Chamber and committees

As stated in my answer S5W-09928, the breakdown of FTE is published by the SFC in the College Statistics 2015-2016 publication. SDS focus on starts as this is how they report their data.

SDS statistics and more information about the Employability Fund, including volume and value of contracts, can be accessed from the SDS website:

http://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/publications-statistics/statistics/?page=1

http://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/for-training-providers/employability-fund/

The Scottish Funding Council will publish SDS Employability Fund Full-time Equivalent (FTE) numbers early next year in its statistical publication College Statistics 2016-17.

I do not expect the outcomes from the Governance Review to place additional administrative burdens on teachers, headteachers or schools as we will ensure streamlined and strengthened support for them. We will free schools to improve learning and teaching and make key decisions in a child’s education and headteachers will have more powers which will be set out in the Headteachers Charter.

As set out in the Next Steps paper, the Scottish Government will consult on a range of changes relating to the duties and powers applied to both head teachers and Parent Councils via the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 ("the 2006 Act").

The amendments will aim to strengthen the duties placed on both head teachers and Parent Councils in relation to a range of matters relating to the life and work of the school. The aim will be to encourage closer collaboration between the head teacher and the Parent Council on school improvement plans and school policies, with a clear role for the Parent Council in informing and guiding plans and policies from the beginning of their development.

The Scottish Government will work with a variety of stakeholder groups in finalising our proposals. This will include the National Parent Forum of Scotland, whose in-depth review of the 2006 Act reported in May 2017. The Review, in particular its section 10.3 “Opportunities to strengthen the legislation on parental involvement”, will help to inform our approach.

The agenda set out in the Education Governance: Next Steps - Empowering Our Teachers, Parents and Communities to deliver Excellence and Equity for our children includes a clear commitment to strengthen parental and community engagement. Schools do not exist in isolation and there are factors outside the school gate that influence a child's outcomes including in the wider community. Therefore improvement planning at school, cluster and regional level should take account of the relevant Community Planning Partnerships enabling schools to strengthen their knowledge of and engagement with the wider community to achieve collective impact. This work will be supported by our commitment that every school will have a teacher or professional who has responsibility for promoting parental, family and community engagement. Complementing these measures, we will take steps to strengthen, modernise and extend the legislation on parental involvement, as detailed in my answer to question S5W-10710 on 30 August 2017. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Headteachers are currently expected to lead school improvement as set out in their national terms and conditions agreed by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers and in the General Teaching Council for Scotland Standards for Headship and Leadership. I am committed to developing a Headteachers Charter and this will ensure that Headteachers are the leaders of learning in their schools, responsible for raising attainment and closing the attainment gap. Since 2013 the Scottish Government has invested significantly in the leadership development of our Headteachers in order to support their crucial role in raising attainment and closing the attainment gap. We have introduced legislation to ensure all Headteachers appointed after August 2020 will have the Standard for Headship and developed the 'Into Headship' programme to allow teachers to demonstrate meeting the Standard. We will continue to work with the profession and Headteacher Associations to ensure Headteachers are supported appropriately as leaders of learning and teaching.

Local Authorities will remain responsible for the employment of headteachers.

The reforms set out in Education Governance: Next Steps - Empowering Our Teachers, Parents and Communities to Deliver Excellence and Equity for Our Children are aligned to the National Improvement Framework drivers and to our commitment to reduce bureaucracy. Any potential future changes to data tracking or evaluation which may arise during the implementation of these reforms will therefore draw on existing data and evidence where available and will be subject to the requirement that they are proportionate and are firmly focussed on improving learning and teaching.

We are committed to working in partnership with local government in the delivery of new Regional Improvement Collaboratives. The detailed arrangements governing the relationship between local authorities and their Regional Improvement Collaborative will be informed by the joint Scottish Government/Local Government Steering Group referred to in my answer to question S5W-10705 on 28 August 2017, and will be further developed in discussion with local government. The arrangements for dispute resolution will be subject to those discussions and to any legislative changes which may emerge from an Education Governance Bill, which we will consult on in the autumn.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-10706 on 28 August 2017. 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

The Scottish Government has established a joint Steering Group with local government to develop proposals to take forward the establishment of new Regional Improvement Collaboratives. The Steering Group's conclusions will inform the detailed role and requirements of new Regional Director/s, and a full job description, application criteria and salary level will be confirmed and advertised as part of the appointment process. As stated previously, we intend to proceed with the recruitment process following the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive of Education Scotland.