Meeting of the Parliament 13 December 2023
That is right. It is certainly what I hear, and I am sure that it is what all members hear.
Perhaps the cabinet secretary will elaborate on why reform of Education Scotland—an agency that, according to a recent annual report, costs more than £30 million a year to run—remains outstanding. That cannot wait, given that, last summer, Scottish Conservative Party research found that more than 1,000 schools in Scotland—44 per cent of schools—had not been inspected in the past 10 years.
I want to hear the cabinet secretary’s thoughts on what to do about matters such as those and on our proposals to give headteachers more powers and budgetary autonomy; to deliver a new deal for teachers by cutting red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy; and to ensure that we have a curriculum that is focused on the development of digital skills, subject-specific knowledge and adult education and apprenticeships in the workplace.
Sixteen years of SNP decline shall not be undone in the two and a half years that we have left to endure the Government. The matter is bigger than party politics, and we all, Opposition and Government, have a responsibility to acknowledge what the data shows us, to take ownership of uncomfortable truths, not to seek scapegoats among our young people, teachers and local authorities for lack of action at Government level, and to confront difficult realities. Ultimately, the future of Scotland’s economy, national health service and justice system and, above all, our kids’ futures depend on the actions that we take now.
That is why I move,
That the Parliament recognises the significance of the challenges facing the Scottish education system, as highlighted by the recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report; notes that, despite the efforts of teachers and school staff, Scotland’s positions in mathematics and science have dropped below the OECD average to an all-time low, while standards in reading are at a their joint lowest level since PISA reporting began; acknowledges that the OECD report also found that bullying in Scottish schools is more frequent than the OECD average, and that one in three of Scotland’s pupils don’t feel like they belong at their school, with pupils in Scotland twice as likely to observe violence in school as the OECD average; notes that Scotland was removed from a number of international statistical studies; recognises that education was devolved in the Scotland Act 1998; demands that the Scottish Government use its powers to address the many wide-ranging problems facing Scotland’s pupils, teachers, school staff and parents, beginning in and including early years; recognises that the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence has failed; calls for a fundamental rethink about schooling to raise standards, and considers that solutions should be explored, such as re-entering all statistical comparisons and benchmarks, addressing issues surrounding class sizes, teacher and support staff numbers, as well as the use of probationers and temporary contracts and urgently tackling the violence and discipline problems in Scotland’s schools.
15:03