Education and Skills
Good afternoon. The first item of business is portfolio question time, and today’s portfolio is education and skills. As ever, I would appreciate succinct questions and answers in order to get in as many members as possible.
Teacher Employment
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that qualified teachers are able to find suitable employment through permanent teaching posts in Scottish schools. (S6O-03733)
Local councils are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of their staff. That includes providing a complement of teachers that best meets the needs of each of their schools and their pupils.
Although the employment of teachers is a matter for local authorities, the Scottish Government remains committed to protecting teacher numbers and ensuring that qualified teachers are able to find suitable employment through permanent teaching posts. In this year’s budget, we are providing local authorities with £145.5 million for that purpose.
Over the past couple of years and this year, in particular, an increasing number of constituents who are teachers have come to me on the issue. They have advised me that they cannot get permanent posts in North Lanarkshire Council or other councils and that they are having to rely on supply teaching. What more can be done to ensure that those people who are trained to teach our children to the high standards that we can be proud to have here in Scotland are able to do so? What further discussions will the cabinet secretary have with councils, including North Lanarkshire Council, to further realise that potential?
It is worth noting that the teacher induction scheme provides a one-year probationary placement to allow teachers to meet the standard for full registration. Although that does not provide a guarantee of future employment with a particular council, the scheme is fully funded by the Scottish Government.
Teaching posts require to be advertised and filled in a fair and transparent manner. It is also worth reflecting on the fact that, over the past 10 years, since 2014, the percentage of teachers who are in permanent posts has remained relatively stable at about 80 per cent. Although we cannot direct teachers with regard to where they should work—nor would I want us to—we will continue to do everything that we can to maximise the number of jobs that are available for teachers, including permanent posts.
To that end, I have had substantive discussions with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. I have also asked the strategic board for teacher education to provide me with advice on how we can better understand and tackle the challenge at local authority level. I will meet the board next week to talk about the progress that it has made, and I expect to receive an initial report from it by the end of this year. I am also happy to discuss the issue directly with North Lanarkshire Council, as I have done with other councils. It is worth saying that councils have responsibility for the employment of teachers.
A number of members wish to ask supplementary questions. We will try to get through as many as we can in the time available.
In my constituency, we are seriously struggling to attract and retain teachers. The Scottish Government’s incentives to encourage newly qualified staff to take up posts in rural areas are having limited success there. Parent councils in Aberdeenshire are calling for a summit to address the issue. Will the cabinet secretary please meet me and the parents who are concerned about the situation to discuss it further?
I met parent council representatives from Aberdeenshire earlier this year. I have also met the local authority directly. This year, we have looked at the way in which we make allocations through the preference waiver scheme. This year, by doing that manually, we have sought to increase the number of probationers who are going to Aberdeenshire.
It is also worth saying that fewer teachers are engaging with that scheme post-pandemic. I have asked officials for advice on how we might be able to reflect on, review and update the scheme, because it is not working as I think it was intended to work. There are local challenges in Aberdeenshire, but, as Ms Adam will know, schools such as Banff academy are using pragmatic approaches to filling vacancies. I will be more than happy to meet the member and her constituents.
In Angus, it has been reported that newly qualified primary teachers have next to no hope of getting permanent jobs. Only 10.5 per cent of them have a permanent job after a year. They are stuck in a limbo of supply work, in which they are unable to buy a house. Some report being unable to have a family, and some have been offered a refuse collection job as an alternative to a teaching post.
Local figures suggest that Angus Council cannot afford to employ the number of teachers that it needs. Does the cabinet secretary recognise that the Government urgently needs to rethink how it resources education departments in Angus and take practical action of the sort that was absent from her previous answers, to avoid further letting teachers and pupils down?
I thank the member for his interest. I actually did outline practical action that I have taken in the past year, which is that, where teachers have ticked the box to go anywhere, they have been sent to authorities such as Karen Adam’s constituency, where there are vacancies. Therefore, that is a practical measure that we have taken this year, which has sent more probationers to that part of the country.
I am more than happy to engage with the member on the issues in Angus. Every local authority in Scotland is responsible for its own employment of teachers, and they all have different practices. I see the member gesticulating at me about money, and I again remind him that, in this year’s budget, which his party voted against, we are providing an extra £145.5 million, ring fenced, to protect teacher numbers. If he wants me to put additional funding into that, I am sure that he will engage with me and members across the Government throughout the budget process on where that additionality might come from.
