Chamber and committees

I welcome the witnesses to the meeting. As an educator previously, I know that those were extremely challenging times for all in education, who had to turn on a sixpence—I put on record that I do get that.

I am interested in hearing all the witnesses’ reflections on the past couple of years, particularly on what lessons we could learn from them or what lessons they have learned in their professional capacities.

We learn lessons, but the most important thing is how we apply them. I ask Fiona Robertson to give me a couple of examples of how the SQA will apply those lessons in the immediate future, for the year coming—2021-22—and in the medium term?

Would Dr Gill Stewart or Beth Black like to add anything?

First, I thank my colleague Siobhian Brown for leading this debate, and I extend to Alcohol Focus Scotland my gratitude for its work in providing on-going information and support to those who are affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Our country’s relationship with alcohol is at times fractious and troubled, and tackling harmful patterns of consumption undoubtedly represents one of the most significant public health challenges that we face today. It can be a difficult and sensitive issue to address, given that we all know people whose lives, families and communities have been impacted by the effects of harmful alcohol use.

Despite that awareness, however, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is often described simultaneously as the most prevalent and the most invisible neurodevelopmental condition in Scotland. It is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed, and its effects are diverse and can lead to a wide range of both mental and physical issues, including a reduced capacity for learning and understanding behaviours.

As a teacher, I have witnessed at first hand FASD’s limiting nature. For children who are affected by the condition, the already intimidating school environment can be incredibly difficult to navigate. Sadly, developmental problems with social skills and communication and the requirement for additional educational support place these students at greater risk of exclusion and bullying, an experience that they will likely carry for the rest of their lives. The limited knowledge and expertise of teachers at times in managing and accommodating children with FASD represents a further obstacle in the efforts to create a constructive and inclusive learning environment.

Thankfully, as we are here to remind and inform people, FASD is preventable. It is crucial that we promote recognition of the dangers that are attributed to drinking alcohol at any stage of pregnancy and do so in a way that does not seek to penalise or condemn women. Our focus should remain firmly on the education and the health of the population, while taking care not to stigmatise FASD, as that would only deter individuals from seeking the help or treatment they need.

I am therefore pleased that the Scottish Government has remained committed to its 2018 pledge to increase support for the children and families affected. Since 2018, with the provision of over £395,000 to the fetal alcohol advisory and support team, the Government has launched a successful FASD hub, through which essential tiered support services and vital lifelines are offered to members of the public. I also want to highlight the creation of a free FASD learning resource on the NHS Education for Scotland website, which includes valuable guidance for educators as well as helpful resources for parents and carers.

I hope that we can continue to promote and increase awareness of this condition, so that no child is born suffering what are avoidable consequences. I firmly believe that, by championing campaigns such as #NoAlcoholNoRisk and supporting the sustained development and expansion of services designed to help families across Scotland, we can improve our children’s physical and mental wellbeing and provide them with the high quality of life that they deserve.

Since we are coming to the end of the session, I will do a quick summary as well.

I want to get a better perspective on the statistic that the convener referred to—the one about 36 per cent of teachers. I have just looked up the membership figures. Am I correct in thinking that the EIS represents about 55,000 members? I think that that is about right. I am not sure about the figure for the NASUWT and the SSTA, but I think that it is around 7,000. Therefore, the 36 per cent figure would be 36 per cent of the SSTA’s membership. Is that correct? Seamus is nodding. I just wanted to get a bit of perspective on that.

I think that what I am hearing marries quite a lot with what we have heard from other agencies, universities and a broad spectrum of young people. We have got pupils, practitioners and policy; politics is right at the bottom of that. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said that, too. Moving forward, I feel quite optimistic, because a lot of your evidence triangulates with other evidence that we are hearing. It appears that there is consistency about how to move forward; there is consistency on timescales and the need for clear consultation and communication.

Is there anything that I have missed that you would like to add with regard to how we can move forward as a committee?

I want to thank our two witnesses. Implementation at local authority level is a huge challenge. I worked as a teacher throughout the whole period in question, and I pay tribute to the local authorities for responding so rapidly in unprecedented times. Today, you have explained to a wider audience the complexities involved.

I want to drill down a little further into some of the themes that the convener has raised. I am interested in the communications. Can you tell us a little more about the quality and quantity of the communications that you received, and about the timescales? Did you get the right information from the right people in the right timescales?

Thanks. It is nice to see you again, Larry. I declare interests, as a former member of the EIS and a current associate member of the NASUWT. I am also registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland. That is that over and done with.

We have taken lots of evidence from young people over the past few weeks. I have been speaking to children, so I am trying to put that together with your presentation. I am interested to hear more. Your submission states:

“schools defaulted to running exam type assessments”,

which takes us back to Tara Lillis’s comment about compression. We heard a lot from young people about the additional stresses, but they were at great pains to say that the staff and teachers helped really well. Can you say a little bit more about how that happened, because the message was that there were meant to be no exams? How did that turn into there being multiple assessments that were regarded as exams?

How is the Scottish Government supporting Scotland’s young people into employment, education or training?

There seems to be a lot of talk about a definition. I have had a wee bit of time to look it up, and the definition of a nightclub is that it is a noun; it is an entertainment venue that is open from the evening until early morning, having facilities such as a bar and a disco, or other entertainment. Thank you.