Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 04 March 2026 [Draft]
04 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Education
This debate cannot be reduced to the idea that Scottish education is simply failing, because that is just not true. Yes, there are pressures; yes, there are areas where improvement is needed; and yes, Opposition parties are right to raise those concerns. However, they should always be honest enough to recognise the good that is being done, too. If everything is framed through a negative lens, all that it does is risk demoralising teachers, support staff, pupils and families who are living the daily reality of school life.
The truth is that the picture is more mixed than that. There is record funding going into education, continued investment to tackle the poverty-related attainment gap, support for additional support needs, and progress in outcomes, too. That does not mean that the job is done; clearly, it is not. As the cabinet secretary said, there is always room for improvement. However, that does not mean that it is a story of blanket failure.
I look at this through my own lens. I have children who have been through the school system, as I am sure that many of us have.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-20956, in the name of Willie Rennie, on judging the Scottish Government on its education record. I invite...
Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD)
LD
This is a significant moment, not only because it is the annual Liberal Democrat debate in this chamber, which I know that everyone has been desperate to hea...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
They will be able to do so only if you move the motion, Mr Rennie.
Willie Rennie
LD
I move,That the Parliament notes that since 2016, the Scottish Government’s key commitments and targets on education have either been missed or abandoned; fu...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Jenny Gilruth)
SNP
In what is all but guaranteed to be the last education debate in this session of Parliament, I begin by paying tribute to Scotland’s children and young peopl...
Willie Rennie
LD
We will do everything that we possibly can to get this Government on the right track, which is why we voted for the budget.Does the education secretary not r...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
I can give you the time back, cabinet secretary.
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
I will come to the points that Mr Rennie has addressed in his motion, but I have more praise for him first, which it is important for him to hear.I am also g...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
The cabinet secretary talks about increased teacher numbers, but does she realise that three quarters of newly qualified teachers are struggling to find perm...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
I very much recognise that point, and I know that Mr Cole-Hamilton recently raised it at First Minister’s question time. To give him some assurance, I note t...
Miles Briggs (Lothian) (Con)
Con
I thank the Liberal Democrats for using their party business time today to bring this debate to the chamber. I will not necessarily love bomb Willie Rennie a...
Paul O’Kane (West Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I thank Willie Rennie and the Liberal Democrats for bringing today’s debate—which is, I believe, the last education debate of the current session of Parliame...
Karen Adam (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
SNP
This debate cannot be reduced to the idea that Scottish education is simply failing, because that is just not true. Yes, there are pressures; yes, there are ...
Willie Rennie
LD
If Karen Adam does not think that it is blanket failure, will she identify some failure in what has happened in the past 10 years?
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
I can give you the time back.
Karen Adam
SNP
I identified in my opening remarks that we are not saying that the situation is perfect. There are areas that need improvement. The cabinet secretary said th...
Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
Presiding Officer,“There is no doubt that Scottish education can rightly claim many distinguished achievements in its long history, for which we have been ad...
Martin Whitfield (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests.It is very powerful to follow what might be Liz Smith’s last contribution on education. I ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
I am almost tempted not to say, “Through the chair”, given those remarks, but please speak through the chair.
Martin Whitfield
Lab
One of the enduring tests of education is not simply that we affirm but whether we are prepared to examine claims rigorously rather than just accept them unc...
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP)
SNP
I thank the Lib Dems for securing this debate. I am delighted to speak just as we have agreed to the 2026-27 budget, as the cabinet secretary referred to. Th...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
We come to closing speeches.15:32
Paul O’Kane
Lab
I will pick up on a theme that I started with, because it came up a number of times in the debate: reflecting not only on the previous five years of this Par...
Karen Adam
SNP
I understand what the member says about time, but things have changed so much in the past six years since Covid. Also, young people just do not know what typ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
I can give you the time back for that, Mr O’Kane.
Paul O’Kane
Lab
Of course I recognise what Karen Adam says about the challenges. Any Government has to deal with shocks and other such issues, but we are reflecting on almos...
Roz McCall (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
We all remember the “judge me” pledge that was made in 2015 by the then First Minister, and it has already been referenced today. Nicola Sturgeon asked to be...
Karen Adam
SNP
Does the member agree that the two-child benefit cap and a restriction in public service spending would affect the poverty-related attainment gap?
Roz McCall
Con
That is something that comes up regularly. Although I understand the Government’s position on that, we are talking about educational attainment and the situa...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
In this debate, I was keen to praise the positive behaviour of children. If everything is framed through a negative lens, all that it does is risk demoralisi...