Education and Skills
Good afternoon. The next item of business is portfolio questions on education and skills. I invite members who wish to ask a supplementary question to press their request-to-speak button during the relevant question.
College Budgets (North-east)
To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the impact will be of reported reductions to college budgets in the north-east. (S6O-03340)
Despite the United Kingdom Government’s autumn statement delivering a worst-case scenario for Scotland’s finances, we have been able to maintain funding levels and core teaching at Scottish colleges, including those in the north-east. That is indicative of the Government’s commitment to investing in our colleges despite the challenges that have been posed by UK Government austerity.
Despite the largest block grant, in cash terms, in the history of devolution, there has been a real-terms slashing of North East Scotland College’s budget next year, which comes alongside the flat cash settlements of previous years. The college now faces a funding gap of £2.7 million.
Principal Neil Cowie and his team have worked miracles to preserve places and to focus on reducing non-staff costs while they are dealing with the withdrawal of training opportunities following the scrapping of the flexible workforce development fund.
What impacts does the minister think those specific cuts will have on the north-east economy, the just transition and our young people’s futures?
I welcome Liam Kerr’s acknowledgement that the cut—there is a cut, and it was delivered by the budget settlement—is nowhere near the scale that a number of members have suggested would be the case. A good deal of scaremongering has taken place.
I note Neil Cowie’s acknowledgement in The Press and Journal of the honest position that has been arrived at, which is in line with what I said at the outset would happen—that we would deliver the same level of funding as colleges received in the current year. Mr Kerr may sit there and gesture, but that is a fact. I am glad that he has acknowledged that the scale of the cut is not on a par with that which was suggested.
That said, of course this presents challenges for our colleges—I recognise that. However, I do not recall Mr Kerr or any other member of the Parliament coming forward during the budget process with a costed proposal to deliver more money for colleges. I seriously do not remember that.
Can the minister provide an update on the work to ensure that colleges can utilise their assets that become available for disposal to enhance local investment?
As the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills set out at yesterday’s Colleges Scotland conference, we are working hard to support our colleges to invest creatively and with greater certainty. That includes making changes that enable colleges to retain a significant proportion of the proceeds from the sale of an asset such as a building or land and to invest that money locally to improve facilities, college infrastructure and estates. The sector has indicated to me a preference for a 70:30 split in what can be used to support vital local investment and what should continue to be released for wider strategic sectoral needs. That is what we will look to deliver for them.
I can understand why, yesterday, the First Minister felt that he could not face a conference of colleges. Last month, this year’s funding allocations for colleges revealed the latest cut of a £12 million reduction to the student support budget. I am sure that the minister will agree that that funding is crucial for enabling colleges and students to succeed. How does the minister expect colleges to continue supporting students when he is cutting that vital funding?
I am at a loss with that question, because I am not aware of any such cut to student funding support being planned.
Gaelic Officers Scheme
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its approach alongside Bòrd na Gàidhlig to secure the long-term future of the Gaelic officers scheme. (S6O-03341)
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the Gaelic officers scheme for the promotion of Gaelic in local projects that benefit Gaelic communities. For that reason, the Scottish Government provided additional funding over three financial years to support the scheme.
In this exceptionally tight financial climate, the Scottish Government has made available up to £175,000 to ensure immediate support for the Gaelic officers scheme. That will maintain the continuity of employment and the good work that is already being done. As part of that, the Scottish Government has asked Bòrd na Gàidhlig to review the scheme and provide a plan for its operation in 2024-25.
I welcome the cabinet secretary’s intervention in this matter. Clearly, acute financial pressures on Scotland’s budget remain. What can the Scottish Government do to maintain other Gaelic initiatives such as Spòrs Gàidhlig, which seeks to encourage the use of the language through sporting activities? Has the cabinet secretary had discussions with organisations on the long-term sustainability of those initiatives, particularly in the light of the Scottish Languages Bill?
Alasdair Allan is absolutely correct. Funding decisions taken by Governments elsewhere have had a devastating impact on the spending power of the Scottish Government. As the Deputy First Minister noted last month, the spring budget
“failed to deliver the funding that Scotland needs for public services, infrastructure and cost of living measures.”
However, it is in that context that we have protected the Gaelic budget. Indeed, the Scottish Government supports a network of Gaelic organisations, including Bòrd na Gàidhlig. For example, Spòrs Gàidhlig is currently in receipt of funding from Bòrd na Gàidhlig. In addition, last year, the Scottish Government provided direct funding of £45,000 to Spòrs Gàidhlig.
We will continue to engage with Gaelic organisations that support young people outside the classroom. As Alasdair Allan knows, I look forward to working with him to that end.
