Education and Lifelong Learning
College Courses (Gamekeeping and Countryside Management)
Several colleges offer provision of that kind, including North Highland College, in the member’s constituency, many of whose graduates have been successful in securing relevant employment. That is a good example of a college designing courses to meet the specific needs of the local community, consistent with the aims of our reforms.
Will the cabinet secretary ensure that all gamekeepers and countryside managers can gain qualifications in, for example, deer culls, wildfire control and mountain rescue, as their job remits are set to broaden to provide public goods for the national economy and local environment?
The member asks a good and pertinent question. It is important that people who are trained in the area, who go on to find jobs in a variety of sectors, are aware of the changing needs in those sectors. I am aware of the concern of the member and the committee that he convenes about deer in Scotland. I think that his concern is widely shared in rural Scotland. Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure that people who are trained as gamekeepers are up to date on and can cope with the pressures and issues.
Education (Health Promotion)
In Scotland, the health and wellbeing of children and young people is a core focus of key national policies such as curriculum for excellence and getting it right for every child.
The report, “Equally Well” and, more recently, Professor John Frank, of the Scottish collaboration for public health research and policy, said that if we are serious about tackling health inequality, we must provide early years education from the age of two. Does the minister agree? What steps is he taking to tackle health inequality through early years education?
As the member will be aware, health is at the centre of what is provided from the very early pre-school years.
Does the minister agree with the steering group for general practitioners at the deep end, which is made up of 360 GPs who work in the 100 most deprived practices in Scotland, and which found that Westminster austerity and welfare reform are damaging communities and targeting the most vulnerable people in our society? Does he agree that the only way that we can tackle health inequalities in Scotland is by giving this Parliament the full powers of independence?
I share the deep-end GPs’ concern that the United Kingdom Government’s welfare reforms will impact on some of the most vulnerable people in our society. That can only widen health inequality, which in turn will blight all sorts of other opportunities that people have in their lives, such as education opportunities. For that reason, this Government will continue to press the UK Government on the need to protect the most vulnerable people in our society from many of its misguided changes.
Question 3, in the name of Patricia Ferguson, has not been lodged. The member has provided a satisfactory explanation.
National Exams
The Scottish Government takes teachers’ concerns very seriously and has listened closely to those who deliver in our classrooms. We established a short-life working group to tackle concerns about unnecessary bureaucracy arising from the implementation of the curriculum for excellence. The group’s report, which was agreed by all stakeholders in Scottish education, is released today and will directly benefit all those involved in implementing the curriculum for excellence.
I note the additional resources that have been put in and the work that has been done. Teachers are certainly to be commended for their efforts in trying to make a success of the changes.
As I have indicated, I am certainly more than willing to listen to teachers. It is notable that the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association commented that the Government was listening to teachers in areas around that subject today.
The cabinet secretary told the Educational Institute of Scotland in June that it would be “utterly unacceptable” for any school, headteacher or local authority to require unnecessary paperwork from teachers. Can he reiterate that view?
I am more than happy to emphasise what I have just indicated. We should all seek to eliminate unnecessary paperwork in the system. The group that was established to tackle bureaucracy reported today and has given key messages to ensure that that happens. Education Scotland will challenge any such practices that it finds in schools.
Can the minister confirm that the textbooks for every national 4 and national 5 course are now printed and in the hands of teachers?
If the member has outstanding concerns about somewhere, I will more than happily chase them up. Substantial investments have been made only this year. Another £1 million has gone into providing textbooks. As I have already indicated, I constantly speak to teachers and representatives of the teaching profession. If the member has somewhere in mind where she feels that provision is not happening, I am more than happy to intervene.
Edinburgh College (Meetings)
I meet the chair and principal of Edinburgh College among others at various formal and informal events. For example, I attended the first birthday reception for the college that was held in the Parliament on Tuesday 1 October, which was jointly hosted by Colin Beattie MSP and Kezia Dugdale MSP.
