Seòmar agus comataidhean

The timetable that we have set to fund all deferrals from August 2023 is realistic and ensures that the roll out of 1140 hours of funded early learning and childcare to all eligible children from August 2021 is not put at risk.

To progress implementation, the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) have agreed a Joint Implementation Plan under which local authorities will pilot early implementation of this obligation in 2021-22 and 2022-23. The local authorities who are piloting this approach from August 2021 will be: Angus; Argyll and Bute; Falkirk; Scottish Borders; and the Shetland Islands. The Scottish Government has committed £3 million to support the pilot authorities this financial year.

We have committed to working to increase the number of authorities implementing the obligation fully or partially from August 2022, to further increase our evidence base ahead of the legislation coming into force the following year.

The Scottish Government only collects school pupil attendance and absence information every 2 years, so no data is available for 2017-18.

Information for 2018/19 shows that for term 3 (covering the period roughly April-June) the combined authorised and unauthorised absence rate was 7.6%.

In 2019-20, schools/hubs were only open to the children and young people of keyworkers, and those who were vulnerable, in the period April to June 2020.(due to the Covid pandemic). Therefore, most children and young people were not to attend school during this period. As such, at its highest, only around 1.7% of all pupils were attending these schools/hubs at any given time during this period.

For 2020-21, for the period in question (i.e. April to June 2021), the combined rate for pupils not in school due to Covid-19 related reasons and Non-Covid-19 related reasons was 10.4%. Note that this data has been produced on a slightly different basis to the biennial National Statistics publication. For example, some pupils who are currently counted as 'not being in school' may in fact be recorded as being in attendance (e.g. pupils who were self-isolating but were able to learn from home)when the Scottish Government publishes its usual National Statistics publication on School Attendance and Absence 2020/21 which is due later this year.

Care should be made if attempting to compare results across academic years due to varying ways in how this data was gathered over the most recent academic years, together with variation in the levels of quality assurance being undertaken on the data gathered.

Since my appointment to the role of Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills I have had a number of introductory discussions with the Chief Examining Officer to develop my understanding of matters pertaining to the alternative certification model and to discuss issues being raised by stakeholders.

The meeting of 24 May informed my understanding of the ACM and the approach to 2021 appeals.

On the phone call of 3 June I discussed my priorities and the upcoming publication of the OECD review ahead of my Parliamentary Statement that day.

At the meeting of 24 June SQA were invited to share thoughts on the Reform of SQA and Education Scotland.

These meetings were informal and as a result no minutes were taken.

The Scottish Government only collects school pupil attendance and absence information every 2 years, so no data is available for 2017-18. In addition, the structure and format of data gathered in 2018-19, as well as some partial data gathered in 2019-20 (due to the Covid pandemic) does not enable the necessary analysis to be undertaken to answer this question.

For the 2020-21 school year, the Scottish Government does have daily attendance and absence data that would enable such analysis to be undertaken. However, this could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

However, information we do have in relation to school pupil attendance and absence can be found here

Summary statistics for schools in Scotland no. 10: 2019 edition - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Covid19ELCandHubs | Tableau Public

COVID19 - Schools and Childcare Information 2021 | Tableau Public

Coronavirus (COVID-19): daily data for Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Coronavirus (COVID-19): trends in daily data - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

COVID-19 Education Recovery Group: children and young people infographic - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

This information includes the attendance and absence rates over the course of the entire 2020-21 school year (when schools were open for all pupils to return from specific stages).

It shows that attendance generally started at around 95% when schools fully reopened after a lockdown (i.e. August 2020 and April 2021).

On any given day, more children and young people were not in school due to non-Covid reasons, and that most pupils not in school due to Covid-related reasons was due to pupils being required to self-isolate. The actual number of pupils who were absent due to having tested positive for Covid (or displaying Covid symptoms) was generally under 1,000 pupils (out of approximately 700,000 pupils) on any given day over the course of the entire 2020-21 school year.

No. Absence rates for pupils were never 50% or greater when schools were fully open for all pupils during the 2020/21 school year.

The Scottish Government have published information in relation to school pupil attendance and absence throughout the 2020/21 school year, which can be found here:

COVID19 - Schools and Childcare Information 2021 | Tableau Public

Coronavirus (COVID-19): daily data for Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Coronavirus (COVID-19): trends in daily data - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

COVID-19 Education Recovery Group: children and young people infographic - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01153 on 28 July 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government does not have the information you require in a readily available format in order to answer this question. In order to answer your question would therefore incur disproportionate costs.

However, information we do have in relation to school pupil attendance and absence throughout the 2020/21 school year can be found here:

COVID19 - Schools and Childcare Information 2021 | Tableau Public

Coronavirus (COVID-19): daily data for Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Coronavirus (COVID-19): trends in daily data - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

COVID-19 Education Recovery Group: children and young people infographic - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

This information shows the attendance and absence rates over the course of the entire 2020/21 school year (when schools were open for all pupils to return from specific stages).

It shows that attendance generally started at around 95% when schools fully reopened after a lockdown (i.e. August 2020 and April 2021). However, attendance rates slowly fell throughout each term.

However, on any given day, more children and young people were not in school due to non-Covid reasons, and that most pupils not in school due to Covid-related reasons was due to pupils being required to self-isolate. The actual number of pupils who were absent due to having tested positive for Covid (or displaying Covid symptoms) was generally under 1,000 pupils (out of approximately 700,000 pupils) on any given day over the course of the entire school year.

We are committed to expanding the maximum total support package available to students over the next three years to reach the equivalent of the living wage.

The Alternative Certification Model (ACM) for national qualifications in 2020-21 has been designed to give schools the flexibility to assess learners at times and in ways that are appropriate to their specific needs. This has been enhanced by a programme of support provided by the wider education sector.

As a result, the additional workload will vary and be subject to decisions at a local school level, in terms of their approach to delivering the Alternative Certification Model.

The Alternative Certification Model required teachers to ensure learners receive their national qualifications, based on their professional judgement of demonstrated attainment. We have recognised this unprecedented responsibility through the payment of up to £400 for each teacher involved in supporting the delivery of the ACM, and providing two days set aside during the school year for teachers to work on the assessments.

At present we are awaiting Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice on whether all those aged 12 to 15, and all 16 and 17 year olds should be offered COVID-19 vaccination – and once we have this we will be preparing policy guidance as to how we will operationalise this for Scotland. No 16-17 year olds outwith the previously identified JCVI priority groups will have vaccination prior to the pending JCVI advice.