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The approach to national standardised assessment as set out in the National Improvement Framework was developed after extensive engagement with teachers, parents, children and academics. We have drawn evidence from a range of advice and publications, particularly from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development – specifically their publication Synergies for Better Learning: An International Perspective on Evaluation and Assessment and Education Policy Outlook 2015.

Many local authorities already use standardised assessment at primary 1 (P1). For example, over 1,100 schools in Scotland use the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring’s Performance Indicators in Primary Schools assessment to assess the progress children make in P1 in early maths, early literacy and non-cognitive development and behaviour. Schools find this information useful to ensure the right support is in place to secure good outcomes for children.

It is important to note that the assessments are not tests or exams. They are designed to create an understanding of how children are progressing. All children will not need to sit the assessments on the same day but at a time when the teacher thinks it will be most helpful to assess a child’s progress. Assessments will also be age-appropriate so for example, the needs of children in P1 and their early stage of vocabulary and development will be taken into account in the design.

Recruitment of teachers is a matter for local authorities. In recognition of the challenges faced by local authorities in relation to teacher recruitment, the Scottish Government launched its 'Inspiring Teachers' recruitment campaign in September 2015, with an initial focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects, including computing. We are currently considering how best to build on that in the future.

Prior to academic year 2014-15, student teacher intake targets for Professional Graduate Diploma in Education secondary programmes of initial teacher education were not set on a subject specific basis. The table indicates the targets set and intakes to computing in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

2014-15

2015-16

Target	Intake	Target	Intake
25	22	37	20

The target for 2016-17 has been significantly increased to 57.

The Scottish Government conducts an annual teacher workforce planning exercise, in partnership with other stakeholders, to project the minimum requirements for the number of newly trained teachers. This exercise involves analysis of the teacher workforce details, including the age profile of the profession, and local intelligence relating to teacher supply and demand. Subject-specific targets have been set for secondary subjects, including computing, since academic year 2014-15.

The following table indicates the number of qualifiers from higher education information technology courses from 2005-06 to 2014-15.

Qualifiers from higher education courses at Scottish institutions by subject of study, 2005-06 to 2014-15

Subject of Study	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	% change since 2013-14	% change since 2005-06
Information Technology	4,645	4,920	4,660	4,470	4,560	5,000	4,900	4,550	4,815	4,990	3.6%	7.4%

Sources: Higher Education Statistics Agency and Scottish Funding Council.

These figures cover all higher education students, not just those in universities.

This information is not held centrally.

Familial Arrhythmia Network for Scotland (FANS) aims to improve outcomes in heart disease care for people with life threatening inherited cardiac conditions and their families. FANS is a national managed clinical network comprising specialist healthcare practitioners, such as cardiologists and geneticists, and patient representatives. FANS provides a section for patient involvement on its website, and undertakes a range of actions to work with the general public through its public education events intended to raise public awareness of inherited cardiac conditions.

FANS coordinators and a number of its members participate in the National Advisory Committee for Heart Disease, which works closely with the Scottish Government and a range of key partners to support NHS boards in delivering improved clinical outcomes in treating heart disease conditions including inherited cardiac conditions.

FANS are currently organising their annual national patient education and information event which will take place in the autumn and hosted their 7th professional symposium on the 27 April 2016 to raise awareness and increase knowledge among professionals. The symposium is an annual event which aims to provide the participating healthcare professionals and researchers from across the UK with an opportunity to share best practice in the detection and treatment of inherited cardiac conditions.

The Scottish Government has no plans to reintroduce the Progress in International Reading and Literacy Trends (PIRLS) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science (TIMSS) studies for Scotland.

The Scottish Government welcomes international scrutiny of our education system and since 2000 has participated in the largest international survey, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) run by The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), focusing on maths, reading and science. Unlike TIMSS and PIRLS, all OECD countries participate in PISA and it is a more effective indicator of how the whole Scottish education system is performing relative to other countries. It is also more closely aligned to Curriculum for Excellence. The Scottish Government took the decision to withdraw from PIRLS and TIMSS in 2010 in order to reduce the bureaucratic burden on teachers and because the PISA tests provide better information and better international comparisons than either TIMSS and PIRLS.

We will gather and analyse a range of data and evidence, through the national improvement framework, to ensure that we have a comprehensive picture of children’s progress that does not focus on one single measure of performance.

The evidence will include a range of information on health and wellbeing, qualifications and awards, post-school destinations, findings from school and local authority self-evaluations and school inspections, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Programme for International Student Assessment study and, over time, early years evidence. We will also gather from teachers their judgement of children’s achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels in literacy and numeracy in P1, P4, P7 and S3. Teachers will use a range of assessment evidence to inform their judgement of achievement of these levels, including information from new standardised assessments.

As a result of the work currently on-going to monitor, report on, maintain and support implementation of the additional support for learning legislation and policies, Scottish Ministers have a good understanding of how the system is working. This will be improved further as the national improvement framework develops, and we gather more information about the progress of children and young people with additional support needs. This will help to focus our improvement efforts more clearly. Through our links with stakeholders and stakeholder groups, we have the means to address any issues which may arise and have regular dialogue about securing improvement for Scotland's children and young people.