Equal Opportunities Committee, 24 Feb 2009

Meeting date: Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Official Report 222KB pdf

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Scots Language (Audit)

Agenda item 2 is consideration of a paper on the Scottish Government's Scots language audit. Does any member have a comment on the paper from the clerks?

No.

Okay. The next question is whether any issue or issues in the paper should be referred to the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee.

As I am a member of that committee, no doubt I will see what happens.

I suggest that we raise the fact that

"provision appears more frequent in primary than in secondary schools".

We should also highlight the linked issue of continuing professional development. Those are the main issues that I would like us to raise.

Yes. Primary schools and further education seem to be well covered, but there is a gap in secondary school provision. We will raise that with the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee and suggest that it might like to look into the matter. It seems a shame for Scots language programmes to be started in primary school and not to be continued when pupils reach secondary school, particularly when the programmes seem to be going well.

The paper talks of the possibility that the Scottish Government might

"consider commissioning further research to explore attitudes to the Scots language in teaching".

Perhaps we could run that past the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee. Given the extensive debate that we have had at committee on the need for research into the subject and the liability for doing that, it might be worth while for us to raise the matter.

We will highlight the content of that paragraph to the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee—it neatly sums up the situation—and raise the issue of secondary school provision. Are we agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

Meeting closed at 11:58.