Hansard

I give a warm welcome to the publication of the documents on school-college partnerships. The Executive has implemented yet another key Liberal Democrat manifesto commitment in the field of education. We Liberal Democrats practise what we preach: we give opportunities to young people, as was seen in the recent election of Jo Swinson as the youngest member of the House of Commons. I also welcome the £41.5 million injection of resource over two years, which will be extremely important in this area.

The ability to fulfil one's potential in life and to increase the life chances of and opportunities for young people in modern Scottish society have always seemed to be central to the concept of liberal democracy—certainly, they are central to my concept of it. Those are also many people's view of the purpose of the Scottish Parliament.

Particularly since I became the convener of the Education Committee, it has been my privilege to be able to visit schools and colleges across the land. Fiona Hyslop mentioned the committee's visit to schools in Glasgow yesterday to meet staff and young people and to see something of the work that is being done across the country to educate, motivate and encourage young people.

The country has, and the committee has met, some extraordinary young people. I call them extraordinary not because of their academic abilities or their personal qualities—although they have those in spades—but because of their enthusiasm and promise and the contribution that they will make to the future of Scotland. They are extraordinary young people because they have exceeded what was expected of them by overcoming difficult environmental circumstances or other barriers to learning.

The central point to make at the beginning of the debate is that Scotland has much to be proud of in its children and young people. Their achievements do not come about by accident. They happen because of the dedicated efforts of staff, inspired school leadership, adequate public resource and the structures that make the most of all of those things. There has been recognition that the policies of the Executive and the Parliament, particularly in this area, are influenced by the contribution of the Liberal Democrats. We are delivering in Government on a long-term and comprehensive basis.

The Executive has examined the transitions: from nursery to primary; from primary to secondary; and from secondary to the world of work. It has also examined the curriculum and disadvantage and additional support needs, not least through the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. Above all, the Executive has considered the twin issues of disaffection and discipline, which are often two sides of the same coin.

Three things are clear: the first is that individual schools in similar catchment areas have substantially varied performances; the second is that the traditional school structures can sometimes seem meaningless and uninspiring to some children and young people; and the third is that, partly out of a desire to give more young people the opportunity to go into higher education because we want to be socially inclusive, we can lose sight of the fact that equally valid, equally useful and more relevant careers can often be found in what we have sometimes disparagingly called vocational areas.

The school-college review is at the heart of the debate. I congratulate the minister and his officials on the documents that have just been published. They are relevant and insightful and point the way forward to achieve the partnership agreement aim of allowing 14 to 16-year-olds to have the opportunity of spending part of their time in the more adult environment that colleges provide, where they are able to access a wider variety of vocational opportunities than is possible at school.

I turn to some of the stress points and difficulties that must be addressed in the debate. The issue is complex and we will not always get it right, although we can draw on the experience of the past five or six years and before that time. I was pleased to hear the minister stress the fact that the review is not just about dealing with difficult pupils or dumping them from our schools into some other environment. As I said, the issue is complex, and we must support young people in taking forward this work.

When the Education Committee visited Glasgow yesterday, we found that existing projects are making the school-college link by way of an option column in the standard grade options. That is the right way to proceed. It gives vocational college courses parity of esteem with other courses, which is exactly how things should be. It strikes a major blow for the equality of different career choices. That said, vocational courses need proper certification.

I will be interested to hear what the Executive has to say on the subject of the timetable, as the minister did not touch on that in his speech. The timetable is important: people need to know that there will be something in it for them. College options need to be recognised, encouraged and praised—all of that is extremely important.

It is also important to recognise that different schools approach these matters differently. Some schools have embraced with enthusiasm the opportunity to develop school-college links. Other schools pay only lip service to the concept: they have not done things properly and have a good distance to go. It is important to stress that the school-college link must not be seen as the part-time duty of one member of staff who has many other things on their mind. If schools do not make it the dedicated responsibility of one senior official or teacher, the drive will be lost.

There are capacity limits. We must acknowledge that already, in some colleges, 600 pupils take part in college courses. There is much to build on, but we must link to the wider issue of how we encourage and support young people. How do we motivate them so that they are ready to take advantage of opportunities? There are linkages to work placement. The skills-for-work courses that the minister talked about are important, but they are only one of a number of ways forward.

There are issues about long-term career opportunities. Hospitality is often cited, and I have been struck in discussions by the fact that it sometimes does not provide the career opportunities that exist in other areas. That must be dealt with. The issue is not particularly one for the Scottish Executive Education Department, but it is important.

The way forward will require resources for transport, a focus on head teachers and dedicated people in schools. Stable funding arrangements are required to deliver the fee income to colleges, which I was pleased to hear the minister talk about.

Instinctively, we all feel that the proposals are an important and relevant way forward that affords many opportunities and advantages, but will we be able to test that? Will we check whether the result is less unemployment for school leavers? Will we ensure that we do things properly?

Today's announcements are landmark announcements that build on previous work, look to the future and set targets for what we can do in education. New opportunities and choices are being given to pupils. The strategy has much to offer Scotland. On behalf of the Liberal Democrats, I warmly welcome the announcements and the document, which will enable us to do a lot of work in the future.