Lecturers (Industrial Dispute)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to help resolve the industrial dispute by lecturers. (S6O-03342)
I meet campus unions biannually and representatives of the sector in several forums regularly. Although I can—and should—have no direct role in those negotiations, I have made it clear that I expect college management and unions to work together to reach a settlement that is affordable and fair for workers and that minimises disruption for students. I am aware that, at formal meetings of the National Joint Negotiation Committee in March, both sides agreed to continue with informal discussions to seek a resolution to the dispute. I am pleased that such on-going dialogue continues, and I encourage both sides to keep talking as they work to break the impasse.
Lecturers have been taking action short of strike action since February. Despite that action being lawful, colleges have been threatening to deduct up to 100 per cent of lecturers’ pay, even when they attend work as normal. Does the minister agree that that is completely unacceptable?
I reiterate that we would all want the dispute to be settled and the heat to be taken out of the current situation. My understanding is that all the colleges took legal advice, which said that they were within their rights to consider such action. I understand, too, that the Educational Institute of Scotland Further Education Lecturers Association has acknowledged that in the advice that it has given its own members. However, let us be honest: we would all rather that agreement was found and that such action was avoided.
How is the Scottish Government ensuring that fair work principles are embedded throughout the further education sector?
In the letter of guidance that the Government issued to the Scottish Funding Council on 29 March, I set out that implementation of fair work first principles must be the guiding criterion for promoting fairer work practices for staff in the college sector. The Government expects the Scottish Funding Council to continue monitoring adherence across the sector.
To further support fair work in the college sector, the Government recently introduced legislation to add trade union nominees to college boards, which will improve trade union recognition and confidence in college governance. Not every college has yet arrived at that position. I encourage those colleges and the trade unions to work actively to achieve that position.
Cass Review
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to update its guidance to schools regarding gender affirmation for children in light of the recommendations in the final report of the Cass review. (S6O-03343)
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the guidance on supporting transgender young people in schools remains up to date and fit for purpose. As with any significant legal or policy developments, we will consider whether the guidance requires to be updated to reflect the points in the recommendations.
I express my respect for the journalistic integrity of Marion Scott, of the Sunday Post, and Dan Sanderson, the Scottish correspondent for The Daily Telegraph. What they have uncovered in recent weeks has been distressing to parents and ought to concern us all. How campaigning groups are using Scotland’s schools to push gender ideology on young children is unscientific, and the Cass review has shown the harm that it can cause. Does the cabinet secretary agree that it is time that she reviewed the practice of allowing campaign groups such as LGBT Youth Scotland to influence classroom lesson content and school activities? Does she agree, too, that we must act now to stop such activists pushing their ideology on our children?
Broadly, as Mr Kerr knows, the Cass review was predominantly a review of the gender health service offered by the national health service in England. However, as I intimated in my original response, we are considering the implications that it may have for our guidance at the current time, and we want to ensure that that guidance is kept up to date. To that end, I am more than happy to engage with the member on that and on any views that he may have in that regard.
It has been 24 years since section 28 was overhauled and 10 years since same-sex marriage was legalised, yet the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the young community, are being caught up in an increasingly toxic debate. How are we working in education to ensure that LGBTQ+ young people are included and supported in their school communities?
As the member has outlined, it is really important that we have a curriculum that is as diverse as the young people who learn in our schools. I am in and out of Scotland’s schools regularly, and we have a really rich curriculum across our country. We have made significant progress in embedding LGBT-inclusive education across the curriculum, and that policy received cross-party support in the previous session of the Parliament.
Universities Scotland 40 Faces Campaign
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the Universities Scotland 40 faces campaign. (S6O-03344)
I very much welcome and support Universities Scotland’s 40 faces campaign, and I look forward to hearing the views of students and graduates. It had been planned for either the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills or me to attend the official launch event in May, but it has since been postponed. However, one of us will absolutely look to speak at it when it takes place.
I will be looking in detail at the findings. The student support offer and our continuing commitment to free tuition are ensuring that more people can access our world-class institutions, whatever their background. The campaign supports the progress that we have made collectively to ensure that 20 per cent of university entrants come from the most deprived backgrounds by 2030. There is more working in partnership to be done, however, and the campaign’s findings will contribute to our making the progress required.
Indeed, the Universities Scotland 40 faces campaign highlights the access stories of students and graduates at Scotland’s universities and other higher education institutions from underrepresented groups such as students from the most deprived 20 per cent of postcodes, those from low-participation schools, students with care experience and/or those who are estranged from their families. Does the minister agree with Universities Scotland and the commissioner for fair access that transitioning towards using individual-level indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage further strengthens the widening access agenda, as opposed to using SIMD20 from the Scottish index of multiple deprivation alone?
