Education and Lifelong Learning
Gaelic Further and Higher Education
The Scottish Government is committed to supporting all levels of Gaelic education. We understand the value that the further and higher education sectors bring to Gaelic. We are working closely with the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council and those sectors to deliver high-quality courses, including in areas such as teacher training and research, which benefit the whole of Scotland.
The minister will know that Sabhal Mòr Ostaig has been a great success since it was founded 40 years ago. The latest development of the Gaelic college in a new village at Kilbeg, with substantial funding from the Scottish Government, will continue that progress, and confirms the Government’s support for Gaelic.
I agree with the member whole-heartedly. I agree not just about Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, but about the recent development there; I recognise the value of that development at Kilbeg.
Can the minister tell us how many Gaelic-medium teacher training places will be available for session 2013-14?
An additional 20 places are hoped for for session 2013-14. The number of Gaelic-medium-qualified teachers who have been coming through this year has been higher than in previous years. I will get the figures to Liz Smith in writing.
HMYOI Polmont (Education Provision)
The Scottish Prison Service has already committed substantial resources to supporting the young people in HMYOI Polmont. In partnership with Education Scotland, the SPS is now working to ensure that those resources are being invested appropriately to support the changes that are needed to create the skills development and learning environment that is envisaged in the recent report by HM inspectorate of prisons for Scotland.
I was encouraged to learn that, on 8 May, Education Scotland and the Scottish Prison Service met various organisations, including colleges of further education, to discuss the process that will enable HMYOI Polmont to provide a secure and effective learning environment. What tangible steps have been taken to implement that new initiative, and what difference should the current young offenders be able to identify in the quality and scope of their education?
As Anne McTaggart mentioned, on 8 May Education Scotland held a workshop on the issues. On tangible benefits, Carnegie College continues to review and expand its on-going contract with Polmont. I hope that the current review of the curriculum that is on offer in the prison will ensure that we pick up issues around numeracy and literacy early, which are crucial to ensuring the life chances of prisoners when they come out of prison.
Further Education (Support for Over-25s)
Our commitment to a consistent level in college funding of £522 million a year this year and next year makes clear our commitment to learners. The current economic circumstances mean that it is right to ask colleges to prioritise young people. However, colleges offer very valuable support to older learners—some 21 million hours of learning in 2011-12. In recognition of the important role that they play, our additional funding for next year includes a further £6.6 million for additional learner places and £1.9 million for additional childcare support.
Will the cabinet secretary join me in welcoming the latest employment statistics, which show headline employment rising by 54,000 in the three-month period January to March 2013? Does he believe that the biggest risk to rising employment is Westminster?
Westminster—[Interruption]—or, as a member of the Opposition has just called it, “Westmonster”, which is an interesting way of looking at it, is a considerable problem, so the right way for Scotland to move forward is as an independent country that will be able to offer a consistent and considerable set of opportunities to older and younger learners.
One of the ways to help over-25s who are out of work is through adult learning. Has the Scottish Government joined every country in sub-Saharan Africa in signing up to the “International Adult Learners’ Charter” and, if not, why not?
No matter what the Scottish Government did, there would be something that it was not doing that Mr Findlay would regard as being near fatal.
Curriculum for Excellence (Societal Change)
There are provisions within the range of experiences and outcomes that take account of and actively promote the study of changing society at a range of macro and micro levels nationally and internationally. That is one of the ways in which the new curriculum is responsive to change.
The Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee will shortly scrutinise the proposed same-sex marriage legislation. What assurances can the minister give that that issue will be dealt with in an age-appropriate and non-partisan way in Scotland’s schools?
Teachers already have an obligation to deal with such sensitive issues in a way that entirely respects an equalities agenda and uses age-appropriate material. I have no doubt that the profession will continue to act with that good sense.
Question 5 from Mark McDonald has not been lodged. We can all understand why.
Further Education Students with Learning Difficulties (Employment)
Information on leaver destinations of further education students is not currently collected. However, we want to ensure that, with the right support, disabled people are able to find fulfilling jobs that are suitable to their skills and experience.
I thank the cabinet secretary for that “kind of” answer. Again, he failed to answer the question with any figures.
As I said to John Pentland, we are currently working with the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability and Enable to develop a programme to build on the success of their project search and their transition to employment programmes in order to increase by 200 a year the number of students with learning disabilities who move from colleges into employment. There is a number attached to that; there are existing projects attached to that and there are bodies attached to that.
