Meeting of the Parliament 13 December 2023
I would like to make some progress, if the member does not mind.
In the same cohort, 93 per cent left school with one or more qualifications at SCQF level 4. Additionally, the latest figures from 2021-22 show that spend on additional support for learning by authorities has reached a record high.
We have also invested an additional £15 million since 2019-20 to increase the provision of support staff in Scotland. I heard the member’s challenge in relation to additional support needs teachers, but it is worth saying that that investment has led to more than 1,000 additional support staff across Scotland, bringing the total number to 16,606—a record high. That investment is reflected in young people’s outcomes, and I have mentioned some of the progress that we have seen in relation to young people with additional support needs and their outcomes.
The Conservative motion notes that the PISA report highlights challenges that the education system faces. The First Minister and I have both accepted that the PISA results are not good enough, but there is an assertion in the motion that Scotland’s positions in mathematics and science have dropped below the OECD average. That is not accurate. Scotland’s PISA results, based on the 2022 survey results, remained similar to the OECD average for both maths and science. For reading, Scotland performs above the OECD average. I accept that, since the last round of PISA, Scotland has seen a reduction in PISA scores, and we need to see improvements. However, let us be accurate about what PISA is telling us and what it is not telling us.
We also need to take a holistic view of educational performance in the round.