Chamber and committees

Funding for free nursery provision is included as part of the block grant within the overall local government finance settlement provided to local government by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government measures the number of two, three and four year olds accessing funded early learning and childcare through its annual census. The number of registrations provide an indicator of uptake by age. The census takes place at a named week in September to coincide with the annual school census. Results are published each year in December with the latest results available for September 2015 – they can be accessed via:

a) Summary results in the main publication:

http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0049/00494569.pdf

b) More detailed information via additional tables:

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Children/Pubs-Pre-SchoolEducation/ELCAdditionalTables2015

 

Local authorities are required to secure a place for every eligible child whose parent(s) wish to take up a place under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (the Act).

As part of the Youth Employment Strategy: Developing the Young Workforce, the Scottish Government is working with Skills Development Scotland, employers and wider partners to widen vocational pathways available to young people including the introduction of foundation apprenticeships in the senior phase of schools and graduate-level apprenticeships up to masters Level.

The vast majority of the Scottish Government’s revenue funding is provided by means of a block grant, with decisions on how much is allocated to individual services made entirely by the local authority on the basis of local need, having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

The Scottish Government has provided additional funding to local authorities (again as part of the block grant and not ring-fenced) to meet the additional costs arising from the Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) requirements arising from the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, as detailed in the following table:

Funding for Early Learning and Childcare elements of Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, £ millions

	3 and 4 year old revenue	2 year old revenue	Workforce Development	Total revenue	3 and 4 year old capital	2 year old capital	Total capital	Total ELC funding
2014-15	£50.8	£15.0	£3.5	£69.3	£30.0	£41.0	£71.0	£140.3
2015-16	£75.2	£44.0		£119.2	£30.0	£39.0	£69.0	£188.2
2016-17	£82.3	£58.4		£140.7	£30.0		£30.0	£170.7

Addressing under-representation in our Modern Apprenticeship (MA) programme is a key priority for the Scottish Government and Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to address, in partnership with industry and delivery partners.

In response to recommendations from the Commission for Developing Scotland's Young Workforce, SDS published its Equalities Action Plan for Modern Apprenticeships in Scotland on 2 December 2015. This plan outlines the challenges to be addressed and the actions SDS will undertake with partners to improve the participation of under-represented groups within the MA programme. The five-year plan also aims to tackle apprenticeship areas where there are gender imbalances, for example females in science, technology, engineering and maths related apprenticeships.

The plan can be found at:

https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/40691/2869_sds_equalities_action_plan_digital_v7.pdf.

Skills Development Scotland have published quarterly performance information on Modern Apprenticeships, including breakdowns by framework grouping gender, level and framework.

The most recent statistics for quarter 3 2015-16 (to end December 2015) and those for previous years can be found at:

https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/publications-statistics/.

<>Information on ministerial meetings is routinely published on the Scottish Government website, and can be found at:

http://www.gov.scot/About/People/14944/Events-Engagements/MinisterialEngagements/MinisterialEngagements

The Scottish Government will implement Scotland’s commitment to achieve UN sustainable development goal 4.7 through its National Performance Framework and internationally through its International Frameworks. Global citizenship education in schools is also a key aspect of how this will be achieved.

Scottish Government has provided the Development Education Centres with a total of £600,000 funding since 2014, in addition to £440,000 to the Eco-Schools programme, whose activities are also closely connected with global citizenship education.

The Scottish Government is currently considering the Northern Star Associates Interim Evaluation: Core Funding of Development Education Centres (DECs) report, in discussion with DECs, including implications for the work of DECs going forward.

The Learning for Sustainability National Implementation Group has considered how best to measure the impact of learning for sustainability and the extent to which this entitlement for learners is being met. Further details will be outlined in the final report of the group, which is currently being prepared.

Local authorities are responsible for delivery of the curriculum within their schools, including learning for sustainability and global citizenship. As with other aspects of learning, we expect local authorities, schools and practitioners to reflect on the quality of learners' experiences through their self-evaluation activities.