Official Report 932KB pdf
The next item of business is a statement by Jenny Gilruth on the 2025 national improvement framework and long-term strategy for Scottish education.
14:18
I welcome the opportunity to update the Parliament on the Government’s strategy for improvement in Scottish education, which is published today in the 2025 national improvement framework. I intend to return to the chamber in the new year for further discussion with members on the framework.
I know that each of us in the Parliament cares deeply about improving Scottish education. We hear from our constituents about the challenges in our schools post-Covid and about the invidious impacts of poverty blunting educational interventions before our children have even crossed the school gates. It is therefore welcome news today that the gap between the most disadvantaged and the least disadvantaged learners has narrowed to its lowest-ever level on three of the four key indicators. That shows that our long-term inputs, such as the Scottish attainment challenge, are delivering improved outcomes for our children. I pay tribute to the hard work of our children and young people and the teachers who care for them every day, and I note the positive outcomes that we can see in this year’s achievement of curriculum for excellence levels—ACEL—data, which show significant improvement across the board.
Indeed, over the past year, the proportion of primary pupils who are achieving expected levels has increased for all stages. The proportions of secondary 3 pupils who are achieving third level or better—including fourth level—have increased and are at record levels. That is a significant achievement and a clear indication that the work introduced by the Scottish National Party Government is supporting better outcomes for our young people.
The ACEL data shows good, solid progress, and we are determined to build on that. We still have more to do to ensure that all young people fulfil their potential. The data shows variation in outcomes across different parts of the country, which must be addressed. That challenge will be the focus of a joint education assurance board that we are establishing with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to drive improvement across the education system. To that end, I welcome the agreement from COSLA to that partnership approach, which will strengthen our ability to work together to close the poverty-related attainment gap.
Of course, improvement can be delivered only with the necessary people and resources. That is why the Government believes that teacher numbers are pivotal in closing the poverty-related attainment gap. No parent, pupil, educationalist or political party in Scotland would argue that educational improvement can be advanced with fewer teachers in our schools. I am therefore pleased—particularly when the pupil roll in Scotland has dropped by 3,100 in the past year—that our overall pupil teacher ratio has remained relatively stable, at 13.3, and is by far the lowest in the United Kingdom. However, I am disappointed that teacher numbers have reduced in the past 12 months, despite the additionality of the £145.5 million that the Scottish Government provided.
Half of Scotland’s councils managed to increase, maintain or come close to maintaining teacher numbers. I put on record my thanks to those authorities. I am pleased that, in the budget, the Government has continued to recognise the importance of teacher numbers, by uplifting the £145.5 million to maintain teacher numbers by £41 million, which provides additionality and more support for councils. We are also providing councils with an additional £28 million to address additional support needs in our schools, which is to be used to employ more specialist staff, such as ASN teachers, to support children and young people with additional needs. Through the budget settlement, we are offering Scotland’s councils an extra £69 million, which will see local government and the Scottish Government commit to working together to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels next year. I am pleased that COSLA leaders have responded positively to that offer.
Those additional resources come on top of the real-terms increase in local authority budgets that the Scottish budget delivers. That budget will also see continued investment in the £1 billion Scottish attainment challenge, including the pupil equity fund, which flows directly to our headteachers and empowers them to take the decisions that they see fit to support the young people who are in their care.
Other elements of the agreement that we have reached with local government depend—to an important degree—on having sufficient teachers in post. They are the freezing and protection of current learning hours and the progression of reduced class contact time. On class contact time, I want us to rapidly make a joint proposal to the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers to make progress at pace. Creating the necessary time for Scotland’s teachers to engage with education reform has never been more important, and I know that the teaching profession is responding to an increasing workload, post-pandemic.
Medium-term and long-term joint workforce planning will also take into account the importance of responding to such issues, including different local needs. I confirm to the chamber today that, as a result of the agreement with COSLA, the Scottish Government will now issue the £145.5 million to local government in full this financial year.
