Meeting of the Parliament 29 March 2017
First, I would like to apologise for my hoarse voice. I have had the flu that has been going around—or, as I have been told by my partner several times this week, the man flu. Apparently, she had it a couple of weeks ago and was neither up nor down, which says it all really.
As has been said many times, there are improvements to be made to the Scottish education system. The governance review is a key part of making those improvements. The OECD is right when it says that schools and communities should be at the heart of our education system and I welcome the Government’s response in launching the review. I am pleased to hear the level of contribution to the review that has already taken place, with a number of responses having been received to date. I encourage everyone to get involved and to put forward their views. The review will consider the role of every part of the education system, including national agencies, and we are committed to ensuring that young people and parents have confidence in all parts of the system.
Decisions about a child’s learning should absolutely be made as close as possible to the child and by the people who are closest to the child. The review is about getting it right for every child and, at its heart, is the presumption that as many decisions as possible should be taken at school level—a decentralisation, right to the heart of our communities. For that reason, the Government’s pupil equity fund is a welcome step in the right direction, as it puts money into the hands of headteachers to invest in raising attainment based on the needs of their pupils.
My own local authority has garnered some media attention lately. It has received an investment of almost £9 million but the Labour council, rather than supporting headteachers and allowing them to invest as they see fit, has instructed all schools to hand over a large portion of the money to it to pay staffing costs. The situation has been well documented and is completely unacceptable. Once again, I call on the council to reverse that outrageous cash grab.
I am delighted to be a member of a party that is putting education first and working day in, day out to raise attainment for the most disadvantaged in our society—[Interruption.] I do not know why Labour and the Tories seem to find that funny. Better Together is obviously re-forming just now, so it is fair enough—[Interruption.]
I will tell members what is not funny. My constituency—