I do. In fact, my officials have been working with institutions in Aberdeen to set up a pilot project to share data on applicants who are eligible for free school meals in order to identify individuals living in socioeconomic disadvantage. I am keen to explore all options for measures that could be used to reach people living in deprivation. One potential measure that has been suggested, as I mentioned in the debate on the subject a few weeks ago, is the school clothing grant. My officials are exploring whether that is feasible. I will shortly host a round-table event at which stakeholders will be invited to share any constructive ideas that they have.
Widening participation is a fundamental pillar of the 40 faces campaign, and the University of the West of Scotland is Scotland’s leading university in widening access. Last week, the Scottish Funding Council published its indicative allocations, and the UWS will have the number of its funded places cut by a staggering 734. Of those, 220 will be reallocated to another institution. The UWS wrote to you on 19 April, detailing its concerns that that will limit its ability to continue to lead in widening access. When was the decision to reallocate the places from the UWS to another institution brought to the attention of the minister? Will you meet the principal and vice-chancellor of the university to discuss the unintended consequences of the decision?
Speak through the chair, please.
I acknowledge receipt of that letter, and I will respond to it in due course. I understand that the UWS is unhappy about the decision that the SFC has taken, but I will offer a bit of context. The 220 places that were moved to another institution have gone to an institution that has been overproviding. We had places that were not being used and that are now being deployed to support delivery in another institution. Surely it is a good thing that we are supporting young people to be educated.
The other point to make is that, even with the change that has been made, the UWS still retains a substantial number of places beyond what it has been delivering over the past two years. I will be happy to discuss the matter further with the UWS. It is important to realise that it will still have the scope to make the contribution that we all hope it will make to the widening access agenda.
In the past hour, the principals of the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University have sent a scathing letter that highlights the huge financial pressures that they are under. They say that universities cannot continue to deliver the wide-ranging contributions that are expected of them with the continuing downward trajectory of funding. Does the minister understand that the financial crisis that they are in will impact programmes such as the 40 faces campaign?
I go back to a point that I made earlier. We have a funding envelope that we have to work within. I reiterate that I do not remember Douglas Lumsden or any other member in the chamber suggesting, during the budget process, that we should do things differently and that we should find more money for universities. There was a lot of hand wringing, and there continues to be a lot of hand wringing, but there has been no actual action from the Conservatives.
I say gently to Douglas Lumsden that funding is, of course, an issue for our universities, but if we talk to them openly and honestly, they will tell us that the biggest threat to their future is not lack of funding from the Scottish Government but what has been described to me as an “existential threat”—that is, the on-going migration rhetoric coming from Douglas Lumsden’s Government in Westminster.
Question 6 was not lodged.
Music Tuition
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what provision it is making to ensure that all school pupils have access to music tuition. (S6O-03346)
The Government has transformed music tuition in Scotland by supporting councils to eradicate unfair instrumental music tuition charges across the country. This year, we are providing £12 million to local authorities to support the continued delivery of free instrumental music tuition. The most recent instrumental music survey, which was published in December 2023, shows the number of pupils participating in instrumental music tuition to be at a record high. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring access to music tuition for pupils in schools across Scotland’s 32 local authority areas.
The cabinet secretary is well aware of the fact that there have been significant financial pressures on some local authorities, including those in Mid Scotland and Fife, to ensure that they can maintain the no-fee principle when it comes to pupils accessing free instrumental tuition. Obviously, there have been some staff cutbacks, and charges have been reintroduced for participation in some central music groups and music camps, including those that cater for special needs. Is the Scottish Government prepared to examine a public trust model to assist with the funding of music tuition in order to maintain the commitment that the Parliament made to pupils in 2021?
I thank Liz Smith for her interest in the matter. She and I served on the Education and Skills Committee in the previous parliamentary session, and that committee made the recommendation to the Government that led to the scrapping of instrumental music tuition fees.
It is worth while recounting the progress that has been made since that time. For example, after a dip during the pandemic, the number of pupils participating in instrumental music lessons has rebounded very strongly. The number was about 61,715, which is the highest number on record since the survey began. That represents a 7 per cent increase since the previous year. The uptake also tells us that the proportion of the school roll participating in the scheme sits at record levels.
As the former principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, John Wallace, has observed, the Scottish Government
“have kept their end of the bargain, providing an extra £12 million to local instrumental music services ... The music teachers on the ground are responding with passion, music education is flourishing”.