I recognise that persistent and stubborn challenges remain in our education system in relation to teacher employment. Those challenges are not new—I raised that issue in my first speech in the chamber back in 2016, which was predicated on my experiences as a faculty head and those of my peers. Like members across the chamber, I have been concerned about reports of new teachers struggling to find permanent roles. When I recently met representatives of the Scottish Teachers for Permanence group, we discussed a range of issues regarding the ability of some teachers to secure permanent employment. We know that fewer permanent posts are available for teachers post-pandemic, which is causing distress and anguish to many teachers—particularly those who are post-probation. The allocation of an additional £69 million will therefore help local authorities to provide greater job security, because they will have the ability to offer more permanent posts.
However, I must also reflect on the Government’s responsibility towards sustained teacher employment. I am particularly mindful of the £40 million of direct investment that we make every year in fully funding the costs that are associated with the probationer scheme. That is why I can announce that we will work with partners to ensure that the teacher induction scheme meets the needs of the system.
In addition to the ACEL data, there has been further improvement with regard to the increase in school attendance. Similarly, it is welcome to see the reduction in persistent absence—particularly given the links between poverty and disadvantage and poor school attendance.
On the ground, the Government’s interventions are making a real difference, whether that is through the virtual school headteachers programme or via initiatives such as breakfast clubs, which support attendance and children’s wellbeing. The draft budget proposes a new initiative of bright start breakfasts, which will expand access to breakfast clubs in primary schools across Scotland and provide thousands of children in low-income communities with a healthy breakfast at the start of the school day, alongside an early drop-off for working parents.
I want to take further measures to build on that improving picture. We will launch a national marketing campaign from next year, working with partners—including parents—to support our young people to return to, engage with and benefit from their learning.
Members will recognise that there is a further increase in the number of young people who are reported as having an additional support need. The draft budget makes provision for an additional £28 million to flow to Scotland’s councils, which supplements the record £926 million that was spent in the past financial year. The updated additional support for learning review action plan, which was published last month, further commits the Government and local authorities to improve ASN support across the country for Scotland’s young people. Funding is also being provided to support national initiatives that will help to recruit and train more additional support for learning teachers. It is vital that every child and young person with an additional support need, including those with complex needs, gets the support that they need to reach their potential.
I know that every member in the chamber shares that sentiment with me, and I have listened intently to the stories that have been shared by families who need the Government and Scotland’s councils to do more. I look forward to engaging further with parents and teachers on that crucial issue at the Educational Institute of Scotland’s stand up for ASN event, which is being held in the Parliament this evening.
The data that has been published today demonstrates that our education system continues to recover from the damaging effects of the pandemic, but we must remain focused on further improvement. To that end, the 2025 national improvement framework has been updated to provide clarity and focus in our work on improving Scottish education. The framework sets out seven strategic outcomes, the delivery of which will make a significant difference to our children and young people. We—national Government, local government, schools, teachers and parents—all have a role to play in delivering the improvements that we want to see. That message came through strongly in my recent discussions with headteachers across Scotland—our schools cannot do this on their own.
The national improvement framework sets out that, in the short term, the focus will continue to be on our immediate priorities of ABC—attendance and attainment, behaviour and relationships, and the curriculum. Those priorities have fed into and informed our longer-term priorities, as set out in the new strategy. They include the Education (Scotland) Bill; the curriculum improvement cycle, which is already under way and will ensure that our curriculum supports high-quality learning and teaching; and improving support for children with additional support needs through the ASL action plan.
I thank the Education, Children and Young People Committee for its stage 1 report on the Education (Scotland) Bill in relation to education reform and for its support for the general principles of the bill. I am pleased that, in publishing the refreshed NIF today, we have fulfilled one of the committee’s key requests, which was to provide an updated long-term vision for improvement in Scottish education.
The data that has been published today provides a detailed and focused snapshot of progress across a range of issues. The Scottish Government, working with our partners, is taking detailed and specific actions to build on that progress to improve outcomes for our children and young people. I will continue to inform that work by listening to the education profession and building on our recent national events with secondary headteachers by holding similar sessions with primary heads across the country. It is only by listening to those at the chalkface that we can hope to drive the improvements that are needed to support Scotland’s schools and her young people.
