Chamber and committees

I thank both Becky Francis and Emma Congreve for their answers and the specific issues that they have raised. It is self-evident that the issue of recruitment and retention is important.

I am very pleased that Emma Congreve raised the issue of school transport and I say, without fear of contradiction, that it is a serious one for many parents. It can take a long time for children to get to school—even for those who live just a few miles away from their school. In distributing the attainment fund we must ensure that it reaches areas where there is hidden poverty—in many parts of rural Scotland, such travel is an additional cost that simply does not arise in urban areas.

Maybe there is more agreement than might have been apparent. To pick another line from said song, we have maybe tried to

“Bring gloom down to the minimum”.

I will move to the other two witnesses, because it is only fair to give them both an opportunity to say whether there are any specific issues on which we could do more, whether nationally or locally, prescriptive or otherwise, to address the attainment gap in order to help other kids from poorer backgrounds in particular.

I am impressed by the passion with which you espouse your views. Instinctively, I am supportive of the idea of headteachers having more discretion but, when we get down to specifics, Professor Ainscow, many things are fixed, such as salaries. I presume that you do not think that headteachers should start to pay some teachers more or less than they are paid per the tariff. There is so much of the budget that is fixed—building repairs, rates, heat, lighting and insurance, for example. I was interested in whether there were any specifics.

When I speak to constituents about education, they do not talk in that language at all. The language and vocabulary that we use is not used out of the Holyrood bubble or system. They say, “I wish children could get musical instruction or a musical instrument,” or, “I wish that they could get more tutoring.” Those matters were referred to earlier in the meeting and perhaps we have not explored them enough. My constituents may also say, “Maybe children should learn how to touch type,” which is mandatory in Holland. That is still seen as a marginal skill for the 20th century, but it is now essential for the 21st century. I have no idea why the educational establishment has not homed in on that. They could say, “I would like more business people to come into schools to explain to our kids what they actually do.” Those are the things that I think my constituents would mention, but they have not been mentioned this morning. That is not a criticism of anybody; it is just a general observation from somebody who, unlike my colleague and friend Kaukab Stewart, has not really been involved since they left school, which was five decades ago or thereabouts.

Professor Ainscow, I want to challenge you on a specific point. I am not persuaded that there is an evidential basis for your contention that headteachers and teachers do not focus on individual children. My impression is that they do their best to do that and, by and large, they manage to do that.

I am not sure whether you meant to assert that there is a general failure across the board to identify, or even communicate with, large numbers of pupils in schools. I must admit that I find that a very difficult contention and one that does not square with my experience of going to what used to be called prizegivings, which I am sure are called something else now. The children at Grantown grammar school have a huge array of achievements—they seem to be happy and well known to their teachers, almost as friends. I am afraid that I do not recognise the single example that you gave as being evidence based, which I think was the point that you were making.

I think that it is perfectly reasonable for us to ask for more information, so I have no objection to that. When we ask for that information, perhaps we could also request an update on the progress that is being made with, and the current status and take-up of, the Food for Life programme, through which councils receive assistance to support local purchasing of food from local supply chains. The Soil Association runs that programme, with which I have been involved from time to time. For example, I visited East Ayrshire Council, which is seen as a leader in that regard, and Highland Council, which purchases food from a local butcher to serve hundreds of schools. Such things are not easy, but we all support them—namely, buying local food rather than chickens from Thailand or whatever.

If we are going to ask for information, we could ask for information on that. As I understand it, most of our 32 local authorities—certainly more than half of them—subscribe to the programme, but some do not. It would be useful for us to get an update on what has been—I know that this will be close to your heart, convener—a Scottish Government good-news story.

First, I wish to express my thanks for the excellent work done by teachers and others in our schools.

My question relates to the use of digital technology. The Scottish Government has provided £25 million to assist with the provision of a digital device to children and young people, particularly to those who have been identified as being at risk of digital exclusion. I know that a lot of good work has been done by local government on distributing those devices. I have the stats but, in the interest of brevity, I will not read them out.

One would not hand out a violin or a trumpet to a child without arranging for that child to get tuition in how to play the instrument. However, it seems as though we are taking for granted that, if we just hand out a digital device, that in itself will suffice, whereas the essential skill, I would submit, in the use of these devices is the facility to touch type. That allows the brain to concentrate on what one wants to say rather than on finding the keys on the keyboard—to concentrate on what rather than how.

In this digital age, touch typing will be an essential skill for people in many walks of life and it is not a skill that is naturally acquired. I understand that it takes between 15 to 20 hours of the correct repetition exercises for the brain to acquire the facility to identify the keys automatically without thinking, which then allows one to apply one’s brain with full, 100 per cent, effort.

