Chamber and committees

There are a range of measures through which the impact of the Curriculum for Excellence on the educational outcomes for all children, including those living in poverty, can be assessed. These include the annual Scottish Qualifications Authority exam results and leaver destination data, the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy, and the triennial Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reports. The 2012 PISA study of fifteen year olds showed that Scotland has begun to make progress on reducing the attainment gap.

Through the inspection process, Education Scotland examines the nature and context of each school and considers its pupils' needs. Each inspection is supported by information on the social background and attainment of pupils using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation and linked to comparator schools. Through this they have identified schools and authorities that appear to successfully tackle poverty pressures and they share the information with other schools in similar situations.

During 2013 and early 2014 the Scottish Government developed a strategic approach with the Ministerial Advisory Group on Child Poverty and a full range of stakeholders across Scotland. A number of areas were identified as priorities for future work across a variety of policy areas, including education. There were also widespread calls for more robust reporting of the range of activity contributing to tackling child poverty in Scotland and of the impact of this activity. The refreshed Child Poverty Strategy reflects the importance of these areas to our approach and describes the approach to reporting on relevant activity in the coming years.

The Government is currently developing, with the Ministerial Advisory Group, a measurement framework which will include indicators of relative attainment. This will be reported on annually, the first occasion being as part of the 2014 Annual Report, which will be published in summer 2014.

The independent evaluation report by Edinburgh University in 2009 into the Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) Highland Pathfinder (2006-9) showed improved outcomes for a majority of children, all of whom had complex needs.

There has been no specific assessment of the impact of the GIRFEC approach on educational outcomes for economically disadvantaged households.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-21168 on 30 May 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-21168 on 30 May 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Achieving our Potential: A Framework to tackle poverty and income inequality in Scotland, The Early Years Framework and Equally Well: Report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequality did not in themselves set out to make an impact on the educational outcomes of pupils from economically disadvantaged households. They seek to highlight the potential for education initiatives to improve the wider outcomes of all children and young people, including those from disadvantaged households.

Education Scotland’s Corporate Plan 2013-16 sets out actions which aim to bring a step change in the quality and equity of Scottish education. The strategic objectives and commitment for action over the next three years are focussed on the areas which will have a positive impact on all our learners, including the key educational goal of eradicating inequity in educational outcomes. Under each strategic objective Education Scotland have set out a range of sources of evidence which will be used to judge success. The first annual report will be produced later this year and the corporate plan gives a commitment to publishing a review and summary report by the end of 2016.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government has asked the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which aims to help improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world, to carry out a review of the curriculum in 2015, alongside the Royal Society of Edinburgh Education Committee, to ensure the new curriculum is making a positive impact for all our children and young people.

The ‘Improving Performance to Raise Attainment policy group’ (now known as the Raising Attainment and Governance Unit) is an internal policy unit within the Scottish Government Learning Directorate.

The Scottish Government are taking forward a number of activities to support raising attainment and closing the inequity gap including: the implementation of Teaching Scotland’s Future; establishing a Scottish College for Educational Leadership; encouraging collaboration and continuous self-improvement through our Self-Improving Schools Partnership Programme (led by Education Scotland); the Pathfinder Schools programme; the establishment of literacy and numeracy hubs across Scotland to facilitate sharing of best practice; funding for the Scottish Schools Education Research Centre; and the development of ‘Insight’ which will help local authorities and secondary schools to analyse strengths and areas for improvement. We are also providing accessible information for parents and carers through a refreshed Parentzone website and are working with schools and the third sector to explore effective links and share ideas.

The Scottish Government and its partners at national and local level share a strong commitment to improving the educational outcomes for all children and young people, including those from economically disadvantaged households. This shared commitment influences the conception, design and evaluation of education projects at national and local level, though the precise means by which the impact is assessed will vary from project to project, depending on individual circumstances.

The new Balfour Hospital project is at an early stage.

NHS Orkney will ensure that the new hospital meets the requirement that all new healthcare buildings, where the capital cost is more than £2 million, are to obtain a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Model ‘Excellent’ rating or equivalent ‘target score’. The ‘excellent’ scoring emphasises the minimising of energy demand and consumption in buildings, and includes a mandatory assessment of renewables for each project.

NHS Orkney are keen to fully explore the potential benefits of renewables technologies for the new hospital and plan to undertake a full options appraisal exercise to fully consider the potential benefits of renewables technologies for the new hospital, and which technologies might best realise the benefits. The Scottish Government supports this approach.