The narrowing of the attainment gap is welcome, and we are determined to build on that progress. Education must transform lives, because we know that for too many, their opportunities in life are determined before they arrive in our schools. I am acutely aware of the pressures facing our pupils, families and teachers across Scotland. Post-pandemic, they are responding to greater need than ever before, with our schools being forced to fill the gaps where the United Kingdom welfare state has failed. The presence of poverty in our schools, from food banks to clothing stations, represents a direct cause-and-effect of austerity.
The Scottish Government is acting to end child poverty. Our schools have a vital role to play in that, but they cannot do it alone. That is why a partnership approach is needed, in particular with Scotland’s councils, but also politically. It is in that spirit that I urge all members in the chamber to work with us to deliver the improvements that we all want to see for the benefit of Scotland’s future.
The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement. I intend to allow about 20 minutes for questions, after which we will move on to the next item of business. I would be grateful if members who wish to put a question would press their request-to-speak buttons.
I thank the cabinet secretary for providing advance sight of her statement. It is interesting that the statement was scheduled to take place today, after the publication of some shocking statistics that show that the number of teachers in Scotland has gone down by 621 and that one in three pupils are persistently absent from our schools.
The issue that I want to ask the cabinet secretary about today is literacy. Improving literacy levels in primary and secondary education must be our number 1 priority, and the national improvement framework must embed that if we want to improve literacy outcomes for all our children. We need to see improvements in that regard.
Will ministers take on board the calls to reintroduce the Scottish survey of literacy and numeracy? That would benchmark the ABC work that the cabinet secretary outlined in her statement, and it would enable us to know whether children are ready before primary and secondary school. We have seen reductions in literacy across Scotland, and we need to acknowledge that in order to move forward.
Mr Briggs and I have discussed literacy in the chamber in recent weeks, and I will come on to that momentarily.
On teacher numbers, I recognise the challenge. I hope that the member will recognise the additional support that the Government is providing by uplifting the £145.5 million to maintain teacher numbers by £41 million. We are also providing an additional £28 million directly to local authorities to help them to employ specialists such as ASN teachers, because we recognise the importance of having such teachers in our schools. I do not think that anyone in the chamber would disagree with that.
It is hugely important that we work to support our local authorities, and I am very pleased that we have been able to reach an agreement with COSLA.
The member mentioned the Scottish survey of literacy and numeracy, which was replaced by the ACEL data. I am more than happy to engage with him on that. However, my recollection, which is from when I was last in a classroom, is that the SSLN was a survey and was often not a data set that classroom teachers could engage with. The ACEL data arguably provides a much richer data set, and it is also predicated on teacher judgment, which is hugely important.
The ACEL data is showing us progress in relation to improvement, a narrowing gap and record attainment throughout the system. We are starting to see real progress because of the Government’s inputs. I am happy to work with Mr Briggs on the issue, and I committed to discussing the topic in the chamber with him in the very near future.
I thank the cabinet secretary for providing advance sight of her statement. However, with no specifics on a change of direction and little reflection on the reality that schools face today, it is more of the same. It is not a strategy, and it is not long term. Indeed, having waited, we have been told to wait again for more detail in the new year.
The cabinet secretary has listed data—she can list the data that she chooses—but the reality is, as she noted in her statement, that the problems that schools face are long standing. Indeed, they date back to 2016, when the current First Minister was the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, and they are deep rooted. Pupil absence is stubbornly high; resource for pupils with ASN has not kept pace with need; probationary teachers cannot get work; the pupil teacher ratio in secondary schools is at its highest level since 2004; the Government has never met targets on class sizes; and local government is pulled from pillar to post.
Everything is going in the wrong direction, and pupils, parents, teachers and staff know it. Does the cabinet secretary honestly think that it is acceptable to come to the chamber on a promise of a strategy but to deliver no detail? Will she finally set out when the Government will deliver on the Parliament’s will and publish a long-term strategy for the workforce in education?
Ms Duncan-Glancy raises a variety of points, all of which I will try to cover, although I might not be able to do so.
The member alluded to my coming to the chamber today without a plan. I hope that she has read, or at least taken cognisance of, the national improvement framework, which was published today, which sets out that strategic plan.
The member also asked about workforce planning. That has been agreed to as part of our commitment to work with local authorities. I hope that the member recognises the additional support that this Government is providing to local authorities to help them to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels and the additional support that we are providing them with for ASN.