Can the cabinet secretary outline how the recently launched certificate of work readiness will help more young people into employment?
The certificate of work readiness is a very positive step forward. It is an employer-assessed work-based qualification to help young people to prove that they are ready for work. That includes young people such as the 17-year-old Fife teenager Nico Hutchison who, after completing the certificate for work readiness with a local electronics firm, secured a two-year apprenticeship with the company.
National Qualifications for English (Scottish Texts)
Responsibility for the development of the new qualifications, including the implementation of a specific element on Scottish texts in the English courses, lies with the Scottish Qualifications Authority. In determining the list of set Scottish texts, the SQA took account of the extensive feedback that had been received through engagement with teachers and lecturers, as well as other stakeholder groups. A central consideration was the suitability of texts for assessment purposes. Further consideration was given to ensuring that Scotland’s rich culture and heritage, a range of geographical locations and time periods, and a breadth of themes were represented.
In the past, higher English texts included such classics as “Ivanhoe” by Sir Walter Scott, “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” by Muriel Spark and Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”. Are there any plans to broaden the choice of texts to include such works, which although they are challenging were once commonly used in our schools?
I should perhaps first say that, despite some press speculation, I did not set the exam questions personally. The SQA does that, for good reasons.
Can the minister explain why the specified text has been reintroduced, despite its having been previously discarded for offering too narrow an assessment?
The specified text is being introduced in the exam papers first because the Scottish studies working group thought that it was rather unusual that any country would think it normal for its national literature not to feature, as a matter of course, in a literature exam—as it does in Wales, in Ireland, in America and, by default, because it does not need to be specified, in England. With advice from people such as the national makar—our national poet—and many others, that was felt to be an uncontroversial thing to do, except in some paranoid circles.
Educational Psychologists (Workforce Planning)
The educational psychologists workforce planning group met on 8 March this year, following a meeting on 25 October 2012. We are currently working with the group to monitor the impact of the changes in funding arrangements for the training of educational psychologists in Scotland.
In evidence to the Education and Culture Committee yesterday, Carolyn Brown from the Association of Scottish Principal Educational Psychologists described significant cuts in educational psychologists in the past three years as taking us “back to square 1”. Under previous Administrations, we saw an increase, but under this Government we have seen a decline. Is the cabinet secretary satisfied that the current number of educational psychologists is sufficient to meet demand, considering that we are now practically back to the staffing levels of 2001, when the Currie report was published?
There is no end to the spending demands of the Labour Opposition. In addition to that demand today, yesterday Mr Findlay was calling for free entry to Our Dynamic Earth. There is nothing that it will not demand of this Administration.
Presiding Officer, I wonder whether you can give me some guidance on ministers’ answers to questions. In one answer, the cabinet secretary has deliberately misled the Parliament twice. One was—
I take it that this is a point of order, then.
Yes. Well—it is a point of order, or whatever way you want to take it, Presiding Officer.
That was not a point of order because—as you well know by now—questions to and answers from Government ministers are a matter for them. We will move on to question 10.
Vulnerable Children and Families (Support)
The Scottish Government wants Scotland to be the best place in which to grow up for all Scotland’s children and young people. We have a range of measures in place to take that ambitious vision forward and they are underpinned by the getting it right for every child—GIRFEC—approach, which has been in place since 2004. It puts the child at the centre of services and focuses on improving their life through appropriate, proportionate and timely measures. Our recently published Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill will underpin new ways of working and embed key elements of the GIRFEC approach in law.
I thank the minister for that detailed answer. Yesterday, I met families from across Scotland who are benefiting from the Family Fund’s take a break initiative, which gives the families of disabled youngsters financial assistance to plan a holiday of their choice, which under-pressure families greatly value. The Scottish Government’s support for that initiative is welcome. Will the minister confirm that the fund includes support for families of disabled young people over the age of 18? Will he continue to work constructively with the Family Fund to ensure that there is sufficient provision to meet the needs of families of young people over the age of 18?
The member makes a good point. We acknowledge the importance of supporting young people in that way. That is why the Scottish Government has put £30 million into the voluntary sector for short breaks over the period 2010 to 2015. Of that, £8 million is directed towards supporting disabled children and young people and their parent carers, and that investment is administered through two funding programmes.