The fact that teaching has become a precarious job is not something that most of us in Scotland ever thought would be the case, and yet, in 2016, half of post-induction teachers got jobs and, in 2022-23, that had fallen to under a quarter. Pupils and teachers need stability, so I ask the cabinet secretary: how did it get to this, and what will she do to ensure that those who train as teachers get jobs?
I go back to the point that I made in response to a previous question. The number of teachers in permanent posts today is roughly the same as it was in 2014. I recognise some of the challenges in this regard, and it is important that we work with local authorities such as Angus, which has specific challenges, and Aberdeenshire, which has challenges with regard to subject areas.
I have previously provided an update to the chamber on some of the work that we have done on supporting bursaries for certain subject areas, and I think that we will have to consider that again. I also intimated in my response to a previous question that I am meeting with the strategic board for teacher education next week to hear advice from it on how we can try to change some of the mood music around here.
However, I would again reflect on the additionality that the Scottish Government is putting in to protect teacher numbers, which is helping to sustain permanence in many parts of the country. Without that, we would see a much more challenging picture. I am more than happy to work with members of the Opposition on that and to hear any ideas that they might have.
I genuinely cannot understand the Government’s policy. It says that it wants to recruit 3,500 teachers, even though local councils just cannot afford that, but it then floats the idea that it could reduce teacher contact time without the 3,500 extra teachers. The result is unemployed and underemployed teachers right across the country, so what is the Government’s policy? Does it want 3,500 teachers or not?
As Mr Rennie knows, we invest in Scotland’s teachers. I am sure that he welcomed the acceptance from the teaching trade unions only last week of the pay offer that will put an extra £29 million into the pockets of teachers across the country. We invest in Scotland’s teachers. The national numbers show that, since 2018, we have seen thousands more teachers in Scotland’s schools—there were more than 2,000 more teachers in 2018 alone. I also responded to a previous question about the additionality that we are ring fencing. However, I recognise the challenges. They are local and often vary in relation to subject areas. For example, we need to look at the probationer scheme, which is directly funded by this Government. I look forward to working with the strategic board for teacher education, which I will meet next week.
Islands Scholarship
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work to explore the feasibility of an islands scholarship to support higher education students studying in Scotland’s islands. (S6O-03734)
The Scottish Government is aware of the important contribution that students bring to our island communities, and we want to create opportunities for them to apply their skills and remain on our islands after graduating. During my recent visit to Orkney, I spoke with Professor Sandy Kerr, who has been working with officials on the idea of an islands scholarship. While mindful of the current pressures on public finances, we agreed that the proposal merits further consideration, and I requested more information, which he provided earlier this week.
I thank the minister for that response and for the time that he spent in Orkney last month. Orkney is an important and growing hub of renewables innovation, hosting world-leading firms that provide jobs and benefits to the local community, as well as supporting efforts to meet Scotland’s wider just transition goals. However, since the recent withdrawal of the Scottish Funding Council grants for priority postgraduate taught courses, the local energy sector is facing challenges in recruiting skilled staff. Those grants provided huge benefits for relatively modest investment. I urge the minister to give those proposals, which he now has in more detail, positive consideration, to ensure that skills shortages and the risk of depopulation can be addressed through that investment.
I give Liam McArthur the assurance that the updated proposal from Professor Kerr, which reached me only in the past few days, will be given appropriate consideration. The public finances are in the most challenging state since devolution. On my first read through, I think that there might be one or two other potential issues with regard to what is being proposed. However, as with any suggestion of that type, I am prepared to consider it on its merits. I recognise the genuine interest on the part of Professor Kerr and Liam McArthur, and I will seek to keep the member updated on the matter.
Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodiversity
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to deliver better outcomes for children and young people with learning disabilities, autism and neurodiversity, in light of its decision not to include the introduction of its proposed learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence bill in the programme for government 2024-25. (S6O-03735)
Although it has not been possible to include the learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence bill in the year 4 programme, we remain absolutely committed to the bill and to the need for legislation. We will continue with our work to develop the bill, and we have committed to publishing draft bill provisions.
Maree Todd will meet the bill lived experience panel and stakeholders shortly to discuss the next steps and their involvement. In addition to developing the bill, we will continue with a range of work that is important to both younger people and adults who are neurodivergent or who have learning disabilities. That includes the roll-out of learning disability annual health checks, our work on neurodevelopmental pathways, and work across Government on the issues that were raised in the consultation on the proposed bill, including employment, education and transport.
Many autistic people and families are disappointed that the LDAN bill has been delayed in this way. That is especially the case for the parents of autistic young people who are denied their rights in education because of a lack of support.