The member mentioned the historical challenges. However, despite some of the challenges of the past year, it is still the case that, today, we have more than 2,500 more teachers in Scotland’s schools than we did back in 2014. I hope that the member recognises that. I also note the context for some of the falls and reductions: in the past year, we have seen the pupil roll reduce by 3,100.
Notwithstanding that, it is welcome news that we have been able to reach a joint agreement with local authorities on educational improvement. That is what the national improvement framework is all about. I look forward to engaging with the member on any suggestions that she might have to that end, because I know that she is absolutely focused on delivering the necessary improvements for our young people.
I appreciate that the cabinet secretary mentioned this in her statement, but can she tell me in more detail how the latest sets of ACEL statistics compare with last year’s figures?
As the member has alluded, literacy and numeracy levels are at a record high under this Government. The 2023-24 ACEL data shows significant improvement across the board, which I hope that members will welcome. The proportion of primary pupils who are achieving expected levels has grown to 74 per cent for literacy and 80.3 per cent for numeracy, which is the highest level on record.
In our secondary schools, the proportion of pupils who are achieving third level or better has grown to 88.3 per cent in literacy and 90.3 per cent in numeracy, which is the highest-ever level to date. The attainment gap for literacy between the most and the least disadvantaged children in primary and secondary school has narrowed to its lowest ever.
I am sure that all members will join me in welcoming that news and thanking teachers and schools for all their hard work in ensuring that progress thus far. We have much more to do, but we should celebrate that success and improvement today.
Outcomes for care-experienced children are conspicuous by their absence from the statement, but that is hardly surprising, given the issues surrounding data collection that I have mentioned to the cabinet secretary in previous exchanges.
In her statement, the cabinet secretary welcomed the small decrease in persistent absence compared with 2023. However, the rate of persistent absence remains substantially higher than it was between 2010 and 2021, when it was around 20 per cent. In secondary school, more than 40 per cent of pupils are missing more than 10 per cent of the school year. Although breakfasts and additional ASN teachers are welcome, what more does the cabinet secretary intend to do, given that we are looking at concerning neurodivergency issues behind the statistic?
We have discussed the role of the virtual headteacher programme in the chamber previously. Given the overlap here, I should put on the record the fact that I am recused from the Promise. However, more broadly, we are looking to expand the virtual headteacher network, because that is delivering real results in our schools, particularly in relation to care-experienced young people.
My second point is a broader one. The issues relating to persistent non-attendance since the pandemic are not unique to Scotland. I am sure that the member has engaged with the Children’s Commissioner for England’s publication, which sets out some of the challenges that they are facing down south with that exact issue.
My third point relates to the measurement of persistent absence. Last year, I recognised some of the challenges of non-attendance, and we looked with officials at how we could gather better data. We inserted a new data set on persistent absence last year, so it is welcome that we now have that data, which was not previously gathered at national level.
The member alluded to some of the work on breakfast clubs. I was at a school in the Clackmannanshire Council area only yesterday, and I saw the difference that having a breakfast club has made to attendance in that school. I spoke to the mums about the difference that it makes to their working day.
Such interventions, whether we are talking about the virtual headteacher programme or the free breakfast initiative, which is part of the draft budget, are making a difference on the ground.
The last point that I will make—forgive me, Presiding Officer; I am mindful of the time—is that I have asked the chief inspector to include measurements of persistent absence in every school inspection report. That is hugely important to driving improvement, which is exactly what the national improvement framework is all about.
How does the Scottish Government’s announcement of bright start breakfasts build on the current provision of breakfasts in Scotland?
It is worth reminding members that almost half of primary and special schools all over Scotland are already providing breakfast at the start of the school day. However, our £3 million investment will enable a parallel approach—to evaluate what is already happening alongside providing support to expand access to free breakfast across Scotland, and to deliver thousands of new free breakfast places for primary school-age children. That approach is fundamental to understanding the benefit of the different delivery models that already exist and it will inform our future policy. It forms part of our on-going work to build a system of school-age childcare in Scotland, although I would make the link that I made in response to the previous question about the provision of free breakfasts helping to improve attendance.
