Chamber and committees

You will not get any disagreement from me on that, but the direction of travel that was indicated yesterday was that the education system should have a greater responsibility. I am intrigued about what that responsibility that is not being covered by other parts of the public service should be.

I want to go back to the attainment challenge, which ties in with a wider question about the Government’s direction of travel. We all know that poverty impacts education and that the poverty-related attainment gap is quite wide. Who should lead on tackling poverty? The indication yesterday was that the education system would have a bigger role. It already has a role in trying to address the relationship between poverty and education, but the direction of travel was that the education system would have more of a role in that.

I do not have a fixed position on that—I am just interested in the direction of travel with regard to whether the education system, which already has many challenges, should have additional responsibilities on issues of poverty. Should the education system have a greater focus on education instead of a focus on wider issues, or should it expand its role to cover poverty issues, too?

What do you want teachers, schools and the education system to do? What extra thing could be done, or what extra responsibility could be taken on, to assist with the things that you have talked about?

I have a question about the digital divide. In July last year, there were reports that, even though laptops and other digital devices had been purchased, they would not be distributed to the pupils who were in need until August. What was your experience of that? Did the system work quickly enough? Do you have any evidence to add to those reports?

Before I bring in Satwat Rehman, I want to add another issue. Looking back to the pandemic, we have evidence that includes case studies about families who found it difficult to get childcare when their employers required them to go back to work. Was that the responsibility of the employers—was it bad practice by them—or was it a lack of synchronicity with the easing of the lockdown? The Government was indicating that companies could take their workers back, but childcare was not yet up to full speed. Perhaps Satwat Rehman would answer my first question as well as addressing that one.

Okay, it is not extra, but—

I thank the witnesses for coming.

The situation seems pretty stark. The demand from young people is up, as we heard from the previous witnesses and as we can see in the written evidence. Waits for diagnosis for mental health problems, autism or other conditions are longer. The numbers of co-ordinated support plans have gone down in the past eight years. The numbers of additional support teachers are down, too, as are funding for ASN and referrals to social work.

The system was already under strain before the pandemic and demand has gone up since it began. What chance do young people have of getting the support that they need under those circumstances?

Anybody who wishes to answer. I think that the EIS has a particularly strong view on the issue, so Laurie Black might wish to start.

I am keen to understand the wider impact of mainstreaming on other pupils and on teachers, as well as what we can do to address the consequences that Laurie Black has just set out. I would like to understand how widespread the situation is and whether support mechanisms are in place to deal with the consequences. My question is not against mainstreaming; it is just about how we cope with some of its consequences and side effects.

No, thank you, convener. I have finished.