Will the minister commit to bringing forward mandatory training for teachers, regardless of whether the bill progresses? I am pleased to see that the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport is in the chamber as well today. A cross-party group of Lothian MSPs has written to the Government to outline our concerns about waiting times for children in Lothian to receive a diagnosis and medication, so I hope that those issues can be discussed across portfolios for constituents in Lothian.
Absolutely—we are aware of the issues that have been raised in the letter and we are sorry to hear of those concerns. We want to ensure that neurodivergent people are getting the support that they need. We acknowledge the need for better access and support for people who may have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, that private assessments can lead to issues with medication and that there are still UK-wide ADHD medicine shortages.
We are working with all national health service boards to improve neurodevelopmental support and pathways and will engage with NHS Lothian on the contents of the letter. Both I and Ms Todd would be happy to meet to discuss that further.
Mandatory training is being considered in approaches to the additional support for learning action plan, and I will be happy to update the member as that progresses further.
Last year’s Hayward review, which we should hear about later today, noted that the impact on learners with disabilities and those with additional support needs should be considered in the creation of any new Scottish qualification. Can the minister outline whether the Scottish Government plans to review educational bodies to ensure that they are delivering a positive outcome for pupils with disabilities and those with additional support needs in developing that qualification?
Mr Choudhury raises an important issue. Work is being undertaken on that—I understand that the cabinet secretary will provide an update on that shortly, and I will allow her to do so.
I am sure that both the minister and Jenny Gilruth are aware of the Fife neurodevelopmental assessment pathway project, which is a multi-agency approach that enables children and families to get the support that they need while they are waiting for an assessment.
When I visited a Fife school that was involved in the pilot, a couple of years ago, it was clear that that was transforming the learning environment for young people and helping neurodiverse children to unlock their potential. Has the Government reviewed the impacts of that pilot? What consideration is being given to rolling out that type of approach in other parts of Scotland?
I am not aware of the current position on that, but I would be happy to look into it and get back to the member.
Teacher Retention
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage teacher retention during the current academic year. (S6O-03736)
The enhanced pay deal that was agreed last week ensures that Scotland’s classroom teachers will continue to be the best paid in the United Kingdom, thereby helping to support teacher retention and ensuring that children and young people’s education will not be disrupted. Despite a challenging fiscal position, we have been able to support the deal this year with an additional £29 million being made available to allow for that improved offer, in recognition of the hard work that teachers put into supporting our pupils across Scotland. Ultimately, local authorities have statutory obligations in respect of education and should ensure that they employ the right number of teachers to meet local requirements.
Teachers in Glasgow are currently voting on industrial action in response to the Scottish National Party city council’s decision to cut 450 teaching posts over three years, a move that the Educational Institute of Scotland has described as “damaging and dangerous”. That comes as newly qualified teachers in the Glasgow region struggle to get jobs. Does the cabinet secretary accept that the SNP’s underfunding of councils and failure to support the teaching profession will have an irreversible impact on pupils in Glasgow?
I thank the member for her interest in that matter. It is important to say that any legal challenge will be a matter for the council.
Fundamentally, my view is that we do not want teacher numbers to reduce in Glasgow or anywhere else in the country. That is why we are making available £145.5 million to councils to maintain teacher numbers this year; Glasgow has been offered funding of £16.5 million for this financial year to maintain teacher numbers, which is its share of the funding that I spoke of. In 2024-25, Glasgow City Council will receive more than £1.6 billion to fund local services, which equates to an extra £74.9 million to support vital day-to-day services, or an additional 14.9 per cent compared with 2023-24.
I do not accept the second part of the member’s question. However, I do recognise the challenge, and she, too, will recognise that there is an on-going legal challenge that I cannot comment on.
As cabinet secretary, I am very much focused on protecting the funding, because protecting teacher numbers is really important in improving outcomes for our children and young people.
Stuart McMillan has a brief supplementary question.
The recruitment and retention of teachers are a matter for local authorities, as Annie Wells and the Tories know. How is the Scottish Government investing in the education system to empower local authorities in that regard?
Stuart McMillan is correct. Fundamentally, councils are responsible for making sure that they have the right numbers of staff in place to meet local needs. However, as I have mentioned, we are supporting councils to ensure that Scotland continues to have the most teachers per pupil and the highest-paid classroom teachers in the United Kingdom.
We have provided record funding of more than £14 billion to local councils this year alone—a real-terms increase of 2.5 per cent compared with the previous year. That includes the £145.5 million that has been ring fenced to protect teacher numbers and £242 million to support the previous teachers’ pay deals. As I set out in my answer to Annie Wells, we have also made available £29 million during this financial year to support the teachers’ pay deal.
