- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds on the reading ages of school children, and how it uses any such data.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not gather or hold any data on the reading age of school children.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don on 20 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to increase the number of available early years and childcare places.
Answer
Scotland’s flagship 1140 policy is the most generous childcare offer in the UK, delivering high quality early learning and childcare to thousands of families.
There is nearly universal uptake for three and four year olds, and if families paid for this themselves it would cost them around £5,000 per child per year.
Independent research shows that 97% of parents were satisfied with the quality of the funded ELC they were receiving and 88% with a 3-5 year-old were satisfied that they could access it in a way that meets their needs.
Last week in the Programme for Government, the Scottish Government announced plans to develop local infrastructure and services needed to provide childcare for children from the age of nine months to the end of primary school in early adopter communities in six local authority areas in Scotland.
We are already delivering innovative school age childcare services to around 1,000 priority families through our early adopter work in four local authorities – Glasgow, Clackmannanshire, Dundee and Inverclyde. We will expand that to two additional areas – Fife and Shetland – and we will start to test innovative models of delivery to provide childcare for families with children from the age of nine months to the end of primary school. This investment will enable us to begin to create and test for the first time what an all-age childcare system will look like in Scotland.
The Programme for Government also set out plans to begin work to phase in an expanded national offer for more families with two-year-olds, focusing on those who will benefit most. We already offer 1140 hours of high quality funded early learning and childcare to around a quarter of families with two year olds who experience the most disadvantage. Over the next year we will work with local authorities and our partners in the sector to develop plans to expand access to around 40% of families in Scotland over time.
The Programme for Government also contained important commitments we have made to recruit 1,000 more childminders and to provide the necessary funding to increase pay to £12 per hour for early learning and childcare professionals delivering funded provision in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the incorporation of intergenerational working into the (a) primary and (b) secondary school curriculum, particularly in areas such as science and technology.
Answer
Intergenerational working has a role to play in both primary and secondary schools as part of volunteering and cross-community support for the curriculum, learning and teaching.
It is right that schools and local authorities determine whether and in what ways, intergenerational working is incorporated in school level curricula. Scottish Government and national partners provide support, including in the following ways:
- Generations Working Together (GWT) was established with Scottish Government support in 2007 as a nationally recognised centre of excellence supporting the development and integration of intergenerational work across Scotland. GWT has developed a strong multi-faceted model of working to raise awareness of what constitutes good intergenerational practice and has developed local intergenerational networks, training opportunities and a library of materials/resources to support and inspire organisations and partners to take action and enhance their intergenerational practice. A wide range of organisations, including schools and education authorities, access advice and support from GWT.
- The Raising Aspirations in Science Education programme, which aims to ignite a passion for science in primary school pupils, supports family run events along with science festivals designed to engage different generations.
- Some local authorities and schools have chosen to use Scottish Attainment Challenge or Pupil Equity Funding to develop intergenerational practice, alongside a range of other innovative and community-based approaches, as part of their overall approach to raising attainment and narrowing the poverty related attainment gap.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don on 20 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, following the First Minister's statement on the Programme for Government 2023-24, when the minimum pay of £12 per hour for the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector will be implemented.
Answer
In Programme for Government we committed to providing the necessary funding to enable childcare workers delivering funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) in the Private, Voluntary and Independent (PVI) sector to be paid at least £12 per hour from April 2024. That includes childminders.
A communication issued to the sector on 6 September setting out more details on the commitment. This confirmed that the Scottish Government will work with COSLA and local authorities to support the implementation of this commitment and will set out further details in the coming months.
It is anticipated that payment to support delivery of this commitment will be provided through the sustainable rate setting process, as is currently the case for the ELC real Living Wage commitment.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don on 20 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, following the First Minister's statement on the Programme for Government 2023-24, how often the Cabinet Sub-Committee for The Promise will meet.
Answer
The details of the Cabinet Sub-Committee are currently being determined.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don on 20 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many childminders it estimates left the profession in each year from 2018 to 2022.
Answer
The Care Inspectorate publishes annual statistics on the numbers of childminders operating across Scotland. The most recent data, for 2021, were published in September 2022 and are set out in the following table.
Year | Number of registered childminding services | Change from previous year |
December 2018 | 5,108 | |
December 2019 | 4,752 | -356 |
December 2020 | 4,395 | -357 |
December 2021 | 3,998 | -397 |
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that technical skills, such as woodwork and metalwork, remain an important part of the secondary school curriculum, in light of reports that new-build schools are in some cases not as practical for delivering such courses.
Answer
Technical skills development forms part of the Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes in the Technologies. As such, the development of those skills should remain an important part of the school curriculum throughout the Broad General Education (BGE).
In line with the STEM Education and Training Strategy, the Scottish Government supports the development of a range of STEM-related skills. This includes programmes of professional learning for teachers, an awards programme for young people and a range of remote learning resources.
In terms of new-build schools being suitable to deliver courses such as woodwork and metalwork, the Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Strategy is clear that learning environments should support and facilitate excellent learning and teaching to meet the needs of all pupils. The Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) is being delivered in partnership with local authorities (which have responsibility for school buildings) and will benefit tens of thousands of pupils across Scotland. The LEIP aims to deliver modern learning environments, including spaces for practical subjects.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated average reading age is according to the latest assessments carried out by ACER UK for pupils in (a) S1, (b) S2, (c) S3, (d) S4, (e) S5 and (f) S6.
Answer
ACER UK last provided assessments (Scottish National Standardised Assessments) for the Scottish Government in June 2022. This included a reading assessment for S3, but that assessment did not assess reading age. ACER UK have not provided any assessments for the Scottish Government for young people in S1-S2 or S4-S6. National Standardised Assessments are now provided by AlphaPlus Ltd.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the five actions listed on page 25 of its report, Cleaner Air For Scotland 2: Towards a Better Place for Everyone, broken down by which actions (a) have been completed, (b) are underway and (c) have not yet started.
Answer
An update on progress with these actions is included in the Cleaner Air for Scotland 2023 annual report, which will be published on 27 September 2023.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 20 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have been built in (a) Stirling, (b) Fife, (c) Perth and Kinross and (d) Clackmannanshire in each year since 2019.
Answer
A table showing the number of social and affordable completions by local authority area can be accessed using the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/affordable-housing-supply-programme-completions-updates/
The homes provided through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme comprise homes for social rent, for mid-market rent and for low cost home ownership. These homes take various forms including; new build homes, rehabilitation projects, conversions and off-the-shelf purchases of both new and second hand homes.
