Chamber and committees

I am grateful to Fulton MacGregor for lodging the motion and enabling discussion of such an important issue in the Scottish Parliament.

I recognise and thank cool school uniforms for its work in supporting children, young people and their families to access school uniform items, which enables pupils to achieve their potential. I also thank all those who work and volunteer in clothing banks across Scotland for their commitment to and support for families. I absolutely recognise the issues and concerns that have been raised in this evening’s debate.

Our programme for government sets out the actions that we will take in our efforts to end child poverty. Subject to the necessary data being made available from the Department for Work and Pensions, by the end of next year the Scottish child payment, which already benefits eligible families with children up to the age of 6, will be extended to include children up to the age of 16.

However, we are already supporting as many children as possible through our bridging payments. Through that benefit, which is unique in the United Kingdom and is designed to tackle poverty head on, we are now reaching 108,000 children. We are committed to increasing the child payment from £10 to £20 per child per week as soon as possible, and we will consider that through the budget bill process.

As part of the strategic approach, we will also reduce the cost of the school day. We will build a system to ensure equal access to the full package of education by breaking down financial barriers in order to make a real difference in the lives of children from low-income families.

We have already abolished music tuition charges and we have extended provision of free school meals to children in primary 4. Over the course of this parliamentary session, we will extend free school meals to all primary school pupils all year round. In addition to the expansion of provision of free school lunches, we have committed to universal free breakfast provision for all primary school pupils during term time and in the holidays. That will ensure that all primary school pupils can benefit from a nutritious breakfast at the start of the day, every day.

We will also provide every child with an electronic device and a connection to get online, because we recognise that they are as essential to education today as jotters and pencils were in years gone by.

In a moment, I will speak about school uniforms in particular, but before I do so, I acknowledge the work of the Child Poverty Action Group. Recently, the group published an updated toolkit for schools to support them in considering the cost of the school day for families. The toolkit provides a range of resources to support schools, local authorities and their partners to identify and address financial barriers to participation and learning. At the heart of the resource is the involvement of children, parents and staff in identifying which school items result in additional financial burden for families, and risk children and young people experiencing stigma or feeling excluded.

I turn to the issue of school uniforms. We know that uniforms can be one of the most significant school costs for families. I confirm that we are firmly committed to overcoming barriers to accessing education, including those relating to school uniforms.

In partnership with local authorities, we have delivered on our commitment to increase the level of the school clothing grant to at least £120 for primary school pupils and £150 for secondary school pupils. That vital support was in place in time for the start of the new school year in August.

As has been recognised by Fulton MacGregor, during this parliamentary term we will introduce statutory guidance for schools, which will lead to an increase in use of generic items of uniform and a reduction in costs for families. The member asked what the timescale is for the measures. We will engage with stakeholders as soon as possible as part of preparing the guidance.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I lost connection, and I would have voted yes.

Yes—she is here virtually, but the two members who were in the chamber have left.

I am pleased that the commitment to introduce statutory guidance on school uniforms is part of the Scottish Government’s and Scottish Green Party’s shared policy programme. I welcome the opportunity to work with colleagues to deliver that commitment, and to ensure that all our children and young people can go to school free from stigma, that they are included, engaged and involved in their learning, and that they are supported to reach their full potential.

In addition to the £2.5 million that we have provided to the sector over the past 18 months, we work with the sector on an on-going basis to support schools to access and use outdoor centres and to ensure that our Covid-19 guidance provides clear advice on safe and supported visits to centres. The most recent update to that guidance, which removed caps on the number of young people within dorms and tents, was issued on 19 August.

The programme for government contains a number of commitments, including commitments to trial Scotland’s first outdoor primary learning facilities, to provide support for children to go on curriculum-related trips including primary 6 and 7 residentials, and to give secondary school pupils the right to go on at least one optional trip during their time at school.

Liz Smith may be interested to know that, on 10 August, I met the Outward Bound Trust Scotland Scouts and the chair of the Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres. Some of the issues that Liz Smith has raised were raised during that meeting, and it was agreed that officials would follow up in order to gather more detailed information and evidence. A further meeting between officials is being arranged for sometime in the next few weeks.

Our learning for sustainability action plan, which includes climate education, contains actions to support teaching skills in sustainability education, to develop and promote qualifications relating to sustainability and to encourage schools to take a whole-school approach.

To coincide with the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—summit, Education Scotland is providing a series of online countdown-to-COP26 events for schools, and the learning for sustainability awards 2021, which will be announced on 27 October, will also help to gather and share examples of sustainability education across Scotland. I am sure that that will include outdoor education, Presiding Officer.

Will the member give way?

That is certainly not something that I recognise. Local authorities and the Scottish Government have worked very closely on the matter, and we are certainly keen that any carers or parents who are keen to take up the offer are aware of it—that is important—and can make an informed choice about whether they access that offer. Obviously, it will not be suitable for or wanted by every family, but we need to make sure that people are aware of it, and we will continue to work hard to do that. If Mr Mundell has concerns about specific areas, I am keen for him to write to me so that we can try to address those with our COSLA and local authority colleagues.

We are keen to ensure that any child who is eligible for the ELC offer can take it up if appropriate, and we will continue to work hard to promote that through all channels and avenues that we can.

We have been working closely with the UK Government on data sharing so that local authorities can access the data to target families and provide them with information about the provision.

I would be happy to pass over to Joanna Mackenzie, who can update you more fully on the work that is being done, if that would be all right with you, convener.

That is a question that I asked myself, Mr Kerr. The simplest answer is that we do not know what the increases to the national living wage will be year on year, and we want to ensure that we maintain eligibility for the families who are currently eligible for the ELC offer. That is why there are to be yearly reviews.