I hear very clearly what the cabinet secretary has said about protecting teacher numbers, but I ask her directly whether that means that the SNP has abandoned its manifesto commitment to add an additional 3,500 new teachers. Has that policy been abandoned—yes or no?
I have set out the investment that this Government is putting into maintaining teacher numbers at the current time. I would like to go further, and I look forward to hearing the budget proposals from the Conservatives to support that additionality.
It is in your manifesto.
I hear the member heckling from a sedentary position but, if he wants me to put in extra funding to support extra teacher numbers—as, of course, the new Labour Government has committed to doing elsewhere—he will have to identify where in the Scottish Government budget that additionality should come from. [Interruption.]
Excuse me, members—could we please not have all this chuntering? Let us make some progress.
Green Skills (Further Education)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that green skills are embedded in the provision of further education. (S6O-03737)
Further education and the work of our colleges are critical to ensuring that we have the skills to deliver on our climate goals. The Scottish Funding Council’s net zero and sustainability framework is supporting the sector’s work to enable Scotland’s workforce to develop the high-quality, lifelong skills that are needed for the transition.
With funding from the Scottish Funding Council, the Energy Skills Partnership acts as the college sector lead for the transition to net zero and supports institutions in developing their capability, capacity and curriculum pathways. Our work on skills planning will further develop the approach to green skills.
Key to meeting climate change targets will be the delivery of a future workforce that matches that delivery need, and the further education sector has the capability to deliver the apprenticeships that businesses across the engineering and trade sectors are crying out for, as well as upskilling people who are transferring to the renewables sector.
The Audit Scotland report on colleges that has just been published says that there is a lack of leadership and direction on reform from the Scottish Government. What can the Scottish Government do to better align future Scottish Government policy with FE sector delivery and ensure that the output from colleges matches the workforce needs for future green economy skills?
Green skills provision is already part of the offering of the FE sector in Scotland, with colleges such as West Lothian and South Lanarkshire being excellent examples of that.
However, it is imperative that the green skills offer aligns with the needs of what is an evolving sector—Brian Whittle is right about that. To that end, when I attended a meeting yesterday of the Scottish offshore wind energy council, I was greatly encouraged to hear about the very detailed and advanced work of its skills and energy group in identifying current and predicted skills needs, particularly in the offshore arena. That work is being carried out in conjunction with the university and college sectors, and that very direct partnership working, which is actively encouraged and supported by this Government, will ensure that the right green skills are on offer from our institutions.
How are organisations such as Lantra Scotland assisting with the provision of green skills-related courses in the further education sector, and how does the Scottish Government support that?
Lantra plays a key role in delivering green skills by supporting the skilling, upskilling and retraining of workers in the land-based, aquaculture and environmental conservation sectors. Those sectors contribute to the just transition to net zero by increased carbon capture through regenerative farming practices, forestry and restoration of our peatlands.
The Scottish Government funds Lantra Scotland’s 2024-25 work plan, which will enable the organisation, among other things, to distribute practical training funds—for example, the women in forestry and future forester funds—to support applicants in acquiring the green skills that they need to develop their careers.
School Attendance (Care-experienced Young People)
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the school attendance of care-experienced young people. (S6O-03738)
I am committed to supporting improved school attendance for all young people. I recently asked Education Scotland to undertake a deep dive to support greater understanding of the issue, and its report includes five recommendations for improving practice. Education Scotland and the Scottish Government are working together to support those actions, including on an online package of support, designed with local authorities and schools.
In addition, Education Scotland is working with councils on providing practical support, with the first cohort of the improving attendance quality improvement programme beginning shortly. I have also asked the chief inspector of education to identify successful approaches that can be shared more widely, as part of inspections.
Finally, I read with interest the Children’s Commissioner for England’s report on children and young people’s attendance, and I hope to meet Dame Rachel de Souza to discuss it soon. Officials have been working with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland on the development of a framework for education to support improved educational outcomes for care-experienced children and young people, including their attendance.
The findings contained in the University of Stirling report “Permanently Progressing? Building Secure Futures for Children in Scotland” are deeply concerning. Its study found that, out of the 1,836 participants, it was not possible to link educational attendance, exclusion and absence data for a whopping 1,086. Moreover, 60 per cent did not have a Scottish candidate number. The cabinet secretary will be aware that children are issued with an SCN when they start school, but because that number was not available for the majority of the cohort, linkage with educational data was not possible.
