Chamber and committees

Temperature checking would have a very limited effect in detecting additional infection as not all people with COVID-19 have a fever. Fever is also a common symptom for many other infections, and so the use of temperature screening could identify a large number of people who did not have COVID-19. Temperature checks would also fail to identify any asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic infectious travellers.

COVID-19 has put us all in an unprecedented, challenging situation. We know that the closure of schools and the pandemic will have had a significant impact on children and young people’s wellbeing and consequently our return to schools guidance has prioritised the importance of considering their wellbeing as part of their plans for return to school. Lockdown has been a particularly challenging period for many care experienced and disadvantaged young people. It is essential that schools implement a comprehensive support package that meets their needs.

Our mission to reduce the poverty-related attainment gap remains central to our plans. The £33 million Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund, which includes £11.6 million for this academic year, is being provided to local authorities to fund initiatives and interventions aimed at improving the educational outcomes of care experienced children and young people. Some local authorities have used the funding to establish tutoring programmes and other initiatives such as mentoring, counselling services and driving lessons have been supported through the fund. To further enhance the support for learners, we have ensured local authorities and schools can redirect Attainment Scotland Funding to help mitigate the impact of school closures on our most disadvantaged families.

We have also allocated a further £135 million over the next two years to support the return to school. This new funding will see us invest to tackle the impact of coronavirus in our schools, and will include investment in teaching resources and other work to support children and young people’s health and wellbeing and attainment. £80 million of this new funding will be allocated to local authorities to recruit additional teachers and support staff.

As part of earlier announcements in May, the First Minister committed £30 million to support digital inclusion for disadvantaged learners. This includes providing digital devices and connectivity, to give extra help to young people without access to technology. Part of this package is the provision of laptops, some bundled with a free internet connection when required, for distribution by local authorities to learners who need them at the start of the new term.

As the Independent Care Review has concluded and has now moved into its next phase The Promise, we remain committed to supporting this work. An initial investment of £4 million has been allocated to the Promise Fund, which will support early intervention and prevention work across Scotland in line with implementation of The Promise and our vision for holistic family support. An immediate priority of the Promise Fund will be support for the reopening of schools and in the longer term, the fund will support the implementation of a framework for family support, where proposals have been put forward by the COVID-19 Children and Families Leadership Group.

The Scottish Government recognise that trial delays present particular issues in the context of domestic abuse cases. That was why when initially announcing the restrictions on court business in March, the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS) outlined that priority would be given to custody cases - where people are held in police custody or on remand - and then for non-custody cases, as far as possible, on cases relating to domestic abuse, sexual offending and violence. These cases will continue to be prioritised as the courts reopen and resume more trials. In addition, SCTS and COPFS have been working together to identify the most appropriate types of cases for the initial recommencement of jury trials, recognising that the increased capacity provided by remote jury centres will allow greater flexibility as to the type of cases that can be brought forward, including those with a greater number of witnesses and those which may involve vulnerable witnesses .

The meeting in June was an opportunity for Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) staff to provide the Scottish Government with an overview of the awarding model for 2020. The oral updates from SQA staff covered the following topics – Higher National and Vocational Qualifications; National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher estimates; awarding; results and certification; post-certification review (appeals); communications; and business systems.

As confirmed by Fiona Robertson, SQA Chief Executive, in her evidence to the Education and Skills Committee on 12 August, this was a general discussion about preparations being made by SQA in relation to developing new processes.

The meetings which took place in June and July involved updates from Scottish Qualifications Authority staff. No notes or minutes were taken from either meeting.

I was the only Minister to take part in this meeting in June, and I was accompanied by an official from Curriculum, Qualifications and Gaelic Division of the Learning Directorate.

Unfortunately, there was a slight error in the published minutes of the meeting of the Covid-19 advisory sub-group on education and children's issues on 21 July. The minutes should say that "the WHO had indicated that, globally, no outbreak of the disease could be attributed to schools." The minutes did not refer to a specific document, but were reporting a wide ranging discussion about a variety of international evidence about the role of children in transmission of Covid-19 within educational settings. The evidence included a WHO document published on 13 July 2020, and which can be found here https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-schools-and-covid-19. The Scottish Government will publish an erratum to clarify this point.

Within reports published to date, transmission of COVID-19 from child to child or from child to adult in daycare or school settings has not been confirmed, and no reports of outbreaks or super spreader events within schools or daycares prior to or after lockdowns have been published The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools.

I have commissioned Professor Mark Priestley to conduct an independent review looking at the events following the cancellation of the examination diet and the alternative certification model put in place by the SQA. His review will include looking at transparency and he will be provided with all correspondence between the SQA and myself. Professor Priestley will provide an initial report on his findings in September.

I asked the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to develop an alternative approach to certification in the absence of the 2020 exam diet, consistent with their role as an independent awarding body. I was informed of the moderation outcome on 30 July.

The Scottish Government had regular discussions with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) with regards to the awarding of results in 2020 and I received oral updates on the process. I was informed of the moderation outcome on 30 July.