On supporting vulnerable children, what is the minister’s view of the reduction in classroom assistants in our schools? What impact will that reduction have on vulnerable children?
As I outlined, we have structures in place—we have getting it right for every child—and our whole approach in the Government is to ensure that children who need help and support get that help and support in a timely way. The Government is motivated by that; it is a pity that perhaps the member does not take cognisance of that and instead wants to snipe from the sidelines.
Nursery Places (Partnership Funding)
The Scottish Government does not currently provide guidance on that. It is for local authorities to decide an appropriate level to pay partner providers. The key priority is to secure high-quality early learning and childcare for children.
I call Aileen Campbell. I am sorry—I mean Roderick Campbell. Forgive me.
Many parents in my constituency have raised concerns that they cannot send their children to their preferred nursery because of a lack of partnership-funded places, and they dispute the local authority’s claim that there are sufficient places in its nurseries in the area. I welcome the minister’s comments, however. Does she agree that parental choice remains fundamental and that local authorities should take account of that and ensure that sufficient partnership-funded places are available in local nurseries?
Yes, and I take on board what Rod Campbell—no relation—has stated. If he so wishes, I am happy to meet him to explain some of the proposals in the bill. I agree that parental choice is important. That is why we are introducing more flexibility through the bill’s early learning and childcare proposals.
The Scottish Government gives an assurance that the pre-school education grant will continue to be given for early learning. Will grants for childcare be funded in addition to the pre-school education grant?
I am happy to meet any member who wants to raise issues about specific elements in the bill. We seek to deliver something that is meaningful for all children and young people. We are particularly interested in early years childcare issues and we want the bill to deliver on meeting the developmental needs of children in Scotland. If Neil Bibby wants to meet to discuss some of those issues, I am more than happy to talk through some of the details with him.
National Qualifications (New Materials for Teachers)
Education Scotland worked closely with directors of education and others to develop a strong, comprehensive package of course materials for all 95 national 4 and national 5 courses. More than 15,000 practitioners have accessed the materials to date. Thus far, the total number of teachers who have expressed any concerns over the content to Education Scotland is two.
At briefings with ministers and civil servants, we were assured that all teachers now had well-developed resources and materials and that they were all tooled up for teaching all phases of the curriculum. However, we have reports from teaching unions and others that in some subjects, such as maths and the sciences, teachers are complaining that what they have received is unsatisfactory. What is the Scottish Government doing to speak to teachers and the teaching unions about those concerns?
The Government takes seriously the need to engage with teachers and we recognise the need for teachers to be satisfied with the materials that they have. Overall, the Educational Institute of Scotland welcomed the issuing of materials and in particular the distribution of final assessment support papers on 30 April.
Will the minister join me in welcoming the comments from former Her Majesty’s senior chief inspector Graham Donaldson? He told The Times Educational Supplement Scotland that
I certainly welcome those comments and the fact that there is international interest in curriculum for excellence and in what is happening in Scotland’s schools. I feel that curriculum for excellence is now becoming what happens in Scotland’s schools; it is no longer merely a theory, and we can all do a great deal to work together to ensure that further positive interest is taken—both nationally and internationally—in what we are doing.
All-weather Outdoor Sports Facilities (Secondary Schools)
The School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967 prescribe a minimum area of playing fields that local authorities must provide at a secondary school, which depends on the number of pupils. Although I understand the benefits that all-weather surfaces can provide, it is for local authorities to decide whether to provide all-weather surfaces as part of playing fields.
Does the minister agree that the lack of all-weather surfaces at all three local authority secondary schools in my Glasgow Anniesland constituency—Knightswood secondary, St Thomas Aquinas and Drumchapel high—although two of those schools were built under the previous Administration’s private finance initiative and public-private partnership system is an outdated scenario for our young people to be landed with? Will he suggest how the situation might be addressed to improve that scenario?
Bill Kidd will appreciate that I cannot speak for the local authority, and I am unaware of the precise condition of the provision of all-weather surfaces at those schools. Having said that, the Government and sportscotland have been active nationally in those areas. Sportscotland is providing local authorities that have committed to delivering the physical education target with a share of an additional £3.4 million over 2012-13 and 2013-14 to invest in physical education more generally.
