Chamber and committees

Information on teachers funded through thePupil Equity Fund and working in the early learning and childcare sector is not held centrally.

The Pupil Equity Fund was not available until after the September 2016 census so data is only shown for 2017.

Teachers funded through the Attainment Scotland Fund includes those funded through the Attainment Challenge in 2015,2016 and 2017 and those funded through the Pupil Equity Fund in 2017.

Information on the sector of teachers funded through the Attainment Scotland Fund is not available for the 2015 or 2016 statistics.

Information on teachers funded through the Attainment Scotland Fund and working in the early learning and childcare sector is not held centrally.

Robotically assisted surgery for prostatectomy is now available in the 3 regional cancer networks for all suitable patients in NHS Scotland. These robots are based in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. £3m of funding was provided by the Scottish Government, to support the purchase and implementation of these robots.

The Scottish Government was clear in Scotland's Place in Europe that short of full membership of the EU, continued membership of the European Single Market is the best solution for both Scotland and the UK as a whole. In such a scenario Scotland would have regulatory alignment with the rest of the European Union which would include the rest of the UK.

Scotland’s Place in Europe also proposed a differentiated solution for Scotland, should the UK Government decide to press ahead with a hard Brexit. In those circumstances Scotland would maintain membership of the European Single Market, and customs free trade with the UK, alongside a UK wide approach to ensuring regulatory compatibility.

The Scottish Government was pleased to publish on 10 November, the comprehensive Inpatient Needs Assessment Report which sets out the need for a specialist inpatient service for those with learning disability and/or autism and mental health conditions. We are happy to accept, in principle, the report’s main recommendation that a national LD CAMHS inpatient unit for Scotland should be established, subject to initial feasibility and planning processes. This is a significant step forward in ensuring that children and young people with learning disabilities are able to access appropriate highly specialist inpatient support in Scotland.

The learning disability and autism inpatient unit is currently in the early planning stages and being taken forward by NHS NSS. A Short Life Working Group (SLWG) has been established to: understand current expenditure, benchmark against NHS England and develop a service specification and criteria for a new service. The SLWG will then report back to the National Planning Forum with a proposal in March 2018.

Allowing for the nature of work that will be involved, the Scottish Government anticipates that development of a Code of practice would take until September 2018 at the earliest. In addition, time will need to be allowed for finalisation of the Data Protection Bill currently going through the Westminster Parliament, and for all bodies to digest the new GDPR that will commence in May 2018. This timeframe also considers Parliamentary recess in July 2018.

Education Scotland recruits staff with proven knowledge, skills and experiences in a wide range of additional support needs. The organisation also draws on the expertise of practitioners to join working groups or to undertake specific tasks when required. Due to the detailed nature of the question, the Chief Inspector of Education will write to you with further information.

The Scottish Government has committed to commissioning independent research into the experiences of children, young people, parents, school staff (including support staff), education authorities and their partners in relation to additional support for learning. The findings of the independent research will be used to inform the final version of the guidance on the presumption of mainstreaming, future policy development and reporting on additional support for learning. Where there are research findings which relate to ADHD, these will be taken into account.

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) Act 2004 (as amended) places duties on education authorities to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those with ADHD.

The Supporting Children's Learning Code of Practice explains the duties on education authorities and other agencies to support children and young people's learning, including those with ADHD. The Code has recently been revised and is currently before Parliament. It is expected it will be published by the end of 2017.

In addition, Education Scotland is rolling out Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid Training for Children and Young People to local authorities. This is to train staff within secondary schools communities, increasing their confidence in approaching pupils who they think might be struggling with a mental health problem.

The Scottish Government want all children and young, including those with ADHD, to get the support that they need to reach their full learning potential.

Education authorities and other agencies have duties under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) Act 2004 (as amended) to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils. Education authorities can ask other agencies (including social work services, health boards and skills development Scotland) for help in carrying out their duties under the Act.

Children and young people's needs are met through planning for their learning and support, usually through an individualised educational programme which sets out targets for learning and the support to be provided. For children and young people who have complex or multiple needs which require significant support from education and another agency or agencies a co-ordinated support plan may be required. The purpose of the CSP is to support co-ordinated planning to meet pupils' needs. The plan lasts for up to a year.