Meeting of the Parliament 27 January 2016
Recently, Parliament has dedicated a considerable amount of time to educational attainment, and it is quite right that we have done so. I am sure that the ambition that all of Scotland’s children are given the opportunity to fulfil their potential regardless of their background is shared across the Parliament, and it is in that spirit that I welcome the chance to speak in this afternoon’s debate on education.
However, I must say that I was more than a little disappointed to hear Willie Rennie describe Scotland’s education sector as being at “crisis point”. Although there is recognition that there is still work to do, particularly in areas such as attainment, it is rather disingenuous, to say the least, to describe Scotland’s schools as being in some sort of crisis.
I realise that the Lib Dems might not be in a rush to consult the opinion polls, but I draw Mr Rennie’s attention to the recent Survation poll that showed a positive net satisfaction rating of plus 28 per cent from voters in favour of the SNP’s record on education. Such positive poll ratings are not exactly indicative of an electorate that considers Scotland’s education system to be universally failing.
Indeed, the SNP in government has taken a number of positive steps in its drive to improve standards in Scotland’s schools. On Monday, the First Minister announced a further £230 million for the construction of 19 new schools across Scotland, and since 2007 the Scottish Government has worked with local authorities to rebuild or refurbish more than 600 schools across the country.
Last week, thanks to a parliamentary question that was lodged by my colleague George Adam, we heard that the number of school leavers going into education, work or training is at a record high, contributing to the highest level of youth employment for a decade. The number of children in Scotland who are benefiting from free school meals has more than doubled to over 259,000 in the past year, providing vital support to children from low-income families.
Earlier this month, the First Minister unveiled the innovation fund as part of the package of support through the £100 million Scottish attainment fund. The innovation fund is open to all schools, not just schools in the local authorities that have been targeted for support through the attainment fund, and it complements the work of the attainment advisers who have been recruited for every council area.
I have listened carefully to the case that the Lib Dems have put forward and I have tried to do so with an open mind, but I have yet to hear any compelling evidence that a pupil premium approach to tackling the attainment gap would be more effective than the attainment challenge programme that the Scottish Government advocates. The Lib Dems argue—we heard it again here today—that the pupil premium has been a rousing success in England.