Chamber and committees

Have you been concerned about any decisions that you have seen in that particular space?

No problem at all, convener.

I thank Nicola Killean for everything that she has said so far and for the video, which I found really interesting—it was a nice way of putting across the points that young people have made.

I will stick with the theme of laws, policies and practice and focus on the broader picture. We have spoken about the Promise. The young people really were angry. Near the end of our session, one young person said, “They might as well name it something different.” That really struck me.

In the strategic plan, you highlight that your organisation’s aim is that

“Laws, policies and practice will fulfil children’s rights”.

In addition to the Promise, are you concerned about any other laws, policies and practices in relation to fulfilling children’s rights?

That is helpful. As well as the concerns that were highlighted earlier about the Promise, I am hearing that education is really up there when it comes to concerns about laws, policies and practices that would fulfil children’s rights.

My next question is about funding. What monitoring will your office undertake to understand the impact on children and young people of the tightening financial settlements for the Government and local authorities?

I also want to ask about your budget. In your plan, you say that the budget that you have outlined

“is the minimum required to deliver our current statutory functions”,

but that

“there is some unpredictability.”

Could you tell us a bit about that unpredictability and what conversations you are having with the Government about it?

Thank you.

Good morning, cabinet secretary, and good morning to the officials who have joined you.

I want to pick up on your earlier point about parents. As a committee, we have heard that those in the system are in distress: staff are overworked, pupils are not attending and, as you have alluded to, parents feel that they are never done fighting. In fact, parents have said that the situation is heartbreaking, that the waiting is so frustrating, that it is a minefield and that so many children and families are being failed. One said, “I wish these people making decisions could walk in my shoes.” You have said that you have provided additional resources, but what would you say to those parents and families?

The data that was published yesterday shows that there was one specialist support teacher for 40 pupils in 2013 and that there is now one specialist support teacher for 89 pupils. The cabinet secretary has said that there has been an increase in the number of support assistants. Is the Government’s specific policy to transfer the responsibilities of a specialist teacher and the terms and conditions that come with that post to pupil support assistants? If so, what will the cabinet secretary do about the terms and conditions that come with that?

I agree that it does.

We have heard evidence, including from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, that the more consultative approach that colleagues have alluded to has meant that, for example, speech and language therapists or CAMHS professionals have had to give input to teachers who then have to provide speech and language therapy to pupils. We heard parents talk about one case in which teachers were giving pupils cognitive behavioural therapy because there were not enough psychologists to provide that intervention.

In answer to one of my parliamentary questions, Jenni Minto said:

“Over the next three years the Scottish Government will invest in a new programme of work ... to build confidence and capacity for staff working in early learning and childcare settings, and joining up efforts across other key public services”.—[Written Answers, 10 August 2023; S6W-20521.]

Is it now Government policy to have a consultative approach in schools and to put more workload on teachers?

Is it your intention, in any updated code of practice, to address some of the issues that we heard about from Sylvia Haughney, including support staff not having rooms to take young people to and having to provide support in stairwells or, in some cases, cupboards?

There are 392 fewer specialist teachers now than there were 10 years ago. I take the point about ring fencing—the cabinet secretary will know that I am not exercised on that issue—but I do not think that it is acceptable for the Government to say that we can ring fence the funding but not put money into it. Local authorities are making difficult decisions because of the settlement that they have received. If the cabinet secretary is saying that local authorities are going to go with more pupil support assistants—and they are hugely valuable—will she now accept that pupil support assistants need to have training and support to do their job, that they need pay and conditions that reflect the size and scale of the job as it has become, and that they also probably need some non-contact time to do the training and the risk assessment that is required in that role?