He said that Scots should be celebrating the fact that the Scottish Government has abolished fees for music tuition in schools.
On Liz Smith’s specific point about the public trust model, if she would like to write to me, I would be more than happy to look at that issue in more detail.
On a matter that is very dear to my heart, how will the recently announced national centre for music engage with education practitioners to support and inspire young people into music careers?
I very much welcome the development of the old Royal high school building into a national centre for music, and I can see the important role that it will play in inspiring young people in the future. I welcome the fact that the Royal High School Preservation Trust wants the centre to engage teachers as well as community music organisations and professional performers.
Bullying in Schools
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps are being taken to tackle bullying in schools. (S6O-03347)
Bullying of any kind is unacceptable and must be addressed quickly and efficiently. In order to support schools, we continue to fully fund respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service, to build confidence and capacity to address bullying effectively.
We are reviewing our national anti-bullying guidance, “Respect for All: The National Approach to Anti-Bullying for Scotland’s Children and Young People”, which is for all adults who work with children and young people. The update includes consideration of the definition of bullying, online bullying, recording and monitoring of incidents, and prejudice-based bullying. The updated guidance is expected to be published by the end of the year, and the national action plan on behaviour in schools will be published in the coming weeks.
More children and young people have been identified as having additional support needs, and we know that, since 2007, there has been an eightfold increase in the number of children with ASN who spend all their time in mainstream primary school classrooms.
A lack of tailored support can result in behavioural concerns arising from the inability of the mainstream setting to accommodate support needs. What is being done to ensure that children with ASN receive appropriate support in an educational environment that benefits them?
I very much recognise that the number of children and young people who are identified as having an additional support need continues to increase year on year. It is also important to highlight that spending on additional support for learning by local authorities reached a record high of £926 million in 2022-23.
Since 2019-20, the Government has continued to invest an additional £15 million per year to help local councils to respond to the individual needs of their pupils. We also provide an additional £11 million of funding every year to directly support pupils with complex additional support needs and services for children and families.
On behaviour specifically, as members will be aware, the national action plan is currently being developed through the Scottish advisory group on relationships and behaviour in schools and is due to be published this spring. In addition, the additional support for learning project board will consider the actions relating to additional support for learning. That will include consideration of the Education, Children and Young People Committee’s report on ASL, which I understand will be published soon.
As the cabinet secretary will be aware, bullying in Fife schools is an on-going issue, with Fife Council’s policy saying that those who attack and abuse other children should not experience “negative consequences”. The NASUWT teaching union has labelled that policy as counterproductive and has said:
“There needs to be serious consequences for serious misbehaviour.”
Does the Scottish Government agree with the teaching unions? Will the cabinet secretary outline what more the Government can do to give local authorities a strong message to toughen up their anti-bullying policies?
I thank the member for her interest in the issue, which she has raised with me in the chamber on a number of occasions. As I intimated in my response to the previous question, we will, in the coming weeks, publish the national action plan, which will set the parameters for national Government and for local authorities. It is worth while to note that the teaching unions, including the one that the member cited, have been included in the development of that plan.
I thank the cabinet secretary for the constructive discussion that she had with Opposition spokespeople. I think that she understands the scale of the problem of bullied children, bruised teachers and—this is really important—disrupted education. Does she agree that we need a clear message about the power of the classroom teacher and the back-up resources that they can expect in order to manage such behaviour, distress and violence?
I broadly agree with the points that Mr Rennie has made. As he said, I had a very helpful meeting with Opposition members last week to talk about progress with the national action plan. It is worth while highlighting that teachers have a number of powers at their disposal right now to respond to challenging behaviour. I know that teachers across Scotland are really good at managing to defuse challenging situations—that is part of the job of being a teacher. However, I recognise the challenge, as the member knows, and I hope that the national action plan will provide more clarity on the issue.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I seek your guidance on a matter relating to the answer to my question this afternoon to the Minister for Higher and Further Education; and Minister for Veterans, in which I asked for his response to the £12 million deduction from the student support budget for colleges.
On 28 March 2024, the Scottish Funding Council published “College Indicative Funding Allocations 2024-25”, in which it set the student support budget at £123 million. In the previous year, that budget had been set at £135 million, thus leaving a £12 million cut. Presiding Officer, I ask for your guidance on how the minister—who said that he was unaware of that and could not, therefore, answer the question—could update the Parliament on his response to that and, indeed, answer the question.
Thank you, Ms Duncan-Glancy. You will be aware that that is not a point of order or a matter for the chair. You have your point on the record. The minister will have heard what you said and will, I am sure, respond accordingly.