Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Individual local authorities may gather this data.

The Scottish Government commissions six-monthly reports from local authorities on school counselling services which asks for number of young people accessing counselling, broken down by gender and year groups. The reports also seek information on outcomes, inward and outward referrals as well as the issues young people are presenting with.

Within the reporting form there is a free text box where authorities are encouraged to share additional information, such as information on waiting times if they have that data available. Although some authorities have reported that services are at capacity, no concerns have been raised about young people’s needs not being met.

Decisions by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) on the 2023 appeals service were informed by extensive feedback on the 2022 services from the wider education community - including over 3,500 learners, parents, carers, and practitioners, as well as school, college, local authority and teacher and lecturer union representatives on the National Qualifications 2023 Group and SQA’s Advisory Council.

The evaluation of the feedback (as at https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/105647.12132.html ) identified a number of themes in relation to the 2022 service, including that the majority of respondents were concerned about issues relating to perceptions of fairness and equity.

Following careful consideration of these views, the appeals service for 2023 was aligned with the service used before the pandemic, with important enhancements. The service continued to be free and was available to all learners to appeal directly to SQA and, unlike in 2022, the service was available regardless of a learner’s estimate.

The approach taken is comparable with other appeals services in the rest of the UK and internationally.

As with all SQA policy decisions, a full Equalities Impact Assessment was undertaken in relation to the 2023 appeals process. This can be accessed at: https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/eqia-nq-2023-assessment.pdf .

The Scottish Government announced the launch of the Young Person’s Guarantee in November 2020, with the aim to protect young people against the immediate economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between November 2020 and March 2023, 1019 employers have signed up to the Young Person’s Guarantee, offering 35,790 opportunities to 16-24 years olds in Scotland.

The Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group (TWPAG) considerations are based on an annual statistical model which estimates the number of ITE students required to achieve particular pupil teacher ratios. TWPAG includes representatives from local authority employers, as well as university providers of ITE, teacher unions and the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

TWPAG’s considerations are based on annual statistical model which estimates the number of ITE students required to maintain pupil teacher ratios. This model is based on a number of inputs including projections about the number of pupils in the system, churn in teacher numbers (for example recruitment, maternity leave, retirements, returners,) and the retention rates of ITE students.

To ensure effective and evidence-informed longer-term teacher workforce planning, the Scottish Government has commissioned an external analysis and research exercise that will bring together a range of factors including current teacher numbers, pupil teacher ratios and the projected decline in the number of school-aged children. This analysis will inform decisions on education workforce planning for future years.

We are committed to reducing the cost of school uniform and supporting families so that every child in Scotland can attend school feeling comfortable, confident, and ready to learn.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with local authorities, has already delivered on our commitment to increase the level of school clothing grant in Scotland. This vital support for families has increased to at least £120 for eligible primary school pupils and £150 for eligible secondary school pupils. As part of action to further reduce the cost of the school day for families, we have committed through the 2023-24 Programme for Government to increase funding to local authorities for school clothing grant in the next financial year.

To further support families, we will introduce national guidance on school uniform. This will support schools to work with families to develop and implement affordable and sustainable uniform and clothing policies that recognise the individual needs, circumstances and identities of all pupils. It is anticipated that the guidance will be published in spring 2024.

These measures are being taken forward as part of our wider action to tackle child poverty and protect people as much as possible during the ongoing cost of living crisis.

SQA’s approach to grading the exams in 2023 was based on its established awarding processes. Using ‘grade boundaries’ – the marks needed to achieve an A, B or C grade in each course – SQA checked that each assessment was set at the right standard or level of difficulty.

During the grade boundary setting process, SQA appointees – experienced course teachers and lecturers who are subject experts in each course – determined the grade boundaries by looking at all the available assessment evidence and course information, including the impact disruption and course modifications had on how young people performed in the assessments. For example, I understand that evidence indicated there had been particular challenges seen across the cohort around developing listening skills in modern languages. In recognition of this, adjustments were made to grade boundaries.

This process ensured fairness for this year’s students while maintaining national standards. Adjustments to grade boundaries were smaller this year than in 2022, reflecting the continuing recovery in skills, knowledge and understanding on the part of students.

The information requested relates to Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) data and is not held by the Scottish Government.

SQA has advised that this information is available on their website, including historical data for all courses including those specifically listed. The data can be accessed at https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/105159.html .

The SQA will be replaced by the new qualifications body in late 2025, after the 2025 exam diet. There will be a period of transition with transfer arrangements in place to support this process.

The intention is for the Scottish Qualifications Authority to continue to operate at the time of the 2024 and 2025 exam diets, with the new qualifications body being established in late 2025, after the 2025 exam diet.

The new body will therefore be responsible for overseeing the 2026 exam diet.

The Scottish Government defines the poverty-related attainment gap as the gap in attainment between children and young people living in the most and least parts of the country based on Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) data. The most affluent being those living in SIMD quintile 1; and the least in SIMD quintile 5.

It is important to be able to measure the impact of the system on progress towards closing the poverty-related attainment gap. That is why in 2017, the Scottish Government consulted on proposals for measuring the poverty-related attainment gap and milestones towards closing it, focusing on the impact of the education system as a whole and using a range of 11 measures that reflect key stages of the learner journey and the breadth of issues that can impact on attainment.

These measures are:

1. 27-30 month review (children showing no concerns across all domains)

2. HWB: Children total difficulties score (age 4-12)

3. HWB: Children total difficulties score (age 13&15)

4. Primary - Literacy (P1, P4, P7 combined)

5. Primary - Numeracy (P1, P4, P7 combined)

6. Secondary - Literacy (S3, 3rd level or better)

7. Secondary - Numeracy (S3, 3rd level or better)

8. SCQF 4 or above (1 or more on leaving school)

9. SCQF 5 or above (1 or more on leaving school)

10. SCQF 6 or above (1 or more on leaving school)

11. Participation measure

We identified eleven key measures to assess progress as part of the National Improvement Framework , along with associated stretch aims. We held a further consultation in summer 2022 which resulted in two new key measures being added for 2023.

Those measures are:

1. School Attendance

2. Initial Positive destination