Chamber and committees

I thank Mr Ross for his involvement and interest in the matter, which we discussed prior to Christmas at the Education, Children and Young People Committee, which he convenes. I have taken an active interest in all the matters that he has raised today, particularly in relation to the involvement of the Scottish Association of the Teachers of History, which is the professional association of history teachers. It was at my behest that we continued that further engagement with SATH.

Kirsty MacDonald, SATH’s president, said:

“SATH has gathered the views of Scottish history teachers on this issue in order to ensure that everyone in the teaching community can have their voices heard. We are pleased that SQA and the Scottish Government are keen to action many of the points raised in the survey and work with the SATH committee towards positive outcomes.”

I look forward to engaging directly with the president on that matter.

I am more than happy to engage further with the member on the issue, because I recognise the legitimate concerns that he has raised today. I have acknowledged the various concerns that have been raised by history teachers in the SATH survey responses and the need to rebuild trust and confidence.

As I alluded to in my original answer, the Scottish Government and the SQA have engaged substantially with SATH as an organisation, following the publication of the review. I will continue to engage with the president, and I am more than happy to engage with Mr Ross on the issue, because I recognise the concerns that he has raised.

The issue of trust links directly to our broader agenda in relation to education reform. It is essential that qualifications Scotland acts differently and feels different to those whom it serves. The bill provides a framework that will strengthen the way in which young people, adult learners and our teaching professions are put at the centre of decision making. That will be achieved through new governance and accountability measures that promote participation, transparency and openness, such as the learner and teacher charters and committees. A strategic advisory council will also provide a platform for parents, carers and other key stakeholders to advise the organisation.

We published a joint behaviour action plan with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities last August setting out action that is to be taken over the next three years at national and local level to support schools to improve relationships and behaviour. Since May 2023, we have responded to schools’ concerns in a number of different ways, including the publication of the national action plan, the publication of new guidance on gender-based violence, mobile phones and anti-bullying and the provision of additional funding to support the training of support staff.

The budget, if passed, will also offer a package of measures worth an additional £29 million for additional support needs, which will include support for the recruitment and retention of the additional support needs workforce.

We are continuing to invest to support Education Scotland to nationally co-ordinate the delivery of the mentors in violence prevention programme in schools across Scotland, and the associated training.

The programme has been delivered in more than 200 schools across all our local authorities. The work has included 5,800 senior pupil mentors delivering violence prevention lessons to more young people.

Through the programme, we are engaging young people to help them understand different forms of violence, including gender-based violence, and how they are related, and teaching young people ways to speak out against gender-based violence, bullying, and abusive and violent behaviour. The programme enables boys and girls to become part of the solution to help eradicate gender-based violence in Scotland.

It is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage their school estate, and the Scottish Government expects them to focus on ensuring that, in estate planning, learning environments recognise the needs of pupils with additional support needs.

Through our £2 billion learning estate investment programme, dedicated ASN spaces will be delivered in 20 school infrastructure projects. The Scottish Government and the Scottish Futures Trust will continue to learn from LEIP projects and to seek feedback from users to help inform the design of future learning spaces to support the needs of every pupil.

I am rather surprised by the issue that Mr Ruskell has raised. I am more than happy to hear a bit more about it, and we can perhaps discuss that after today’s question session.

The learning estate and investment programme is helping to deliver additionality across Scotland to improve the quality of our school estate. A number of projects across the country have dedicated ASN school projects. The decision about school design is ultimately a matter for local authorities, and the member has mentioned a school in his region today.

This issue was also addressed at the Education, Children and Young People Committee last year. At that time, engagement with the Scottish Futures Trust confirmed that we had in place a 10-step plan, which included, as we set out in our response to the committee, a number of different areas in which we were going to strengthen work on ASN provision.

More broadly, as we have already been doing, the Scottish Futures Trust and the Scottish Government will continue to meet and engage with stakeholders—for example, the cross-party group on autism, in September—to ensure that we learn lessons.

Although I am surprised by the issue that Mr Ruskell raised today, I am happy to hear more on the detail of it and see whether Scottish Government officials might be able to provide further support. It is essential that, in improving Scotland’s school estate, the totality of Scotland’s pupil population, including those with an identified additional support need, have the building that is right—

The Scottish Government has accepted the findings of the SQA’s 2024 higher history review, which was an operational matter for the SQA. The Scottish Government and the SQA met the Scottish Association of the Teachers of History immediately after the publication of the survey results and agreed that there would be a package of measures to support teachers delivering higher history in 2025, including a dedicated inquiry line so that teachers, lecturers and school leaders can raise questions directly with the SQA. Another understanding standards webinar has also been organised. Further, I have asked to meet the president of SATH, and I look forward to doing so.

Figures published last month show that, nationally, 40.5 per cent of school-age children were recorded as having an additional support need in 2024. Those figures show an increased recognition by local authorities of the needs of pupils, which is, in turn, reflective of the inclusive approach that the Scottish Government has taken to education. However, I accept that that presents challenges across our education system. That is why next year’s budget includes additional investment of £29 million for additional support for learning for local authorities, including Dumfries and Galloway. That builds on our joint work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to deliver the additional support for learning action plan, which is already under way.

Schools ensure that children develop physical literacy skills with physical education, activity and sport embedded in the curriculum framework. The active schools network provides opportunities to participate in physical activity, while developing pathways between schools and sports clubs in the community. Our active play development project also develops physical skills in early years settings. At July 2024, 99.6 per cent of primary schools and 95.9 per cent of secondary schools delivered at least two hours of PE per week for pupils in primary school and at least two 50-minute periods of PE per week for pupils between secondary 1 and secondary 4.

In September 2022, Scotland was announced as the first daily mile nation worldwide, with roll-out to nurseries, schools, colleges, universities and workplaces across the country. There are currently more than 1,000 nurseries, schools and special educational needs schools that are participating in the daily mile in Scotland, and more than 164,000 children and young people across Scotland benefit. The daily mile can be implemented at no cost, and its transformational impact is well evidenced. Not only can it improve a child’s fitness; it can improve their concentration levels, mood, behaviour and general wellbeing.