Hansard

I am sorry that Rhona Brankin is not in her usual place, but I am glad that she is in the chamber, as I would like to commend her and others in the Labour Party on the establishment of the literacy commission, which has been a valuable innovation.

It is important to note, without being in any way complacent, that the need to improve literacy is not unique to Scotland. It is a persistent problem throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The literacy skills of the majority of people in Scotland compare well across the world, but poor literacy among a minority is unacceptable.

We know that the majority of children in Scotland develop a good grounding in literacy skills in early primary education. However, a minority do not and, as pupils progress through primary and into secondary, the proportion that achieves expected levels of literacy decreases. That must be addressed.

We know that the overall Scottish adult population has a good level of literacy skills. Although around 25 per cent of the adult population would benefit from improving their literacy skills, only around 3.6 per cent of the adult population have very limited capabilities. Those results are encouraging, but we still have work to do to reduce the numbers of people who have issues with reading and writing.

We also know that literacy skills are linked to socioeconomic status and levels of deprivation, with those from more deprived areas experiencing lower achievement. Our ambition must be to break that link in order to create a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish.

The evidence suggests that there need to be a number of priorities across learning: breaking the link between poor literacy levels and deprivation; improving the skills of the few who have difficulties with basic literacy, particularly those who are vulnerable; ensuring that young people progress successfully from basic to advanced literacy skills; and raising advanced literacy skills for all.

The literacy action plan sits within the context of existing policy frameworks, and it is important that it does so. The curriculum for excellence is clearly one of the key routes to drive forward improvement, but the broader education system and wider socioeconomic policy are also important. The early years framework, the curriculum for excellence, the getting it right for every child agenda and our adult literacy and numeracy strategy are of central importance as the national policy frameworks through which we will deliver our vision.

What happens to children in their earliest years is key to outcomes, including the improvement of educational attainment in childhood, adolescence and in adult life. There is a strong relationship between early life experiences and how children learn. Positive influences in the early years are important and will improve a child’s life chances.

We will ensure that literacy development is a key priority for our youngest children as they take their first steps into learning, helping to stem the problem of poor literacy early on. We will encourage our early years delivery partners, including those in health and social work as well as in education, to develop new and innovative approaches that will lay the foundations for literacy development for our most vulnerable children.

For school-age learners, curriculum for excellence is already under way. It will ensure that young learners develop the basic literacy skills that they will need to thrive in the 21st century and move beyond those to gain the more advanced skills that will help them to reach their full potential.

Curriculum for excellence inevitably has literacy at its core. Literacy is mainstreamed across all subjects and it is the responsibility of all practitioners to work on it with our young people.

The new Scottish qualifications are progressing with the development of new literacy units, which are available to those in our schools and adult learners. The units will help to develop literacy skills and ensure that learners’ attainment is recognised.

We must acknowledge that early identification of a child’s additional support needs and learning difficulties is important in breaking down barriers to literacy and attainment. We will therefore encourage all local authorities to ensure the early identification of support needs for each child, and encourage all early years practitioners to be aware of and act on the personalised assessment and the learning and support needs information.

I expect that, for each child, any barriers to literacy will be identified early and appropriate support to overcome those barriers will be put in place. Interventions are most effective before a child falls behind, and it is important that we work together to ensure that no child does so.

We know that as learners progress into adulthood some will still need support to develop their literacy skills. Adult learners have different needs, motivations and personal circumstances, and there are critical transition points at which the provision of support is more important. Those include leaving formal education, finding a job, re-entering a community after a period in prison and becoming a parent. To reach the diverse range of adult learners, we will continue to offer a variety of learning opportunities, with flexible delivery methods and learning programmes that are relevant to learners’ lives.

The recently published 2009 Scottish survey of adult literacies provides a good basis on which to move towards a refresh of our existing adult literacy and numeracy strategy, which we will launch by the end of the year. We will build on collaboration with our partners and service providers to strengthen our support for adult learners, particularly those in our most deprived communities. We will build awareness of and access to the appropriate services, ensure that our practitioners are well equipped to support learners and continue to monitor and evaluate impact.

The action plan highlights the importance of supporting young people and adults in the justice system to help to improve their future prospects. That will include prioritised screening for offenders who are likely to have profound and particular literacy difficulties.

Beyond the learning environment and community, there are other key influences on literacy. Employers, for example, have a role in developing vocational literacy skills so that employees can improve their chances in their professional and working lives.

The media, and the broadcast media in particular, can have a strong influence on how we use language, and it has a broader impact on literacy. We will engage with the media to discuss their role and responsibility in contributing to our vision.

We want to develop a strong reading culture in Scotland, where reading is a valued activity from the earliest age. Sharing books in a family environment and the love of reading that it creates enriches the family experience immeasurably, is likely to be passed from generation to generation and has a major beneficial impact on individual outcomes. We will continue to work with partners to support measures to develop Scotland as a literate, reading nation and continue to encourage Scottish writing and publishing activities, on which much Scottish reading depends.

At this time of challenging financial circumstances and huge pressure on resources, it is more important than ever for all of us to work together to improve literacy for all, with a determined focus on the most vulnerable. We must use our combined resources productively to ensure that we achieve our vision for literacy in Scotland.

We will facilitate a broad partnership, including with those agencies that are outwith the formal education sector. We need involvement from all services—including health, justice and employment—that can make a positive contribution to our vision.

We will identify the key support relating to literacy that is currently being delivered by agencies and institutions. That will enable us to make the most effective use of resources, target future work more effectively on priorities and encourage interagency working throughout the country. We have worked closely with many partners to develop the plan, and we will continue to do so as delivery of it progresses.

We want to maintain the momentum that was begun by the literacy commission and followed up by the launch of our plan. We will establish a standing literacy commission to facilitate and oversee the delivery of the actions that the plan contains, and I give a commitment that we will report to the Parliament on progress over three years.

I commend the first literacy action plan to the Parliament.