In her statement, the cabinet secretary talked about the work that was introduced by the SNP Government to support better outcomes.
However, annex A of the 2023 national improvement plan, which lists on-going and completed activities, shows that just 41 out of 116 action points are completed, and 65 are still on-going.
Will the new NIF result in a greater success rate?
It is fair to say that many of those action points have been encapsulated in the updated and refreshed NIF, the point of which is to understand, post-pandemic, where we are at with our schools. That is exactly why the plan references some of the challenges that the member and I have regularly debated, whether those relate to attendance, attainment or behaviour.
We are taking forward actions further to the previous NIF, and we have updated and refreshed our approach, as has been set out and published today.
How will the plan address rural education challenges such as teacher recruitment and ensure that young people in rural areas have the same opportunities as young people in other areas?
I am very aware that remote and rural councils face additional challenges in attracting teachers to work in different parts of the country. Of course, simply training more teachers will not fix that issue if people want to live and work in urban areas. I take concerns about teacher recruitment and retention very seriously, and I have already asked the strategic board for teacher education to develop advice on how we can better understand and tackle those challenges. I am looking for creative solutions and I am working with our local authority partners, many of which know their schools and local requirements. I am keen that we build on our agreement with local authorities to develop better workforce planning and support their needs.
For example, we are working with universities to target talented undergraduates who may not have previously considered teaching, to highlight the benefits that teaching offers, especially in rural areas, and to provide opportunities to spend time in class supporting pupils. One reason why the additional funding for additional support needs is so important is that it might present opportunities to some who may train to be classroom teachers.
The cabinet secretary rightly mentioned that teachers are struggling with unsustainable workload, but teachers would also say that they are not seeing action by national or local government to reduce it. She will be aware that, about a year ago, I submitted a report to the Government that was commissioned by the Scottish Greens and produced by Professor Mark Priestley and Dr Joseph Smith of the University of Stirling, which focuses on eliminating bureaucracy to tackle teacher workload. Will the cabinet secretary commit to responding to that report and working with me on steps that we can take that are immediate and at no cost to reduce teacher workload through eliminating the unnecessary administration that has built up around the curriculum?
I know that Mr Greer cares deeply about that area. He will recognise that, from my perspective, workload will look different in different parts of the country and that it will also be dependent on the role that a teacher has in the school context. However, I think that the member’s point relates to reducing class contact time. I hope that he will welcome today’s commitment from the Scottish Government and COSLA to work together to provide a meaningful offer in relation to reducing class contact time.
I recognise that, post-pandemic, our schools are responding to far greater pressures than any of us might have imagined five years ago. It is really important, and it is incumbent on local authorities and on Government, to work with our teaching and trade union partners to alleviate some of the pressure. Reducing the class contact commitment is key to that, but I am more than happy to meet the member to discuss the wider work that he has undertaken.
I am pleased that the Scottish Government is providing an additional £28 million to address pupils’ additional support needs. Given the seemingly exponential increase in the number of children who are presenting with additional support needs and issues such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and given the time that it takes to recruit, train and deploy staff who are qualified to assist pupils, how are schools currently managing the challenges that are associated with that increasing demand?
Our increasing ASN pupil population reflects the inclusive approach of Scottish education. Additional needs in schools are increasingly being recognised by education authorities, which is certainly to be welcomed. That was a key positive that came from the national discussion report that was published last year. We are, however, aware that the growth in ASN presents challenges across the system. That is why, as the member has alluded to, the budget offers a package of measures worth an estimated £29 million, including measures to support the recruitment and retention of the ASN workforce. We know that, in the financial year 2022-23, spending on ASN by education authorities reached a record high of £926 million. We have also continued to invest £15 million per year since 2019-20 and to provide more than £11 million to directly support pupils with complex additional support needs and to support services for children and families.
For months, the education secretary has issued dark threats to local authorities that dare to reduce teacher numbers. Today, we find that the number of teachers is down by 621, but she has released every penny of the £145 million. In fact, she is going to give local authorities more next year. Will this mark an end to the idle threats, and will there be a more respectful relationship with local authorities in future years?