I, too, attended that event.
I would urge both college management and union representatives to work constructively together in every college in Scotland because that produces success. The change team, among others, have been engaged in a range of situations, and what has been taking place has ensured that the necessary and important mergers, which produce colleges of scale—as those working in colleges at every level recognise needed to happen—go through by negotiation and discussion.
Question 6, in the name of Margaret Mitchell, has been withdrawn. The member has provided a satisfactory explanation.
National 5 and Higher Mathematics Unit Assessments
The Scottish Qualifications Authority is on track to deliver full support for all the new national qualifications, including mathematics, following an unprecedented level of engagement and partnership working with practitioners, national agencies, schools and local authorities. Assessment in the new qualifications is designed to sample learners’ skills, knowledge and understanding, and provide opportunities for deeper learning. The SQA is providing a comprehensive range of support for teachers to ensure successful delivery.
The minister will of course be aware that concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of the unit assessments in the national press and, perhaps more important, by individual teachers. A number of teachers have commented to me that the documentation for assessment is ambiguous and repetitive, layout is poor and marking instructions are poorly designed. Does the minister agree that the lack of detail is worrying in terms of consistency of marking across centres? What action will he take to ensure that the assessment process is improved?
As I have indicated, the Government is very willing to listen to any concerns from individual teachers. However, I should say that I have confidence in the system of unit assessment for maths and the SQA’s unit assessments for all its subjects. As I said, they were developed following very extensive consultation with teachers and others. The first round of quality assurance for each national subject, including maths, is happening right now across the country. I intend fully that it will continue to build teacher confidence. We are, as I said, always willing to listen to any individual who wishes to raise any concerns, but I have confidence that the system that we are operating for unit assessment is sound.
How will the new national qualifications enable young people to develop the skills that they need for moving into further education, employment or training?
Obviously, the thinking behind curriculum for excellence and the new qualifications goes back a long way, but it also goes back to a recognition across the Parliament that people’s lives in the 21st century will be very different from people’s lives in the 20th century in terms of the number of jobs that they will have, and their need to be flexible and adaptable in the workplace and to have lifelong learning. Gaining such skills is at the heart of what is done in schools, and skills are at the heart of the new national examinations and the curriculum for excellence.
Creationism
Throughout religious and moral education, and throughout religious, moral and philosophical studies, the understanding that the world’s religions have of creation will be explored, examined and critically reflected upon, not promoted. Similar objectivity is expected of teachers if contentious issues such as creationism are raised. Within the sciences curriculum, the concept of evolution is introduced through the experiences and outcomes at second, third and fourth levels. The concepts of natural selection and evolution are also widely explored from a scientific perspective in the national qualifications in biology. In addition, the big bang theory and the origins and expansion of the universe feature in the new physics higher.
I hope that there is no complacency on the issue in the Government. It is clear that whatever measures are in place have been inadequate to prevent some—shall we say?—eccentric ideologies from being promoted in schools. We are talking not about creation myths being presented in the context of myth and comparative religious study, but about the promotion of the idea that the earth is 6,000 years old and that human beings have in that time coexisted with dinosaurs or other such patently absurd rubbish. If even Michael Gove can get a grip on that, why cannot the Scottish Government?
I am not sure whether the member listened to what I just said. I indicated strongly that the content of biology and physics courses, for example, promotes none of the ideas that he listed. I therefore have complete confidence in our teachers to deal objectively with contentious issues as they arise. I make it clear that the science curriculum in Scotland is not dictated by any of the agendas that the member suggested influence it.
Colleges (Regionalisation)
The Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council monitors regionalisation and reports regularly to the Scottish Government on progress.
I have raised previously the sale of Woodburn house in my constituency, which was an annexe of the former Langside College. It has come to light that Woodburn house was given a European regional development fund grant in 1998. Such grants are typically given on the basis of a 20-year lease, which has not been the case in this instance. In the regionalisation process, has the granting of regional funding been considered? Was that considered in relation to Woodburn house?
