Chamber and committees

Financial abuse is a particularly cruel form of domestic abuse, which leaves survivors facing debts that they may have had little or no control over. For deaf survivors, communication barriers can make it even harder to challenge those debts, understand their rights or access support. Will the cabinet secretary outline how the proposed measures will ensure that survivors are not held responsible for council tax debts arising from economic abuse, and that advice, debt resolution and appeals processes will be fully accessible to deaf survivors and others who face communication barriers?

I must say that it is heartening to hear that every member who has contributed to the debate is looking at the whole person. I recently spoke with some young learners about what they wanted from their education and their journey towards employment. What was interesting was that they spoke less about their academic endeavours, subjects and qualifications and much more about the need for practical life skills and an understanding of the adult world that they are preparing to enter.

I have been thinking about those conversations in preparing for the debate, because, while we are focusing on 16 to 24-year-olds and on apprenticeships, skills shortages and economic inactivity, I do not want us to lose sight of the whole person. That applies especially when we are discussing readiness for employment against expectations that were formed in a world that has changed considerably, even in just the past five years. Our young people have grown up through austerity and the Covid-19 pandemic, at a time of rising living costs and uncertainty about whether they will ever be able to afford to buy their own home. Many experienced disruption during important years of social and emotional development, and we cannot assume that that has not affected their confidence or their expectations—in fact, experts have said that it has changed their biology.

Employment itself is also changing, as we are seeing in Banffshire and Buchan Coast across energy, renewables, engineering and all our traditional industries. The skills that are needed today may look different in 10 years’ time, so we need flexibility throughout education to prepare young people to be able to adapt to that.

Scotland’s curriculum for excellence recognises the importance of developing confident individuals and effective contributors, so we should examine how consistently children develop practical skills, relationships, emotional intelligence, problem solving and resilience, alongside their academic learning, with opportunities to build confidence, and learn how to manage difficulties and where to go to ask for support.

As has been mentioned, we must recognise additional barriers, including neurodivergence, deafness, disability, care experience and mental health challenges. Add poverty or rurality, and those barriers become much more complex. We have to ensure that, as well as those opportunities, there is accessibility, because young people deserve to find their purpose, too. An apprenticeship might be available, but can that young person get ready in the morning, access transport to get to work and manage an unfamiliar workplace? Do they feel confident and know where to go to get help?

The Government’s no one left behind statistics show that disabled participants gained qualifications at almost the same rate as non-disabled participants, which is fantastic, but only 25 per cent entered employment, compared with 36 per cent of non-disabled participants. We need to examine what happens between their acquiring those skills and their finding suitable, sustainable employment, and where the gaps are that disabled participants fall into. Fantastic organisations are already working in that space, including Skills Development Scotland, Barnardo’s, Enable Scotland and our youth work services. In fact, I recently attended a Skills Development Scotland appointment with one of my children. The adviser was fantastic, I was impressed by the comprehensive service and my child left feeling quite confident and positive. Some good, meaningful work is being done. I welcome the recognition in the Scottish Government’s motion of the right support at the right time and the importance of sustained destinations, alongside a commitment to 150,000 apprenticeships, a review of employability services and the planned work connecting young people’s mental health with employability. That is important.

As that work progresses, I ask the minister to consider three things. First, can the review examine continuity of support, beginning before age 16 and continuing through education and apprenticeships and into employment? Secondly, how effectively are we identifying changes in circumstances? We have the 16+ participation portal, but information must be accurate and up to date, with follow-up when someone disengages. Third, how do we bring employers, particularly smaller businesses, youth services, mental health professionals and the third sector, into that work, with young people involved in designing that support? Such lived experience is vital. In Finland, youth guidance centres bring employment, education, housing and health support together in one place, without the need even for an appointment. Staff from different services work together to help young people to navigate what they need. That is worth examining alongside Scotland’s provision.

I recently received an email from a teenager who was terrified by what they were seeing online about international conflict. I offered reassurance and signposting for that, but the level of anxiety that our young people experience is eye opening.

There is a familiar saying that it takes a village to raise a child. What does our modern village look like? If we want young people to take up the opportunities that we create—if we really want them to succeed—we have to listen to them, understand their circumstances and ensure that that village is there to support them for the journey and not simply the destination.

16:34

Would anyone like to come in on the school environment question?

Not having a school bell seems to be quite a controversial topic. I visited a school that does not have a bell, although I did not realise that that was the case until after the visit. When I was there, I was thinking that the school was very calm compared with other school environments and academies. The young people took personal responsibility for their timekeeping, and there was a much easier flow between classes. It was only afterwards that I asked why the school was like that and found out that it did not have a bell. I then realised that a bell had not sounded the whole time I had been there. I then noticed the rushing around and loud noises in other academies. That seems to be a simple measure that does not cost any money, and there is not a lot of time involved for training—it is just a case of adapting a bit. What do you think about those kinds of steps to create a more welcoming atmosphere for anxious and neurodivergent children?

Do we have a good enough grasp of the national data on persistent absence among neurodivergent pupils, such as those who are autistic or have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? If we do not, do you think that we should be collecting the data?

I have a supplementary question. We have spoken a lot about parents, in the plural, but we know that there is a high proportion of absent parents who have left a single parent to shoulder the burden and responsibility of caring for the children on their own. If a child has ASN or if the adult has to take time off work, that is mostly pushing the woman—the mother—into poverty, so that disproportionately affects women. Do we have data on that? If we do, is it linked to absences? What are we doing to support those single parents?

Do you think that school staff, including teachers and guidance teachers, have enough training to identify those issues?

Before we move to Angela Ross for a substantive question, there are a couple of points that I want to clarify. I know that other members wish to ask supplementary questions, but we need to be cognisant of time, and Angela has not come in yet.

I just want to clarify a point about data. Stuart Mathers, you mentioned that children with ASN have a lower performance when taken out of the classroom than those who are in the classroom. I just want to ensure that we get the data right. Is it not the case that that child would perform even worse in the classroom than if they were taken out of it? How do we ensure that the data and the things that we are talking about are correct? We do not want to assume that children who are being taken out of the classroom because of their needs is an indicator of their performance, when that performance could be going from zero to something rather than to nothing.

An organisation that provides specific support for autistic children and young people aged 10 to 15 who are experiencing emotionally based school non-attendance has told us that it currently has a six-month waiting list. Does that accord with the demand that you are seeing in schools? Do you think that that shows an unmet need for more specialist support service for neurodivergent children?