- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 5 September 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment is has made of the compatibility of the statement in its letter to local authority education directors, dated August 2018, that "parents don't have the option to opt out of the assessments" except in "exceptional circumstances", and the key step established in "Learning together": Scotland's national action plan on parental involvement, parental engagement, family learning and learning at home, published on 21 August 2018, that parents should be supported to be active participants in the assessment and reporting process.
Answer
The Scottish Government is supportive of parents participation in their child’s learning, teaching and assessment. The SNSAs, in common with virtually all aspects of the Scottish curriculum and its delivery, are not provided for in legislation. This means that they cannot be seen as compulsory, but also that there cannot be a legal right for parents to withdraw their children from the assessments, or indeed any other part of the school curriculum (with the exception of some parts of religious observance and instruction). In practice however, if parents or carers have any particular concerns about their child’s participation in the SNSAs, they should discuss this with their school with a view to reaching agreement on whether the child will undertake the assessments, as they would for any other aspect of learning, teaching or assessment.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 August 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 5 September 2018
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects legislation to reduce the maximum repayment period for student loans from 35 to 30 years to be in force.
Answer
The changes to reduce the student loan repayment period from 35 to 30 years will be laid in the Scottish Parliament in time to be introduced by the end of 2018.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 September 2018
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 6 September 2018
To ask the First Minister, in light of the comment by the EIS that the recent review's recommendations "will do little to allay the very serious concerns held by many teachers", whether the Scottish Government plans further changes to the Scottish National Standardised Assessments.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 6 September 2018
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 August 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 3 September 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of people from Scotland who are teaching English to speakers of other languages overseas; what action it has taken to encourage them to consider undertaking teacher training in Scotland, and how the application and interview process accommodates people residing overseas.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of people from Scotland who are teaching English to speakers of other languages overseas.
As part of the "Scotland Is Now" campaign the Scottish Government is developing a strand of the campaign that will focus on recruiting people to come and teach in Scotland. This will be delivered as “Scotland Is Now” rolls out further in 2018-19.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 August 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 29 August 2018
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd has not published the minutes of board meetings since March 2018; when these will be published, and what its position is on reported concerns that this delay is incompatible with good corporate practice.
Answer
The publication of Highlands and Islands Airports Limited’s (HIAL) Board minutes was delayed due to delays in clearing the draft minutes. Both sets of outstanding minutes have now been published on the HIAL web site and HIAL has been reminded of the need to publish all Board minutes within two weeks of the meeting.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 August 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 29 August 2018
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported Higher and National 5 entry figures, what it is doing to increase the number of pupils studying computing science.
Answer
One of the key aims of our STEM Strategy for Education and Training is to inspire young people to study STEM and to continue their studies to obtain more specialist skills. Actions in relation to the Strategy include a new Young STEM Leaders programme that will be launched later this year to stimulate and strengthen peer mentoring for STEM, building young people's understanding of STEM careers through better labour market information for schools, and the development of a national engagement campaign to promote the wider benefits of STEM.
The Strategy also highlights the importance of providing opportunities for young people to develop their digital skills, and to study Computing Science. We are providing dedicated support in this area through a range of projects in the early years and primary and secondary schools as part of the Digital Schools programme. The programme includes the Digital Schools Award which offers both primary and secondary schools a framework to embed digital technology within learning and teaching. In addition, Education Scotland is continuing to provide professional learning opportunities for teachers, including through the establishment of a Computing Science Lead Teacher network that will offer national level training for cascading to local practitioners.
We are also encouraging more people into becoming teachers of STEM subjects, through offering a bursary of £20,000 for up to 100 career changers each year to train to teach certain STEM subjects, including Computing Science, and marketing STEM teaching to STEM undergraduates through our 'Teaching Makes People' campaign.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 August 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Clare Haughey on 29 August 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils from (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools have been referred by their school for mental health treatment in each local authority in each of the last five years and, of these, how many were refused CAMHS specialist treatment.
Answer
The data held in the ISD CAMHS database is aggregated data obtained from NHS Health Boards and is not split by referral source. It is therefore not possible to provide a specific response regarding how many pupils from primary, secondary and special schools have been referred by their school for mental health treatment in each local authority, and how many were refused CAMHS specialist treatment.
We take child and adolescent mental health very seriously, and we know that prevention and early intervention make a big difference in reducing the risk of developing mental health problems. This is in the context of our audit of rejected referrals to CAMHS, which we published on 29 June 2018, and the accompanying announcement of a Task Force on Children and Young People’s Mental Health, chaired by Dr Dame Denise Coia. The Task Force will examine our whole approach to mental health services. It will develop a blueprint for how services, and surrounding support, can better meet the rapidly changing need across Scotland. The work of the Task Force is backed by an initial £5m investment to help reshape CAMHS.
As part of the Mental Health Strategy, we are also undertaking a national review of how Personal and Social Education is being delivered in schools. The review includes an assessment of how the teaching of mental wellbeing is delivered and consideration of the role of guidance and counselling in schools. The review will be completed by the end of 2018.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 August 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 29 August 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the educational attainment of deaf children.
Answer
The Scottish Government wants all children and young people to reach their full learning potential and has put in place a range of legislation and guidance to support that aim.
Following the 2015 Education Committee’s inquiry into the attainment of pupils with sensory impairment, a work plan of actions to address the recommendations in the Committee’s report was developed. A number of these actions are already completed and a progress report was provided to the Committee in March 2018.
The Scottish Government provides over £500,000 to voluntary sector organisations to support pupils with a sensory impairment. This includes £367,177 annual grant to CALL Scotland to provide Assistive Technologies and other key resources to schools and local authorities, to help children and young people overcome disability and barriers to learning.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 August 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 29 August 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that almost half of Scotland's Teachers of the Deaf are due to retire in the next 10 to 15 years, and what action it is taking to recruit more of these teachers.
Answer
It is for education authorities as employers, to ensure that their staff are appropriately trained under the Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005. Education authorities are required to prioritise their resources in light of local circumstances and priorities, including the development of their staff.
To support Teachers of the Deaf training the Scottish Government provides £150,000 annual grant funding to the Scottish Sensory Centre to provide high quality Career Long Professional Learning. The Scottish Government wants all children and young people to reach their full learning potential and will continue to work with local authorities so that the right skills and resources are in place to make sure the needs of every pupil are met.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 August 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 29 August 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided for training Teachers of the Deaf in each of the last five years.
Answer
To support training for Teachers of the Deaf the Scottish Government provides £150,000 annual grant funding to the Scottish Sensory Centre to provide high quality Career Long Professional Learning. This is in addition to the £50 million we are spending this year on training new teachers, all of whom are required to support children with additional support needs in their classes as part of the GTCS Standards for Registration.
Year | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 |
Grant to Scottish Sensory Centre | £150,000 | £150,000 | £150,000 | £150,000 | £150,000 |