Now that I have set out that thesis, do Mr Dempster and Mr Hutchison agree with my analysis? Can they explain to what extent proper courses on touch typing, including monitoring and tuition can be provided? As I say, 15 to 20 hours is what is required. If such courses cannot be provided, should there not be a facility for every school to be able to get an expert to train teachers in how to teach touch typing and would that be something that would provide a tremendous additional skill for our children in Scotland?

I hear what was said in response, but the point that I am making is that the ability to express oneself through touch typing, rather than the two-finger approach—where the brain is focusing on identifying a particular letter or number on the keyboard—is of tremendous advantage in life for the huge range of occupations where one needs to express oneself. It is difficult to think of many areas of work, other than some manual labour, where one does not require to express oneself.

The evidence shows that somebody who can touch type is 300 per cent more productive than somebody who cannot. I believe that it shows that children with dyslexia can gain from having that skill and that those who come to Scotland from other countries—with other languages—vastly increase their literacy skills by being able to touch type quickly. The evidence shows that some children with special needs will benefit and that all children who are able to touch type develop greater confidence in their abilities. Some people find handwriting difficult; I am a left-handed person, and we tend to smudge the ink as it hits the page, so we find typing a less physically arduous thing to do, particularly in the examination context.

The evidence is there for everybody to see. I must say, convener, that I am pretty disappointed with the replies. This is an area where the education establishment needs to think carefully about whether we are letting down children in Scotland.

In other countries, touch typing is a mandatory part of the curriculum—I can provide more evidence on that. I hope that we can come back to the matter. It would be sad if children in Scotland are missing out on a skill that in other countries is properly regarded as central to functioning in the modern digital age, because the proper use of a QWERTY keyboard cannot be acquired naturally.

He seems to have frozen, as far as I can see.

I very much welcome the additional investment that will allow Scottish local authorities and schools to provide additional teachers. I will ask the cabinet secretary questions in two areas. The first relates to the additional costs of education provision in rural parts of Scotland, and especially the Highland Council area. As the cabinet secretary knows, that area includes 29 high schools and 204 schools in total, which is the largest number in Scotland. A great number of those schools, and particularly the primary schools, have very small rolls, which means that the number of teachers that Highland Council must employ per pupil will be greater than the average in urban council areas. In addition, the extra transport costs and the higher costs of building work, be it new build or repair, are recognised factors.

The other point that I bring to the cabinet secretary’s attention is that my information from close discussions with senior officials at Highland Council is that those extra costs have been exacerbated as a result of restrictions in the construction sector. For example, there has been restricted capacity and less competition.

I know that the local government funding formula tries to reflect rurality, but the cabinet secretary will be aware that the committee has already raised the issue with her in the current session of Parliament. Will she outline for me and other members who represent rural or largely rural constituencies how we can be sure that rural authorities have sufficient resource under the formula? Is there scope and a need to revisit the details of the formula to ensure that the important factor of rurality, given the costs of providing education, is properly accounted for?

I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for that comprehensive answer, particularly regarding the inclusion of the Highland Council area and others in the attainment funding. As she rightly says, poverty is no stranger to several parts of the Highlands and, indeed, my constituency, and I am pleased that the Scottish Government recognises that. It is a step forward. I will relay the cabinet secretary’s comments to senior officials in Highland Council, with whom, as it happens, I will be in touch later today.

I want to ask the cabinet secretary about another area. How is provision made in our secondary schools to assist those pupils who have mental health issues? I recognise that the prime responsibility for that rests with the national health service, but I am mindful of the fact that very often, according to information that I have from my constituency work, early intervention by specific allocated staff in schools that is designed to assist teenagers who are undergoing various forms of mental ill health can play a really important part. After all, many teenagers are slow to trust people and take advice, so it is good for them to build a relationship with someone in whom they have confidence in order to help them through difficulties. Those may include Asperger’s syndrome, autism, anorexia, self-harm and other very serious matters that adolescents may experience.

I have recently dealt with a harrowing constituency case. I will not go into the details here, but I feel that the provision that is available in some of the schools in my constituency, although I stress that the standard of assistance for those who need it is very high and it is very much appreciated, is simply too limited in its scope. One headteacher told me that he could do with three times as many teachers as he currently has to deal with that particular area, which is so important in helping young people who are troubled for one reason or another.

In asking that question—I am sorry that it was somewhat longer than I intended—I appreciate that it is not primarily your responsibility, cabinet secretary. Nevertheless, tackling mental ill health requires collaboration across schools, health services, social services and other areas of public life, as well as with the third sector. How can we ensure that every school is able to provide a sufficient level of support in that area? What reporting mechanisms exist, for example, to enable headteachers to report to local authorities, education directors and so on? I am not familiar with that world. Do we need to do more to ensure that there is reporting of outcomes to local authorities, for example, so that accountability exists in every one of the 32?

I am very pleased to hear of the recent development of a counsellor in every secondary school. That is extremely welcome. I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for her answer. I hope and expect that she will keep the matter under close review as part of her work with her Cabinet colleagues.