If the member writes to me with his concerns about Woodburn house, I will be happy to address them. The question of asset disposal lies with colleges. If asset disposal was undertaken in a way that was disadvantageous to a college, that would be a concern. However, the relevant relationship would be that between the funding council and the college.
I have raised in the past the top slicing of the budget for further education colleges, in the Highlands in particular. I understand that the regional board in Glasgow is recruiting policy officers and other staff and that it rents offices from Glasgow Caledonian University. Will the cabinet secretary ensure that the regional strategic bodies do not become expensive bureaucracies and will he therefore allow more resources for front-line education and training?
How the Glasgow colleges decide to operate is a matter for them. The purpose of regionalisation is to ensure that resources are focused as closely as they can be on young people, youth employment, providing opportunities for young people, ensuring that retraining takes place at every level and ensuring that colleges compete effectively and work with local businesses. I recall that the member voted against regionalisation, but I am glad to say that it is going well and that front-line resources are benefiting.
Disabled Students Allowance 2012-13
Disabled students allowance is paid in response to demand, so costs reflect the number of claimants and their needs. Initial discussions with the disabled students advisory group suggest that the reduction in DSA spend in 2012-13 reflects a combination of a decrease in the number of claimants and institutions being in a better state of readiness to make the reasonable adjustments that are expected of them by the Equality Act 2010, along with technological improvements that mean that the functionality of equipment that students use lends itself much more easily to supporting students with disabilities.
I thank the minister for that answer, but in England funding is increasing while in Scotland it has fallen to its lowest level since 2003-04. Does not the minister agree that the Scottish Government’s cuts to the education budget, which have led to 8,500 fewer students in higher education in just 12 months, and a 17 per cent cut to the disabled students allowance, are limiting the options that are available to disabled people who want to study now that they are confronted with fewer courses and less support to make their studies affordable?
No. There is virtually not a single word that I agree with in that, partly because there is not a single fact that appears to me to be justified or accurate. The reality of the situation, as I explained to Mr Hume—clearly he was not listening, so let me repeat my point—is that the budget is demand led. The budget has not been cut; the demand has reduced. Perhaps that is because support for students is better in Scotland; perhaps it is because students do not have to scrabble around looking for money in circumstances in which they would have to borrow it south of the border; or perhaps it is because the Scottish Government has been providing for and supporting changes in college funding and college support that will benefit students—all things that the Liberal Democrats could learn from south of the border.
I take from what the cabinet secretary said that not only was it a demand-led issue, but there was a reduction in the number of disabled students making applications. Can the cabinet secretary tell us whether in fact there are fewer disabled students at colleges?
What I said and what I will say again is that we believe, as does the disabled students advisory group, that the reduction has come about due to a number of things—a decrease in the number of claimants, which is because institutions are in a better state of readiness as regards the reasonable adjustments that are expected of them, along with technological improvements and better equipment.
PPP/PFI School Contracts 2012-13
The Scottish Government’s total funding specifically in support of local authority school PPP/PFI contracts in 2012-13 was £209.5 million.
Last year, Renfrewshire Council spent just under £15 million on PFI payments. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that that form of payday loan being used to pay for schools is something that the Renfrewshire Labour administration should be informing people about as it pushes forward with its school closure programme?
I agree with George Adam. I am quite sure that Mrs Henry, the Labour convener of education in Renfrewshire Council, will wish to inform people that the PFI approach that was used in the past has not delivered best value for the taxpayer, with excessive profits being made by the private sector. Councils should be clear with parents about the massive costs that the approach imposes.
Scottish Qualifications Authority (National Exams)
The Scottish Government is in frequent discussion with the Scottish Qualifications Authority on the implementation of the curriculum for excellence and the new national qualifications. SQA is also a member of the curriculum for excellence management board and the curriculum for excellence implementation group.