What more is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that our data gathering is robust and includes all children who have experienced care? How can we ensure that the Promise is fulfilled if we do not have the appropriate data set—
Thank you. I think that the cabinet secretary has got the gist.
I thank the member for raising the issue. It is a hugely important point, and I very much recognise the importance of using the SCN as a data set to gather information on young people and to track their progress through the educational system. I am concerned by what the member has outlined to me today, and I am more than happy to engage with her directly on that. However, I should put it on the record that, in relation to the Promise, I am recused, as my wife sits on the implementation board.
I will take two supplementary questions, if both members can be very brief.
Will the cabinet secretary set out some of the reasons why there has been an increase in anxiety and other factors that have caused young people to be less able to engage in their education than was previously the case?
As we have discussed across the chamber in recent months, it is clear that the pandemic continues to have an impact on behaviour in schools and has impacted children and young people in lots of different ways. It was a very significant life event, impacting social and emotional development, affecting the transition between primary and secondary schools and causing an increase in anxiety about physically attending school.
We also know from the behaviour in Scottish schools research that other impacts include increased mobile phone use; indeed, I set out some of the response to that in the weeks prior to our returning to Parliament. I will continue to work with our school leaders on how we can best support our young people and our teachers post the pandemic, as those effects are still being felt in our schools today.
I will take a brief supplementary from Martin Whitfield.
I have no intention of embarrassing the cabinet secretary, so I will just ask that, following the publication today of the update on keeping the Promise, her department write to me on what work is being done on the Promise in education framework that deals with the absenteeism of care-experienced children.
I am more than happy to have my minister write to the member with that information.
I can squeeze in questions 7 and 8, but I will need brief questions and answers.
Tertiary Education Funding
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the levels of funding for tertiary education are adequate to support a thriving sector. (S6O-03739)
We recognise the crucial role of our universities and colleges in providing post-school education and skills, which is why, despite facing the most challenging fiscal position since devolution, we have allocated around £2 billion to both colleges and universities this year. That demonstrates our long-term commitment to supporting the delivery of high-quality education, training and research. We are also continuing discussions on joint priorities, including funding, with the sectors and the Scottish Funding Council through our tripartite groups.
The university sector is not a homogeneous group, and different challenges will be faced by larger and smaller institutions, not least of all because smaller institutions are more dependent on SFC funding. Does the minister recognise that? If so, can he explain what specific measures have been put in place to ensure that the needs of smaller institutions are being met?
As the member will understand, I regularly have a number of institutions seeking to advance their case for more favourable treatment than they currently receive. However, the funding envelope is the funding envelope that we have. If we distribute it more generously in one direction, that means less for others. I have had conversations with a number of universities in that regard. I can commit to working more closely with the universities as a collective as we negotiate the upcoming budget process, trusting that the suggestions that are brought forward reflect, as far as possible, the sector’s collated asks.
Wraparound Care (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn)
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports wraparound care for school-age children in the Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn constituency. (S6O-03740)
Glasgow is one of our childcare early adopter community areas that are being supported by £16 million of investment over the next two years, as set out in the programme for government. That includes work in the Canal ward, in Mr Doris’s constituency, on expanding access to affordable school-age childcare services for targeted families who are most at risk of living in poverty. We are also funding activity services in the area through our extra time programme with the Scottish Football Association, as well as supporting Stepping Stones for Families to deliver affordable school-age childcare and wider family support services in Possilpark.
I commend that investment. I am fortunate, in that my son benefits from an excellent breakfast club from 8 am and after-school provision until 6 pm when required, both of which are provided by Summerston Childcare. However, how is the Scottish Government addressing unmet need and demand for such services, not only in Maryhill but right across the country? Importantly, how is it mapping progress in addressing those gaps when they are identified?
There are a number of work streams in relation to that. At a local level, all local authorities have a statutory duty under the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 to consult with parents about their school-age childcare needs every two years, and to prepare and publish plans for the provision of appropriate care. In addition, through those six childcare early adopter communities, we are co-designing local childcare systems to meet parents’ and carers’ needs, understanding that that will look different in each community.
At a national level, the Scottish Government has been working with the Improvement Service and Assist FM to map breakfast and after-school club provision across all 32 local authorities and to identify any gaps in that provision. We will continue to work with our partners across local government to understand what it takes to expand access to year-round school-age childcare, building on the provision that is already in place and respecting local flexibilities.
That concludes portfolio questions on education and skills. There will be a brief pause before we move on to the next item of business, to allow front-bench teams to change positions.