Chamber and committees

The 2021 Programme for Government included a commitment to review Allied Health Professions (AHP) Education in 2022. To deliver on this, the Scottish Government worked in collaboration with a wide range of partners including the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, the professional body for Speech and Language Therapists in the UK. The Review has now been completed and recommendations were published reporting a number of short, medium and long terms actions needed to address workforce and education challenges, including the development of ‘earn and learn’ routes to become an AHP in Scotland.

An advisory group has been established to oversee the effective implementation of the recommendations and the first meeting was held on 9 October 2023. The group will be chaired by Carolyn McDonald, Chief Allied Health Professions Officer who will report progress towards the implementation of the recommendations to the Chief Nursing Officer and Scottish Ministers as required.

Following a competitive invitation to tender process, a contract for the Education Workforce Modelling and Research work was awarded to WPI Economics on 13 October 2023.

The work to map existing breakfast provision is expected to be completed in Spring 2024.

The Scottish Government has published guidance for local authorities and schools, Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1: Promoting and Managing School Attendance , as well as guidance for parents which reinforces the message that they should support children to attend school.

The guidance sets out how to promote engagement and motivation, including among those who may be at risk of poor attendance.

It also sets out action schools should take in response to a child’s or young person’s absence from school.

Earlier this year I asked Education Scotland to undertake work to better understand the current barriers and challenges experienced by schools, children and young people and their families which influence school attendance. Education Scotland published this report on 28 November.

We are currently reviewing the findings of this report and will consider the recommendations for any future work on addressing attendance in schools.

We are also considering the findings from our Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research, also published in November, which provides evidence-based information on the extent to which pupils are disengaging from learning. We are currently considering the findings of BISSR and plan to publish an action plan early in the new year.

The estates of independent schools are for those building owners to manage, however, the Registrar for Independent Schools wrote to all independent schools on 15 September 2023 to receive assurances that managers were aware if and where RAAC was present in their schools and, where present, to confirm that the appropriate mitigations were in place. The Scottish Government continues to monitor the numbers of independent schools who have completed surveys of their estates via engagement with the Registrar.

The Scottish Government has published guidance for local authorities and schools – Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1: Promoting and Managing School Attendance – as well as guidance for parents, which reinforces the message that they should support children to attend schools. The guidance sets out how to promote engagement and motivation, including among those who may be at risk of poor attendance.

The Scottish Government conducts a biennial collection of attendance data from local authorities for the purposes of producing accredited official statistics. Management information on attendance is collected from local authorities more frequently, currently fortnightly, and reported on the school attendance dashboard.

From 2023-24 to 2025-26 all 32 Local Authorities have set stretch aims for improving attendance and/or engagement. These aims are built into local authority improvement plans and their progress will be monitored locally using local processes. As with all efforts to support improved outcomes and tackle the poverty related attainment gaps, local authorities will be supported and challenged by Education Scotland Attainment Advisors as they implement their local plans.

Earlier this year I asked Education Scotland to undertake work to better understand the current barriers and challenges experienced by schools, children and young people and their families which influence school attendance. Education Scotland published this report on 28 November.

We are currently reviewing the findings of this report, together with the findings of the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research, and will consider the recommendations for any future work on addressing attendance in schools.

A summary of discussions at the summits can be found at: Health and wellbeing in schools - Schools - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . The findings from the summit will inform the national action plan which we expect to be published early in the new year.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes a range of data on school leaver achievement.

Summary statistics for attainment and initial leaver destinations’ reports annually on the percentage of school leavers in positive destinations and other destinations three months after the end of the school year. The report also provides information on school leaver total attainment in terms of numbers of National Qualifications gained at SCQF Level 3 or above and the highest levels achieved in literacy and numeracy.

The latest report, published this year, showed that the total percentage of 2021-22 school leavers in a positive initial destination, such as work, training or further study, was 95.7% - the highest figure on record.

The 2023 Annual Participation Measure, published by Skills Development Scotland (SDS), shows that 94.3% of 16-19 year olds were participating in employment, education or training over the past year. This is also the highest rate recorded since this measure was introduced in 2016.

The Headteacher Taskforce met on 27 June with a focus on school exclusions. Discussions from this meeting informed the development of the approach to the relationships and behaviour summits. Headteachers from the Taskforce also attended the summits where their views have been captured as part of the process and will subsequently inform the national action plan.

It is encouraging that the Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland published on 12 December reported a slight increase in the number of post probationers securing a teaching post in the year following their probation.

The Teacher Induction Scheme provides a one year probationary placement to allow teachers to meet the Standard for Full Registration. This does not provide a guarantee of future employment with a particular local authority. Teaching posts should be advertised and filled in a fair and transparent manner.