Meeting of the Parliament 25 February 2015
I am very well aware of the concerns that are raised in Liz Smith’s motion. The Education and Culture Committee has taken evidence on the matter. On the back of the work by the learned societies group, we asked it to come in and give us evidence on the particular issue, so we are very well aware of it and, of course, of the debate that Iain Gray sponsored a few weeks ago. Therefore, we are well aware of the situation—and some of the comments do not reflect the reality of it.
I do not accept at all what Iain Gray has just said and what others have said about some sort of cataclysm going on in Scottish schools with regard to science. The Scottish Government is investing in science education. For example, it is providing some £900,000 per annum to the Scottish schools education research centre to support the professional learning of teachers. That is important because that funding stream includes a programme that is focused on primary teachers to raise their confidence and skills in science, so it directly addresses some of the issues that others have raised.
The Government’s programme for government for 2014-15 states that the Government will
“Continue to support improvement in the learning and teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in schools, with a particular focus on primary schools”.