Education Staff (Training in Learning Disabilities and Autistic Spectrum Disorder) (PE1409)
PE1409, by Linda Whitmore, on behalf of ENABLE Scotland, has been referred to this committee by the Public Petitions Committee. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to ensure that all teachers and support staff in Scottish schools are fully trained to provide the right additional support for children and young people with learning disabilities and/or autistic spectrum disorders. Members have received a paper from the clerk. I seek comments on how we should progress with the petition.
It is an extremely important issue—in fact, it could hardly be more important. Before we progress, I would like to know from the General Teaching Council for Scotland and other groups what stage they have reached in implementing the Donaldson review recommendations. There has been progress, but it would be helpful to know just what it is before we start pursuing other suggested options.
I agree with Liz Smith. The options at paragraphs 9 and 10 in the clerk’s paper are sensible areas for us to explore—in particular the suggestion that we seek the views of the Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland and look at local authority practice. Gathering such information as Liz Smith has identified would be a first step. We have already put on record that, as the Donaldson review proposals are being progressed, we would want to get into that area.
I share your concerns about ensuring that the NPG has the right information from the right people. However, the committee paper notes at bullet point 1 in paragraph 9 that although ENABLE Scotland’s concerns about the membership of the NPG and the strategic reference group were made clear to Scottish Government officials, the officials’ view was that there are representatives from Dyslexia Scotland and the National Deaf Children’s Society through whom information could be fed to the group. However, I accept what Liam McArthur says.
I agree with a lot of the comments that have been made. We will hear evidence on additional support for learning on 15 May. ENABLE Scotland has raised a number of serious issues, so it would be sensible to give it the opportunity to take part in that meeting, so that we can hear its concerns directly and take things from there.
Okay. We have not yet decided who will come along to give evidence, so we can certainly feed that suggestion in and discuss it.
I absolutely agree with the comments about the importance of getting it right for children on this issue. However, I am a little worried about the petition’s expectations, and I think that we must be careful in responding to it. The petition states the need
I agree with much of what has been said. However, I remind members that there have been calls on the committee—not necessarily through petitions—to ask for teachers to be provided with mandatory training in other areas. We took the view in those cases that we could consider such issues in the context of the Donaldson review; the petition falls into the same area.
I do not mind whether we do that sequentially or at the same time. It was noted that the Association of Headteachers and Deputes had not responded to the Public Petitions Committee’s request. It seems to be logical to follow that up, whether or not we invite the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to give an overview at this stage of where the local authorities are, which can probably wait.
I agree—we can leave COSLA for later and consider the issues in the light of the Donaldson review. We will write to the two organisations as suggested, and keep the petition open. We can certainly look generally at the subject on 15 May, as per Neil Bibby’s suggestion, and we can consider the petition’s specific comments when we take evidence on the Donaldson review later in the year.
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