Chamber and committees

The University Hospital Crosshouse, Kilmarnock and Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, and Victoria Hospital, Fife and Edinburgh Royal Infirmary have been working under this model as early implementers since 2019. It is important that we assure a managed transition to the new model taking learning from the early adopters, to allow safe and effective implementation within Scotland.

To support governance and consistent implementation of the Neonatal Service Change in Scotland national work has moved to the Sub National Planning and Delivery Committee. They are actively considering ongoing actions to deliver the change in practice, following further modelling work. We continue to work with the Regional Chief Executives and NHS Boards to continue to implement this service change.

I must be absolutely clear, the vast majority of sick babies will continue to be cared for in local neonatal units. Local Neonatal Units will continue to provide a level of intensive care and be able to care for singleton births over 27 weeks gestation.

Under the Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2004, education authorities are responsible for identifying and meeting the additional support needs of children in early learning and childcare (ELC) settings. In line with the National Standard, local authorities and settings are expected to work together to support children with additional support needs to access their funded ELC entitlement. Settings must provide appropriate support, including reasonable adjustments, to ensure that children’s disabilities or additional support needs do not present a barrier to participation.

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) has recently reviewed the National Occupational Standards for Early Learning and Childcare. This work is informing the redevelopment of qualifications and learning resources to help ensure that the workforce has the knowledge and skills required to support children with diverse and additional support needs.

As we take forward our approach to childcare expansion, we will continue to build on evidence and experience to ensure that the needs of children with additional support needs, and their families, are understood and reflected in future delivery.

We are adopting a public health approach to online harm as an overarching approach to protecting children and young people from the risk of a spectrum of harm linked to the online world.

We understand the spectrum of harm can range from, among others, loss of concentration and wasted childhood time at one end, through disruption to education and the absorption of harmful often sexualised, misogynistic or violent content in the centre, to online bullying, incitement to self-harm and grooming at the extreme end. A public health approach allows us to respond appropriately to each of these risks and to adapt as the technology advances.

Ministers confirmation that we will introduce legislation to create phone free learning environments is an early policy and legal response to the spectrum of harms.

Ministers discussed this approach with members of our Online Safety Taskforce on 23 June and developments will be considered as this work progresses.

Another will be the development of a Public Health campaign which will develop the advice we have already published on our Parent Club website that recommends no screen time for babies and infants under 2 years, apart from communication (face time) with known adults. This is in line with World Health Organisation guidelines. The guidance also recommends that children aged 2-4 years should have no more than one hour of screen time per day.

To support our Screen use guidance we have also updated the Baby Box booklet to include information on the importance of early child development, speech, language and communication development, information supporting parental confidence to play and screen use advice. New information has been added to Parent Club providing guidance on managing screen use and also providing advice on how parents can also reduce their screen time.

Building on the comprehensive content currently included on Parent Club we will engage directly with parents and children and young people on what advice they need or want to support their positive digital behaviours. We will also undertake a review of research on the impact of digital media (including screen time and screen use i.e. content) on children and young people’s wellbeing to further inform the Scottish Governments position on children and young people’s positive digital behaviour.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-44232 on 12 March 2026, work on the Colleges Sector of the Future workstream is underway and will continue over the coming months. The workstream consists of three interconnected pillars: development of the evidence base, regional and national workshops, and co-creation of a set of sustainable and flexible options. As these pillars inform one another, evidence and related outputs will be developed and published in tranches as the work progresses. I will continue to keep Parliament updated. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Scottish Ministers are committed to improving the educational experiences of children and young people with additional support needs and recognise the important role all staff play in supporting those who are most vulnerable.

The 2026-27 budget set out an additional £29m of investment for local and national programmes to support the recruitment and retention of the ASN workforce. We will also continue to work in partnership with local government to support schools to develop positive learning environments and promote positive relationships and behaviour through the delivery of our Relationships and Behaviour in Schools Action Plan. Further detail in relation to the timing and staging of manifesto commitments will be announced in due course.

We recognise that workforce capacity is fundamental to the successful delivery of our funded childcare expansion, just as it was fundamental to our successful delivery of 1140 hours of funded early learning and childcare. Our approach to expansion will involve working closely with local authorities, private and third sector providers, representative bodies, and trade unions across the childcare sector and wider civil society, to ensure that workforce requirements are understood and addressed.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of empowering headteachers in schools across Scotland, as set out in the SNP manifesto, to ensure continuous improvement.

We will build on the 2018 Joint Agreement with COSLA on school empowerment, which led to the creation of the Headteachers’ Charter and Devolved School Management Guidelines as we strive to support and advance these ambitions. This work provides the foundations for school leaders to take a greater role in enhanced decision-making in areas such as staffing, budgets, curriculum and school improvement.

Over the past decade there has been £1.75 billion investment into the Scottish Attainment Challenge programme. This includes Pupil Equity Funding, which has been one of the most significant changes in Scottish education which Ministers have introduced over the last ten years, empowering headteachers with direct funding to support the children and young people in their schools. Scottish Attainment Challenge funding has been publicly committed for 2026-27, and we are carefully considering how best we can build upon the progress that has been made.

As part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to Public Service Reform, specific projects on education and skills are bringing together a range of education bodies with the purpose of delivering improved service outcomes and supporting the education system overall, including headteachers in our schools.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00937 on 25 June 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Information about how the Apprenticeship Accelerator Grant scheme will operate will be set out in due course.

The Framework for the Sustainability and Success of Scotland’s Universities is a collaborative project between the Scottish Government and Universities Scotland and was launched on 18 December 2025.

Development of the Framework is led by a steering group, co-chaired by Scottish Government and Universities Scotland. The process had cross-party support and has the backing of staff and student unions, which have been invited to help drive the direction of the work by joining the Steering Group. The Steering Group has met three times since the first meeting in January 2026.

The Steering Group, leading the Framework, will deliver its work in three phases, working through the period of the May 2026 election, and has agreed to present a concluding report to the Scottish Government and Parliament over the Winter.