Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2017
There are a number of important issues in the debate, and I welcome the opportunity to discuss them in Parliament. I confirm that my amendment is complementary to Liz Smith’s motion and that the Government will support the motion because of the importance of the issues that are raised.
A number of core components are required in a world-class education system. They include a flexible and child-centred school curriculum; a wider policy framework to meet the diverse needs of all young people at every stage of their journey through life; modern and accessible buildings that create the right environment for children to learn in; and an evidence-based approach to improvement. However, perhaps the most crucial component is to ensure that children get the right support to learn at the right time, and teachers are crucial in that endeavour.
Teachers are key to children’s achievements at school and to our ambitions to raise the bar for all and close the attainment gap. I therefore begin my speech by putting on record my thanks to each and every one of Scotland’s new and existing teachers for all that they do for our children in our schools. Their role and contribution is immense, and I want them to know that the Government values them and is committed to investing in them and their skills and expertise to give them the confidence to teach while giving them the right environment in which to do their jobs. Teachers must be, and must feel, free to teach our young people.
We must also ensure that our teachers have the tools to teach. I, too, am concerned by the evidence that trainee teachers presented to the Education and Skills Committee about their experience and the perceived gaps in that education. That led to the Parliament agreeing last week to do more to equip teachers with the appropriate skills and knowledge to teach about online safety for young people.
The committee has also identified, in its report on additional support for learning, a lack of focus on that issue in teacher education and training. I am also concerned by the findings in the research that the Government has published today, which analysed initial teacher courses and found variations in the time that is spent on key components of the curriculum, with the widest variation in the crucial area of literacy.
In saying all that, I acknowledge the issues that exist in initial teacher education. In the delivery plan last June, the Government committed to investigating the issues, and we have done exactly that and reported to the Parliament.
I am sure that Liz Smith would be the first to acknowledge that there are important issues to do with responsibility for the delivery of initial teacher education. The Government does not control universities, despite what some people might allege. Universities have a responsibility for the quality of the education that is delivered, and if issues are raised—by witnesses who present evidence to the committee, in evidence that is marshalled by the Government, or through feedback from other aspects of the profession—I look to everyone in the system to fulfil their obligations to address them properly.