Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4O-00924

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive when the ICT in Education Programme Board last met and what was discussed.

Question reference: S4W-06319

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive in how many schools S2 pupils who will be in S3 in 2012-13 will choose their S3 subjects in that year.

Question reference: S4W-06298

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W–06071 by Michael Russell on 19 March 2012, on what basis it decided that it would be commercially sensitive to disclose the names of the people on the ICT in Education Programme Board.

Question reference: S4W-06323

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what details it can provide of the new support package that Education Scotland will provide for local authorities.

Question reference: S4W-06316

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money has been allocated to schools that need additional help to implement the Curriculum for Excellence.

Question reference: S4W-06318

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning and the Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland's Languages have telephoned individual parents and parent-teacher associations across Scotland to discuss the implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence.

Question reference: S4W-06324

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what details it can provide of the programme of support that is being provided by Education Scotland and the Scottish Qualifications Authority to local authorities to assist them in all aspects of the Curriculum for Excellence.

Education Scotland, through its District Inspector and Area Advisor networks, maintains regular discussions with local authorities over delivery of Curriculum for Excellence. Education Scotland’s audit of the state of readiness of secondary schools will inform further tailored support for individual schools or departments where required.

In addition to the unprecedented involvement of practitioners in the development of the new qualifications, an SQA support programme will be delivered to ensure that every Principal Subject Teacher can attend relevant CPD events. This supplements the existing programme of activities that includes:

Publication of all draft documents to allow all practitioners to feed in to developments from January 2011 through to April 2012

Updated version of the National Assessment Resource released, enabling users to add assessment exemplars

Eight SQA/Education Scotland curriculum events attended by over 1000 practitioners in November/ December 2011

Support from the SQA CfE Liaison Team

Focussed, practical advice and guidance from Education Scotland to support teachers in the delivery of some courses at National 4 and 5 where there are aspects of significant changes in April 2012

National Implementation Support events in May and Autumn 2012.

Course and Unit Assessment support materials available well in advance of the implementation of the new qualifications in 2013-14.

Question reference: S4W-06317

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning and the Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland's Languages have met parent groups and their representatives to discuss the implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence in the last two years and which groups they have met.

Education Ministers are in regular contact with parent groups and their representatives. These have included parents and Parent Councils, the National Parent Forum of Scotland, (NPFS), the SMPA (Scottish Muslim Parents Association Scotland), Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure in Scotland (BEMIS), Carers Action Midlothian, Children in Scotland, Families Outside, For Scotland’s Disabled Children, Kindred, Parenting Across Scotland (PAS), Scottish Traveller Education Programme (STEP) and SWIIS Foster Care (Scotland).

Question reference: S4W-06322

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive where the 360 support activities that took place in 2010-11 with regard to the Curriculum for Excellence took place; what the activities were, and how they were delivered.

Education Scotland supported a range of activities including Principal Teacher seminars, school leaders seminars, Quality Improvement Officer seminars, mixed Community Learning Development and school staff seminars.

SQA’s Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Liaison Team also carried out a series of visits to schools, college and local authorities during 2010-11 and continue to do so. This included support for local authority staff, senior managers and subject specialists either within the school or across the LA. In addition, SQA’s CfE Qualifications Development Teams carried out a series of focused subject engagements during 2010-11 with subject specialists and with learners in some instances.

These activities took place across the country.

Question reference: S4W-06321

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many subjects each school is allowing pupils to choose when making their exam choices.