In a previous answer to Hugh Henry, the minister acknowledged concerns among teachers about the workload that has been involved in that. I notice that in the discussions in Glasgow, Edinburgh and West Lothian councils, that has had something of a knock-on effect in respect of concerns about the new higher exams and whether they should be delayed for a year. Can the minister comment on that?
I do not think that there is any dubiety that the Government and teaching profession expect the norm to be that people will do the new higher when it becomes available. As the Government has already indicated today, professional judgment will obviously have to be exercised in some circumstances, but it will have to be exercised in the context of working with local authorities and parents.
Student Numbers
My officials and I meet regularly with Colleges Scotland and the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council to discuss a wide variety of college issues. Our expectations on student numbers are set out in my letter of guidance to the funding council. The latest letter of guidance was issued on 21 October, and the SFC monitors progress through outcome agreements.
College lecturers in my region have told me that, for funding reasons, student numbers are of paramount importance until 1 November. If students are kept on courses until that point, the college will receive funding, and lecturers have been told to do everything in their power to counsel, cajole, or persuade students to stay on until then. Does the cabinet secretary think that that is right? Is that being replicated across Scotland? Has there been a drop in the number of college students since 1 November?
It is about time that Opposition members accepted that the college sector is working incredibly hard to promote opportunities for young people. That is what it does, and it is doing it better because this Government had the courage to implement a series of much-needed reforms that had to happen.
Highlands and Islands (Education and Skills Provision)
The Highlands and Islands skills investment plan has been prepared by Skills Development Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council over the past six months to provide an agreed framework for increasing alignment of education and skills provision with the needs of local employers.
The minister might be aware that Kishorn Port Ltd is progressing its development at Kishorn. There is no local college provision in the area. What steps is the Scottish Government taking to ensure that local young people have the skills that will enable them to take up the jobs that could be created at this exciting development?
The Highlands and Islands skills investment plan is the first regional skills investment plan, and it is very much looking to align education and training opportunities with skills needs and the needs of employers. The Highlands and Islands skills investment plan was discussed at the convention of the Highlands and Islands at the end of October and a number of suggestions were made before the plan was finalised.
Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce
I welcomed the unanimous support for the Wood commission’s report and its direction of travel when it was debated in Parliament on 8 October. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has asked the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council to discuss delivery of the commission’s interim recommendations on increased collaboration between schools and colleges with a range of partners, including the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, sector leaders, local authorities and Education Scotland.
I welcome that positive approach, but in the light of the recommendations to join up activity, timetables, and resource allocation across schools and colleges in order to deliver effective vocational pathways, does the minister anticipate that the outcome of those discussions will be that colleges will be provided with additional resource in order to support collaboration with schools, or will they be expected to stop doing something else in order to prioritise that collaboration with schools on vocational education?
We are certainly looking carefully at the funding implications of the Wood commission’s report. Sir Ian Wood said that “significant additional funding” would not be required, but it is stating the obvious to say that additional funds will be required, so we are looking at that in detail. The cabinet secretary has been very clear with the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council. Some funding will be identified to enable the very important pathfinder projects, in which we hope to make progress apace for the next academic year.
Has the minister had any further discussions with the United Kingdom Government regarding its position on the European youth guarantee scheme, and whether the UK Government intends to continue to withhold access to the scheme from Scottish youngsters?
There continues to be a strong disagreement between the Scottish Government and the UK Government with regard to implementation of the European youth guarantee. I last discussed that issue face to face with David Cameron and his colleagues at a joint ministerial committee on Europe meeting a few weeks ago.
Disabled Students
We ensure that universities and colleges, like all public bodies, meet the needs of disabled students through compliance with the Equality Act 2010. We also provide direct financial support through programmes such as the disabled students allowance, extended learning support and college bursaries.
Has the cabinet secretary commissioned any research into the needs of disabled students undergoing further and higher education?
