Chamber and committees

Parents will look for the best provision of education for their children as they go forward and, unlike their children, they might even frequently look forward to exams. How is the qualifications side of things being developed? As you said, we need to get the numbers of teachers in the first place, then the school time and all that sort of stuff, and then exams have to take place. Is that all working cohesively just now, or is there a problem?

So, we are talking about the development of self-confidence, which can run throughout families and communities, should the opportunity present itself or be presented to them.

There are challenges in ensuring that teachers in different areas of Scotland have the resources and the skills to support education in different dialects, such as Lallans, Doric and so on. We are looking at people having the opportunity to use their acquired language to the best advantage of the children who are being taught. Are there challenges for teachers in learning in that respect? They cannot necessarily learn from a person who is 100 miles down the road.

As I said during our discussion with the first panel—I believe that you were in the public gallery at the time—the advantage of learning or developing language in school is that it frequently encourages an interest in the learning of language. Therefore, children might go on to be interested in learning Italian or German or whatever, too, and perhaps also Gaelic, if they have not had that opportunity before. Do you think that the development of such an acquired skill needs to be encouraged anyway?

That would be beneficial for everybody—Scots and Gaelic speakers—when going abroad, instead of people having to find a pub where English is spoken, for example. That does not apply if you are a child, of course. [Laughter.]

In recognition of the importance of the bill for both Gaelic and Scots, should the bill include Scots-medium school education in a much more up-front way? At some point, once we are more confident, could we have a Gaelic language bill and a Scots language bill? I am happy that the bill exists as it does, but could things develop in such a direction?

I think that Inge Birnie wants to come in.

I believe—although I am not sure that this is true—that pupils in Gaelic-medium schools have an enhanced capacity for learning other languages. Does anyone know whether that is true?

My questions are mostly for Bruce Eunson.

When I was at school, young people were ridiculed or given the belt for speaking Scots, but then the class would be taught what Rabbie Burns said. My thoughts on teachers go from one direction to another sometimes, to be honest.

How would the quality of Scots language education in schools these days be assessed? How would you know who was delivering it to the best and highest standards? Will people have to have a qualification in it in order to teach it, as they would if they were teaching Gaelic?

Thanks very much for all the evidence so far.

The Glasgow Gaelic school in the west end is very big, and its pupils start from a very early age and go right through. It has more than teaching staff; support staff and all sorts of others work there, too, and of course they do it all in the Gaelic medium. However, some of them have been under pressure with regard to job stability, and I just wonder whether the situation is the same across the country—I am hoping that it is not. I know of people on two-year or three-year contracts, and those contracts are running out, with no intention to extend them. Is it the same across Scotland?

Yes, there is an overlap between the Gaelic school education issue and the Scots school education issue.

How are teachers supported in initial teacher education to promote Scots usage in the classroom?