I thank Mr Rennie for the joy that he has brought to the chamber. I want to work with our local authority partners in a spirit of collaboration and partnership. I see him shaking his head at me from a far-away location. I want to work with our local authority partners, because that is what will deliver improved outcomes for our children and young people.
I thought that Mr Rennie would have welcomed the release of the funding that he was advocating that I release only weeks ago. The release of that funding was contingent on a shared agreement with local authorities on reducing class contact time—which I thought he supported—and on our commitment to establishing an educational assurance board with local authorities.
I am surprised that Mr Rennie has not welcomed the collaborative approach that I have set out today. I will, of course, continue to work collaboratively with him on Scottish education.
The cabinet secretary’s statement sets out the Government’s ambitions and plans for the future of Scotland’s education system, but is it not the case that all the budget investments in education can reach schools and pupils only if the budget is respectfully supported by other parties across the chamber?
The 2025-26 Scottish budget outlines wide-ranging investment to deliver progress on our national mission to eradicate child poverty. Education is absolutely central to that mission, which is why the education budget has increased by about 3 per cent in real terms compared with the 2024-25 budget. As I said in my statement, the budget provides local government with an additional £41 million to support extra teachers—that is on top of the £145.5 million that I have confirmed that I will release today—an additional £28 million for additional support needs and £37 million to continue our expansion of free school meals to primary 6 and 7 pupils in receipt of the Scottish child payment.
The member is correct in saying that all that depends on parties across the chamber voting for the budget. The people of Scotland will expect their representatives to consider and prioritise children and our most vulnerable, which is what the draft budget does.
The cabinet secretary was right to refer in her statement to “persistent and stubborn challenges”. In relation to the NIF, my question is about the environment for learning in Scotland’s schools. Last month, the GMB reported 45,000 attacks on teachers and other school staff—200 assaults a day. It rightly described the situation as “a national emergency”. The Scottish Conservatives have been raising the issue for years, and I am sorry to say that the cabinet secretary has not done enough. What is in the NIF or her strategy that will make schools safe and restore order to classrooms?
The member and I have debated behaviour in Scotland’s schools on a number of occasions. I hope that he will recognise some of the progress that we have made through the national behaviour in schools action plan, which was published at the start of the summer term. It includes a joint commitment between the Scottish Government and local authorities to improve behaviour in our schools. I am sure that he also welcomed the additional funding that I confirmed last year to support teachers in our schools.
Fundamentally, the member asked what improvements the Government is bringing forward. My view is that teachers matter in our schools, which is why, for good reason, the Government has protected funding for teacher numbers. We are now increasing the funding that is available to local authorities and increasing the funding for ASN. I hope that the member will recognise that all of that funding will help with behaviour and relationships.
Such is the chronic shortage of teaching staff in Nairn academy that it has had to close for many classes for many days. That is in danger of becoming not an occasional but an endemic problem in rural Scotland. The school and the authorities are obviously trying to fill the vacancies, but will the cabinet secretary consider truly creative measures to fix the situation, such as allowing supply staff who can choose where they wish to work? If they live in Inverness, they are not likely to go to Nairn because they get no travel expenses. Why would they go to a rural school?
For 25 years, constituents who have come from England and who are experienced teachers have been telling me that it is a bureaucratic nightmare to be able to teach in Scotland. Is it not time that the GDC was told by the elected people to allow qualified and excellent teachers from other parts of the world, especially England, to teach our children here?
I invite you to respond on the issues raised in your statement, cabinet secretary.
I think that the member is referring to the GTCS—the General Teaching Council for Scotland.
He may know that, when I started my teaching career, I ticked the box to go anywhere and I went to Elgin high school for a year. The preference waiver scheme still exists, and the Government resources it every year. Post-pandemic, however, we have seen that fewer teachers are opting to tick that box. We therefore need to work with local authorities such as Highland Council on creative solutions.
I hope that the member heard from my statement today that I am very open to those measures. I am, and have been, working with Aberdeenshire Council to consider how we might be able to support it in relation to some of the challenges that it is facing. I look forward to continuing those discussions with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities as part of our new commitment to working with it to support improvement for our young people and in relation to workforce planning.
There will be a brief pause before we move on to the next item of business.
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