I have met the relevant third sector organisations on a number of occasions. I have encouraged them to use funding that I have offered them to ensure that their services and their advice to the Scottish Government takes account of the real needs of students. I am very happy to meet the member if he wants to discuss this matter further with me. I attended a meeting of a cross-party group that discussed this issue as well. I am keen to see those who are deeply involved in this issue being very active in telling the Scottish Government and the colleges what more is required. If the member would like to have a conversation about that with me, I am happy to have it. I am also happy to make sure that the learning disability charities are involved as deeply as we can possibly get them involved in offering good advice and providing services.
Dyslexia
To help all teachers address the needs of pupils with dyslexia, I launched the enhanced dyslexia toolkit at the Scottish learning festival in September 2012. The toolkit includes materials on effectively identifying and supporting pupils, increased accessibility for teachers and information for education authorities on implementation of the toolkit.
It is estimated that one in 10 people in Scotland is affected by some form of dyslexia. The condition can present in various ways, which means that it can be difficult to identify. At a recent conference on dyslexia that I attended, it was said that trainee teachers spend only a few hours on the subject.
Can we have a question, Ms McDougall?
I am just getting to it. Early identification is paramount in giving extra confidence and support in education to those with dyslexia. Should more time be spent at teacher training colleges on techniques to identify dyslexia, to help trainee teachers identify the signs of dyslexia, so that pupils get the support that they need?
The member raises important issues about dyslexia. Although the Government does not lay down the detail of what universities do in initial teacher education, it is fair to say that the Government very much sees career-long development at the heart of on-going teacher training. Not everything can be fitted into initial teacher training, but it is important to note that the requirement for full registration as a teacher includes the need to identify the barriers to learning and respond appropriately. The Government and Education Scotland work closely with the teaching profession to ensure that, in the course of their careers, teachers understand the issues of dyslexia better than teachers in the past did, because dyslexia, if unrecognised, can blight people’s opportunities.
Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce
As I said in response to an earlier question, I welcome the unanimous support that was expressed in the Parliament for the report. I also mentioned that the cabinet secretary has asked the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council to discuss with partners early progress on the identification of pathfinder projects.
Will the minister consider for pilots those colleges, such as Ayrshire College, that have engaged with employers and associated organisations, resulting in the identification of courses in, for example, performing engineering operations and aerospace skills?
That is a matter for the Scottish funding council and its partners. I hope that it will be helpful to the member if I say that it is clear that, in the identification of pathfinder projects, they are looking for areas where there is existing good practice and where there is a strong focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects. Discussions are on-going. I am sure that Mr Brodie is well equipped to make representations, whether via me or direct to the Scottish funding council and other partners.
Academic Freedom
As Murdo Fraser would expect, I say with complete conviction that the Scottish Government fully recognises and supports the rights of all academics at universities to express their views on the constitutional debate.
I warmly welcome the cabinet secretary’s response. Can we therefore take it that there will be no repetition of the bullying approach by his ministerial colleague towards an academic at the University of Dundee who had the temerity to speak out in public in support of the continuation of the United Kingdom?
It is such a great pity that the unanimity on freedom of speech and openness that that question and answer gave us has been broken by Mr Fraser. I have known Shona Robison for close on 20 years and, as the First Minister said from this very spot last week, I could not associate in the same sentence the words “intimidation” and “bullying” with Shona Robison. Clearly, Murdo Fraser does not know her very well; clearly, other members do not know her very well either. Let us find a way to agree on the matter. Independence is an important debate that we need to have—[Interruption.]—without jeering from Mr Bibby. We all need to be able to contribute without fear or favour, name calling or cat calling—[Interruption.]
Order. Let us hear the cabinet secretary speak.
The Presiding Officer has emphasised my point and I thank her for doing so. It is really important to have the debate. Yesterday afternoon’s debate showed that this chamber has the capability to be one of the best debating chambers in the world. We showed how we can come together in passionate, strong principled debate. If we do that for the next 10 months, Scotland will be a better place for it.
I regret that I do not have time to call Mark McDonald’s question.