Committee
Education and Skills Committee 08 May 2019
08 May 2019 · S5 · Education and Skills Committee
Item of business
Subject Choices Inquiry
Catriona MacPhee (Comann Luchd-Teagaisg Àrd Sgoiltean)
Watch on SPTV
Madainn mhath. Is mise Catriona Nic a’ Phì agus tha mi an seo gus riochdachadh tidsearan Gàidhlig ann an sgoiltean bho air feadh na dùthcha: eadar na h-eileanan agus bailtean mòra, sgoiltean beaga le dìreach an aon tidsear annta gu làn-sgoiltean 3-18. Leis an sin, tha na trioblaidean a tha againn gu math diofraichte uaireannan. Tha mi glè thaingeil a bhith an seo an-diugh agus an cothrom fhaighinn mo chànan fhìn a bhruidhinn; ach air sgàth ‘s nach eil Gàidhlig aig gach duine - gu mì-fhortanach - canaidh mi an còrr sa Bheurla gus an tuig sibh mo bheachdan mar a dh’iarrainn fhìn. Catriona MacPhee repeated her speech in English: Good morning. I am here to represent Gaelic teachers in schools throughout the country—from island communities to the big cities, and from smaller schools that have just one Gaelic teacher to full three-to-18 Gaelic schools, whose problems are quite different. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to be here today, speaking my own language, but because many here do not have Gaelic—unfortunately—the rest of my responses will be in English so that my opinions come across as I would like. I will summarise our position by saying that, despite the problems that we have, we are, almost without exception, in agreement that the narrowing of subject choices in many Scottish schools has had a profoundly negative effect on the uptake of Gaelic, especially—but not exclusively—among new Gaelic learners. The figures prove that: in the past five years, the number of Gaelic learners has reduced by 57 per cent. The situation needs urgent intervention to protect the Gaelic language itself, Gaelic education and—which is most relevant today—the right of Scotland’s young people to learn Gaelic in their schools. Gaelic might be the smallest subject here today, but we are by no means small in terms of our importance to history, culture and identity. In that sense, we are so much more than a school subject or an option on a form. It is crucial to us that changes are made for the better, after this inquiry.
In the same item of business
The Convener (Clare Adamson)
SNP
Good morning, and welcome to the 15th meeting of the Education and Skills Committee in 2019. We have received apologies from Ross Greer and Oliver Mundell; A...
Catriona MacPhee (Comann Luchd-Teagaisg Àrd Sgoiltean)
Madainn mhath. Is mise Catriona Nic a’ Phì agus tha mi an seo gus riochdachadh tidsearan Gàidhlig ann an sgoiltean bho air feadh na dùthcha: eadar na h-eilea...
Francisco Valdera-Gil (Scottish Council of Deans of Education)
Buenos días. No voy a hablar en español. Do not worry, I am not going to speak in Spanish. I was a teacher of Spanish and French at Dalkeith high school, no...
Marjorie Kerr (Scottish Association of Geography Teachers)
I am the president of the SAGT, which is an entirely voluntary charitable organisation with a membership of about 600 geography teachers throughout Scotland....
Tess Watson (Association for Science Education)
The ASE is a large body in England with a smaller membership in Scotland. I have been in post for only just over a year, so I am still finding my feet. I am ...
Larry Flanagan (Educational Institute of Scotland)
Good morning, colleagues. I am the general secretary of the EIS. I was a classroom teacher for 33 years. Having been a principal teacher of English, I will b...
The Convener
SNP
Thank you. I invite members to ask questions.
Johann Lamont (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I have found everything that has been said already very interesting, but one area in which I am interested is the dilemma highlighted by Larry Flanagan about...
Larry Flanagan
As far as the senior phase is concerned, significant subject choice is supposed to happen in S3. However, that is not the reality. The majority of schools st...
Johann Lamont
Lab
I am still wrestling with this question of equity. Something changed in schools when they had to start taking youngsters who were doing foundation and genera...
Larry Flanagan
That is an issue. N4 is interesting, because it is kind of on the cusp of the expected norm. The minimal requirement is for people to be at level 3 by the en...
Johann Lamont
Lab
What do we do about groups such as looked-after children? Most young people will stay on to sixth year, but how do we address those young people in the syste...
Larry Flanagan
There is a wide range of ability among looked-after and accommodated children, with kids who are perfectly capable of getting their highers, whether or not t...
Johann Lamont
Lab
But 75 per cent of them are leaving in fourth year.
Larry Flanagan
Yes, and quite often they do so not necessarily because of dissatisfaction with school, but because of personal circumstance. Schools have a responsibility t...
Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
SNP
I have a brief question on that subject. We know that some pupils in less-advantaged areas are being offered only five subjects at higher. What is your view ...
Larry Flanagan
Very few schools will offer more than five subject choices at higher, because higher in the previous system and, for most schools, in this system is a one-ye...
Rona Mackay
SNP
Sorry—I understand why you are saying that. I did not frame the question properly. That is the senior phase limitation of their choices; it is not necessaril...
Larry Flanagan
No, and that is ridiculously narrow. Offering only six subjects in S4 is narrow as well. The issue is how schools can overcome that. They can overcome it by ...
Francisco Valdera-Gil
I want to respond to Johann Lamont’s question about looked-after and accommodated children being disadvantaged in school. I, too, have many hats and, for a y...
Johann Lamont
Lab
We will explore this question in more depth later, but do you think that that is a particular issue for modern languages?
Francisco Valdera-Gil
It has been a particular issue for modern languages since modern languages stopped being compulsory in fourth year. In the school at which I taught, we had s...
Johann Lamont
Lab
Is that increasingly the norm? Is the issue not just about managing the shortage of teachers but about freeing up space in the curriculum? Has it now become ...
Francisco Valdera-Gil
I think that it has come to that since languages stopped being compulsory. Also, if someone is taking only five, six or seven subjects, the one that is most ...
Marjorie Kerr
We have talked a little bit about how the N4 course is not certificated. We feel that one of the issues is the fact that parents are not yet being educated e...
Johann Lamont
Lab
To give them confidence, would the solution be to externalise the N4 exam?
Marjorie Kerr
Yes, definitely. I think that something has to be done about it to make it a more realistic qualification. The whole thing about the BGE and senior phase is ...
Tess Watson
I want to go back to the point Johann Lamont raised about looked-after and accommodated children. My gut feeling is that, as those youngsters are in school f...
Johann Lamont
Lab
I understand that. Of course, we want all young people to achieve their full potential. Nevertheless, the statistics show that 75 per cent of young people wh...
Tess Watson
I do not know how to answer that question, because I do not have an answer to that.