Chamber and committees

The OECD did not take formal written submissions for their independent Review of Curriculum for Excellence. This was the OECD’s position from the outset of the review and conforms with their ‘Implementing Policies: Supporting Change in Education Framework’. This was outlined in the Scottish Government’s answers to S5W-35079 on 18 February 2021 and S5W-35292 on 25 February 2021 and made clear in the remit for the OECD’s review which was published on 26 February 2020.

The OECD uses this framework to provide tailored support to individual countries and education systems to analyse and support the development and implementation of education policies. This methodology has been used by the OECD in previous reviews, and set a very clear framework for their work in Scotland.

The OECD were clear that it was not feasible for them to consider more information than they specifically requested, nor was the purpose of the Review to generate new written submissions or replace what would otherwise be a national consultation. They advised that should any additional information be required at a later date, they would request this.

In terms of the OECD’s approach to evidence gathering on this Review, the OECD established a team of core OECD staff and international experts with experience in curriculum and assessment implementation. The process included:

• A comprehensive desk-based analysis of policy documents, evidence and research on CfE implementation, which included, amongst other documents, the initial evidence base provided by the Scottish Government in July 2020, papers published as part of the Education & Skills Committee’s Inquiry on Subject Choice and published academic articles and research.
• Compilation of information from key stakeholders’ websites and think tank publications.
• A series of interviews and virtual school visits plus focus groups to gather primary data. These included discussions with the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Skills Committee, Scottish Government officials, national agencies, local government representatives, college and university bodies, employer groups, academics, teachers and head teachers, parents, young people, Gaelic and subject specific interest groups, and members of Scotland’s education governance groups.

This represented a significant and comprehensive amount of documentation, with many different perspectives informing the review.

Education Scotland’s scrutiny programme includes inspection of special schools and units within mainstream schools which provide specialist provision, including for those with autism. During all school inspections, HM Inspectors of Education evaluate the quality of provision for children, including those with additional support needs. Units within mainstream schools, standalone special schools and independent special schools are inspected by HM Inspectors of Education with specialist knowledge and experience.

HM Inspectors also focus on how well a school is performing, the impact it is having on improving outcomes for children and young people and the capacity for continuous improvement. This includes consideration of the outcomes for those learners requiring additional support. HM Inspectors take into account the context and nature of the school, its children and young people and their needs.

HM Inspectors use a set of standards to evaluate and report on quality and improvement in Scottish education. When inspecting schools HM Inspectors of Education use a selection of quality indicators from the quality framework ‘How good is our school?’ (4th edition) (2015). During inspection, HM Inspectors of Education focus on children’s and young people’s learning experiences within and beyond the classroom; their achievements, and how the school is ensuring these are of the highest possible quality. This includes those children and young people with additional support needs. HM Inspectors of Education observe learning first hand and discuss learning with learners and staff. This includes specialist support staff who provide individual or group support to learners requiring additional support for learning.

HM Inspectors of Education also seek the views of a wide range of stakeholders, including parents, staff, learners, and partners, through online questionnaires and focus group discussions. There are opportunities for stakeholders to comment on the quality of support provided. Questionnaires are adapted and distributed in different forms to enable all learners to access and complete these. In addition, HM Inspectors also engage in direct conversation with learners to discuss their views and experiences.

HM Inspectors of Education publish a report of their findings in the format of a letter for parents and a more detailed document outlining the findings in a Summarised Inspection Findings document. Both these documents and the inspection questionnaire summaries are published on Education Scotland’s website.

Housing to 2040 is Scotland’s first ever long-term national housing strategy and makes clear our ambition to deliver 100,000 affordable homes by 2031-32, 70% of which will be for Social Rent.

Local authorities as the statutory housing authority are responsible for assessing housing requirements in their area and setting out their plans to meet these requirements as part of their Local Housing Strategy and Strategic Housing Investment Plan.