Question 14, in the name of Liam McArthur, and question 15, in the name of Joan McAlpine, have not been lodged, but explanations have been provided.
Zero-hours Contracts (16 to 24-year-olds)
The Office for National Statistics does not publish information on the number of 16 to 24-year-olds on zero-hours contracts in Scotland. However, last week’s labour market figures show yet again that Scotland has lower unemployment and higher employment rates among our young people in comparison with the United Kingdom.
Presumably, the minister will be aware that the ONS has reported that, for the UK, the number of 16 to 24-year-olds on zero-hours contracts has doubled since the economic downturn. That increase is likely, to some degree at least, to be reflected here in Scotland. I hope that the minister agrees with me that unstable, insecure employment of that kind, especially for young people, amounts to little more than exploitation.
Let me reassure Mr Gray that, in all our endeavours to boost youth employment, we are seeking to create substantial and sustainable employment opportunities for young people. To give one example, 79 per cent of those who complete modern apprenticeships secure full-time employment. I take the point that has been made about zero-hours contracts. Although some people will choose to undertake zero-hours contracts because they want and need that flexibility for their life circumstances, I also accept that zero-hours contracts are part of a wider problem of underemployment in Scotland. We know that young people are hit the hardest by unemployment and underemployment.
Is Ms Constance saying that the Scottish National Party’s position is that, given control over employment law, it would ban zero-hours contracts, as the Labour Party leader Mr Miliband has committed to do? [Iain Gray has corrected his contribution. See end of report.]
No, what I am saying—[Interruption.] Presiding Officer, I am trying to explain exactly what I said, despite being rather rudely heckled.
Will the minister join me in welcoming the fact that youth unemployment has fallen by 27,000 over the past year and has remained lower in Scotland than in the UK? Does she agree that there is evidence that the Scottish Government’s action on youth unemployment is having an impact?
I think that our distinctive policies and approach in Scotland are having some positive outcomes. Our approach includes an unremitting focus on tackling youth unemployment, which I think is shared across Parliament and, arguably, across Scotland, given that Scottish employers are more likely to employ young people under 25 than companies elsewhere in the UK are. Policies such as our modern apprenticeship programme are leading to sustainable employment—and to full-time employment at that.
Supply Teachers (Recruitment Problems)
Local authorities have historically reported varying degrees of difficulty in engaging supply teachers. As Mr Henry knows, the degree of difficulty varies geographically across Scotland and across the range of secondary subjects and fluctuates throughout the year. The Scottish negotiating committee for teachers has undertaken three surveys over the past 18 months to establish the level of difficulty and any reasons for it. The surveys have identified a number of possible issues, which include the changes to the salary scale and the fact that teacher unemployment is lower in Scotland than it is anywhere else in the United Kingdom. The Scottish Government is working with partners through the SNCT to identify and implement solutions.
The cabinet secretary refers to historical problems, but in recent years the problem has been exacerbated by the salaries that are on offer to supply teachers. The problems exist across Scotland and are not confined to specific geographic areas. Councils and teachers know that there is a problem; indeed, teachers are refusing to work on the current salaries that are on offer. Will the Scottish Government therefore provide extra funding to councils to ensure that the present failing arrangement is scrapped and a fairer and more attractive scheme is introduced?
I accept Mr Henry’s point that further progress is needed, but there is a complex series of issues. Mr Henry is aware that the payment for supply teachers was agreed as part of the tripartite agreement two years ago, which was accepted by the trade unions. All three parties to the agreement accepted those changes.
Oil and Gas Sector Skills (International Students)
The oil and gas sector is a hugely important industry for Scotland, and our universities and colleges provide world-class education and training in Scotland and internationally. We recently provided £1.7 million through our energy skills Scotland funding to support the establishment of the oil and gas academy of Scotland, which is a collaboration—initially between Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen College, the University of Aberdeen and Banff and Buchan College—to share resources and facilities to ensure that maximum provision is available to the oil and gas industry.
I thank the cabinet secretary for that full answer. I, too, have received that letter and have written to the immigration minister. Given the excellent global reputation of those universities and colleges in relation to the oil and gas sector, which the minister highlighted, what can be done with the UK Border Agency to change those wrong-headed rules?
The short answer is that we need independence. We need to have control of our migration and immigration policy. That would ensure that we set policy that was suitable for Scotland, not policy that was set for other places.
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Haudagain Roundabout