guidance in the next Parliamentary session.
PE1692: The Committee agreed to close the petition under rule 15.7 of Standing Orders on the basis that the Committee does not agree that a public inquiry into issues raised by the petitioner is required.
The link to the official report is noted below.
Informal engagement
Hearing from those with direct, lived experience is vital to form a picture of how a law, policy or practice is affecting different groups. The Committee recognises that, for some people, a formal Committee meeting is not the most suitable way to share their experience. As a result, informal engagement is a crucial part of the Committee's work. This year has been no different.
Over the last year, informal evidence sessions have allowed the Committee to hear directly from:
Children and young people
Parents and carers
Teachers and teaching unions
Third sector organisations
Young People in secure accommodation
This work has underpinned the Committee Bill work, with informal in person and virtual engagement sessions being held for two of our bills—
Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill
Visits to secure accommodation at St Mary's Kenmure and Rossie Young People's Trust, and to YOI Polmont.
The Disabled Children and Young People (Transitions to Adulthood) (Scotland) Bill
Visit to Buchanan High School to speak to young people with additional support needs regarding what support the school is giving them in respect of transitioning from school.
Three online meetings held with young people (Divergent Influencers), parents/carers and practitioners.
The Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill proposes that young people aged under 18 are no longer sent to prison or a young offenders institutions. Should they need to be detained, this would happen at a secure accommodation centre. The Committee therefore undertook visits to two secure accommodation centres and to YOI Polmont so that they could more fully understand the different environments and what they provide for the young people in their care.
The Disabled Children and Young People (Transitions to Adulthood) (Scotland) Bill would put a duty on local authorities to provide a transition plan for each disabled child and young person as they move into adulthood. We spoke to young people, parents/carers and practitioners including transitions co-ordinators, teachers and social workers to ask how transitions work now, and to hear directly from them as to what they thought could be improved about the ways things currently work and whether the proposals in the Bill would achieve that.
Web and Social Media
The Committee's Twitter account increased its use of short clips taken from Committee business and of the convener, highlighting key contributors and allowing the convener to share key findings, or ask for views with a wide audience.
38 such clips were shared on Twitter.
Six of these clips were also shared on Facebook, two were shared on Instagram and three were shared on LinkedIn. Our presence on Twitter generated more than 1,000 engagements. Tweets issued by the Committee were seen more than 190,000 times over the year. The Committee's work on the Attainment Challenge performed particularly well, with one tweet receiving 22 retweets and 40 likes.
Equal Opportunities
The Committee is keen to ensure that hears from a diverse range of people and lived experiences when taking evidence. It therefore asks organisations to consider this when identifying people giving evidence to the Committee.
An increased ability to connect virtually, has allowed the Committee to hear more easily from people spread across the country..
The Committee has been able to connect with the following groups:
Children and Young People with additional support needs
Children and Young People who have neuro-divergent influencers
Parent and Carers of Children and Young People with additional support needs
Third sector organisations with hands on experience of working with Children and Young People with additional support needs.