Asylum is a matter reserved to the UK Parliament, and the Scottish Government does not hold data on individuals seeking asylum who are living in Scotland. The latest Home Office quarterly statistics recorded 3,904 people in section 95 asylum support in Scotland as at 31 March 2021, including 122 who were receiving subsistence only. There is no geographical breakdown in the statistics of the number of people in receipt of section 98 or section 4 support. Home Office data is available on the UK Government website at sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets"> https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets .

Scottish Government expect Local Public Bodies to engage inclusively with autistic people about decisions that affect them. However, it is the decision of Local Authorities on what engagement should take place and how this is monitored.

While Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland it is for local Health & Social Care Partnerships to assess local need and arrange support services, as mandated under statute in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act. Local Authorities are distinct corporate bodies whose powers are set out in statute and as such are entirely separate from the Scottish Government.

Local suicide prevention partnerships are at different stages of developing action plans following the publication in April 2021 of the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group (NSPLG) guidance ( https://www.cosla.gov.uk/about-cosla/our-teams/health-and-social-care/local-area-suicide-prevention-action-plan-guidance ). The guidance sets out advice on developing appropriate governance, engaging with those who have lived experience, undertaking a local needs assessment and developing outcomes which would inform an action plan.

Some local partnerships already have established plans in place, whilst others are at an earlier stage of developing plans in line with the guidance. Many have increased the priority given to mental health and suicide prevention over the course of the pandemic.

As set out in response to S6W-01462 on 6 August 2021, to support local partnerships there is ongoing engagement between the NSPLG’s delivery lead on local suicide prevention action planning and local suicide prevention leads. This supports the development and continuous improvement of suicide prevention plans - through advice, support and sharing of good practice. It also ensures there is appropriate alignment and learning between national and local plans. Whilst responsibility for local planning and delivery rests with local partnerships, NSPLG will review progress on the development of local suicide prevention action plans across Scotland in April 2022.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The dental sector has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Pre-COVID levels of patient volume are currently not achievable within the current framework of infection, protection and control (IPC) measures.

The Scottish Government has recently announced a 50 per cent increase in free PPE to dental practices and new funding of £5m to support improved ventilation facilities in dental surgeries. Both these measures are intending to increase the productivity of practices, enabling them to see more patients, within the current set of IPC constraints.

We can also confirm that we are working closely with UK partners as part of the review of IPC Guidance as we emerge from this pandemic. The intention is to ensure that as soon as it is safe to do so dental services can resume normal levels of activity.

In February 2021, the then Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, wrote to the Chief Operating Officer of Mears Housing Management about issues that had been raised with her about the mother and baby unit. She asked that no new women be transferred to the unit until there had been further engagement with local partners on its operation and concerns were addressed. In June 2021, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government wrote to Mears Group about issues raised with the suitability of the accommodation provided and asked for information about how they are addressing them. On both occasions we received a response from Mears Group setting out measures they have taken.

Officials from Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and Mears Group sit on the Asylum Regional Partnership Board and the Delivery and Procurement Group, which support collaborative working on asylum accommodation and support in Glasgow.

While the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, it is for the regional health & social care partnerships to determine the level of services that are required to meet local needs and to arrange an appropriate and suitable range of services to meet these local needs, as mandated under statute in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act.

Local Authorities are distinct corporate bodies whose powers are set out in statute and as such are entirely separate from the Scottish Government, however it is the expectation of the Scottish Government that Local Public Bodies will operate their own autism strategies which will involve engaging with Autistic people in relation to decisions that affect them in an accessible way.

a) This is not monitored nationally.

b) This is a matter for local public bodies. The information requested is not held centrally.

While the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, it is for the regional health & social care partnerships to determine the level of services that are required to meet local needs and to arrange an appropriate and suitable range of services to meet these local needs, as mandated under statute in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act.

Local Authorities are distinct corporate bodies whose powers are set out in statute and as such are entirely separate from the Scottish Government, however it is the expectation of the Scottish Government that Local Public Bodies will engage with Autistic people and children, including their families where appropriate, in relation to decisions regarding the allocation of funding for autism services.

Scottish Government decisions on national funding in relation to the autism strategy, are taken in consultation with key stakeholders including autistic people through our national strategy leadership arrangements.