Chamber and committees

All schools under local authority control are expected to teach the experiences and outcomes for relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) education in Curriculum for Excellence. The statutory responsibility for delivering the curriculum rests with local authorities and schools. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education inspect all schools in Scotland and any shortcomings in educational provision should be reported. All adults in schools have a responsibility to promote healthy, safe, respectful relationships.

Curriculum for Excellence is intended for all children and young people in Scotland, aged 3 to 18, according to their stage of development. This includes those with additional support needs (which includes disabled children and young people) as well as at risk and vulnerable young people who may be looked after and accommodated. The curriculum is intended for all pupils in all educational settings, including special schools. It is recognised that children and young people in school and not in school require initial and on-going high quality RSHP education.

The guidance Conduct of Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood Education in Schools, http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0046/00465948.pdf, states in paragraph 48:

“All children and young people should be encouraged to understand the importance of consent, dignity and respect for themselves and the views of others. They should be encouraged to recognise the risks, the physical, emotional and moral implications of their behaviours, and to accept the need for both partners to behave responsibly. Where appropriate, young people should be made aware of how to access confidential local young people’s sexual health services and additional information about their sexual and reproductive health and rights.”

RSHP education should be delivered within the wider context of wellbeing and child protection. It should be viewed both as part of a proactive approach to keeping children and young people safe from harm as well as part of a child’s education and overall wellbeing. It discusses support in child sexual exploitation (CSE) cases. Paragraphs 12 and 13 of the guidance make clear that "RSHP education has a crucial role in protecting children and young people from CSE and helping young people to identify abuse. Teachers should therefore consider the use of available and appropriate CSE educational materials as part of RSHP education delivery."

Sex and relationship education is provided to young people in custody in several different contexts, including at induction, within parenting classes and through specialised programmes. Themes covered include domestic abuse, sexualisation and stereotypes, rape and consent. One-to-one support is offered at the end of the sessions, enabling referral to the Barnardo’s Here and Now service which deals with trauma, loss and bereavement issues, including sexual abuse and exploitation.

Parenting programmes aim to support young people to make positive choices around their sexual health and relationships, to be aware of media and societal messages about sex and relationships, coercion and exploitation within relationships. Programmes seek to address sexual health and wellbeing, increase familiarity and confidence in relation to contraception and provide information on where to access services and information.

Young people who require specialist interventions in relation to sex and relationships undertake group work to increase their knowledge, understanding and awareness of relevant topics and encourage them to take responsibility for their sexual behaviour, including the use of technology. They explore gender roles in society, encouraging group members to think about their personal view of gender roles and how their views and behaviours have been shaped.

In addition, all young people also have access, directly through NHS, to information on sexual health and referral routes for advice and support.

The report of the Independent Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life, Living with Difference: Community, Diversity and the Common Good, contains 12 recommendations about the place of religion in public life. These include the recommendation that:

"All pupils in state-funded schools should have a statutory entitlement to a curriculum about religion, philosophy and ethics that is relevant to today's society, and the broad framework of such a curriculum should be nationally agreed. The legal requirement for schools to hold acts of collective worship should be repealed, and replaced by a requirement to hold inclusive times for reflection."

There is no legal requirement in Scotland for schools to ‘hold acts of collective worship’; instead the terms ‘Religious Observance’ or ‘Time for Reflection’ are used in statute and guidance. Education Scotland guidance on religious observance (time for reflection) addresses how effective religious observance may take a variety of forms.

The Arts and Humanities Research Council published in November 2015 its report Collective Worship and Religious Observance in Schools: An Evaluation of Law and Policy in the UK. The Scotland-specific recommendations in the report are as follows:

“(a) It is recommended that Education Scotland provide clear guidance as to what constitutes religious observance and where worship is situated within that.

(b) It is recommended, in line with Section 6 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000, that children are consulted on the day to day running of the school as set out in the school’s development plan and that this should include consultation relating to religious observance.

(c) It is recommended that the term ‘Religious Observance’ be formally changed to ‘Time for Reflection’ in order to be more inclusive.”

In terms of advice available to schools, Education Scotland already provides clear guidance on religious observance/time for reflection which is the product of collaborative work with stakeholders – including Curriculum for Excellence Briefing Paper 16, which has been endorsed by Humanist Society Scotland. Education Scotland is working to develop exemplification of good practice in religious observance/time for reflection in different contexts. This includes the important principle that young people should be involved in the planning, delivery and evaluation of it. Schools themselves can already decide whether to refer to these experiences as religious observance or time for reflection; no legal change is required to enable this.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

“Following receipt of the judgments from the inner and outer houses of the Court of Session in November 2011 and January 2014 respectively, SPS undertook a review of the facts and circumstances of the case and the judgements to identify what lessons might be learned. Action was taken to address the issues identified. This meant that the concerns raised by Supreme Court Justices in their judgement had been identified and actioned. I have detailed below the key concerns raised by Supreme Court Justices in their judgment and the actions already taken by SPS to address them:

Time limits: Failures to apply for authorisation to remove a prisoner from association within the strict time limits prescribed by the prison rules, which rendered the process unlawful.

SPS action: Robust processes and procedures to mitigate against the risks associated with failures to adhere to the strict time limits prescribed by the prison rules have been put in place. The processes which had very much been paper based are being amalgamated into our IT systems (Prisoner Records System). This enables prisons and SPS Headquarters to monitor and manage compliance with the strict time limits.

Role of the Executive Committee for the Management of Difficult Prisoners (ECMDP): The Supreme Court Justices were concerned that ECMDP were taking the decisions to remove prisoners from association, rather than those duly authorised by the prison rules.

SPS action: This issue was addressed by SPS in June 2013, before the appeal to the Inner House in November 2013. Guidance was issued that clarified the role and remit of ECMDP (now known as the Prisoner Monitoring and Assurance Group) to ensure it was operating in compliance with prison rules. This guidance was also incorporated into the SPS policy on removal from association which was revised in July 2013.

Management plan: Insufficient consideration had been given to a management plan for Mr Shahid.

SPS action: A management plan document has been developed and is currently being piloted across three prison sites. The management plan documentation will be utilised to record and monitor the actions taken by SPS to manage the progression of prisoners removed from association.”

While policies, frameworks and resources are provided by the Scottish Government, individual NHS boards are responsible for planning and funding services in their area and for securing the staff to deliver them. It is for NHS boards to determine their workforce requirements based on the clinical needs and service developments in their area. Specialist nurses work within multidisciplinary teams to provide valuable support and specialist advice to people and their families affected by particular conditions. We expect NHS boards to ensure that people with epilepsy have appropriate access to a range of professionals, including specialist nurses, to ensure optimum management of their condition.

This information is not held centrally.

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) published a review of purposeful activity in prisons on 4 August 2014.

I discussed progress on this with Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the SPS at meetings of the Ministerial Group for Offender Reintegration throughout 2014 and 2015. They are now being followed up with officials at the senior officials working group which has been set up to take forward the commitments made in the ministerial group report.