Committee
Education, Children and Young People Committee 07 January 2026
07 Jan 2026 · S6 · Education, Children and Young People Committee
Item of business
Subordinate Legislation
Official Statistics (Scotland) Amendment Order 2026 [Draft]
I have raised the issue before, and I asked a question on it in the chamber. However, we have more opportunity for discussion in the committee when you bring forward pieces of subordinate legislation. The issue in 2024 was, in my view, very significant, but then we had the scenario last year in which there were not just slight gains in higher history but results that went above where they were the year before. What did you think when you saw that? When I spoke to Shirley Rogers and the new chief executive, just after he was appointed but before the results came out, they thought that we might get somewhere that was a halfway house between that low level in 2024 and the level in previous years. However, what happened was that students got results that were above what they had been before. There was a huge increase. That must have been concerning to you.
In the same item of business
The Convener (Douglas Ross)
Con
Good morning, and welcome to the first meeting in 2026 of the Education, Children and Young People Committee. The first item on our agenda is consideration ...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Jenny Gilruth)
SNP
Happy new year to you, convener, and to committee members. Thank you for inviting me to discuss the draft Official Statistics (Scotland) Amendment Order 202...
Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD)
LD
The cabinet secretary will recall that, during the bill process, we discussed changes to quality assurance, as well as the accreditation function and the fac...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
In relation to accreditation, as far as I am aware, that is being taken forward by Qualifications Scotland. I met Shirley Rogers recently, towards the end of...
Willie Rennie
LD
What about the quality assurance aspects?
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
I understand that those are also being taken forward. Jaxon Parish might want to speak about the work that officials have been supporting.
Jaxon Parish (Scottish Government)
There has been work to develop what the national quality assurance review will cover; that is being done with colleagues at Qualifications Scotland. As per t...
Willie Rennie
LD
I will make the obvious point that a compromise was reached during the bill process, when we thought that a pragmatic and reasonable way to progress would be...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
Yes, that is very much the intention. We discussed that matter of accreditation with the committee, along with the fact that a number of qualifications—not l...
The Convener
Con
Since we are speaking about the SQA and your on-going discussions with it, where are you now, months and years on from the 2024 higher history exam results? ...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
Concerns were raised at the time in relation to the 2024 higher history qualification. I am mindful of the fact that we are now into 2026. There was consider...
The Convener
Con
You mentioned that you spoke to Mr Page after his interview. Was that to criticise him for speaking in that way, was it to ask for more information or was it...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
I think that we had a routine engagement to catch up on a number of different areas, including the points that Mr Rennie raised this morning in relation to a...
The Convener
Con
I have raised the issue before, and I asked a question on it in the chamber. However, we have more opportunity for discussion in the committee when you bring...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
It is always difficult to make generalisations about cohorts. If you teach cohorts of young people, you see attainment fluctuate from year to year. The exam ...
The Convener
Con
Page 4 of the Scottish Government policy note notes that Scottish ministers have stated that the regulations are “compatible with the UNCRC requirements”. ...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
Forgive me, convener, but which legislation would that be?
The Convener
Con
I am thinking of the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill, which Natalie Don-Innes brought forward. I know that you recused...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
You alluded to Cabinet conversations, convener, and I have to again put on the record, as you have already noted, the fact that I am recused from discussions...
Judith Brown (Scottish Government)
It is correct to say that all legislation requires to be compatible with the UNCRC. I am not sure that there is anything more that I can say in relation to t...
The Convener
Con
I am not asking about the Promise bill—indeed, the relevant minister will appear before our committee shortly. Ms Brown, are solicitors in the Scottish Gove...
Judith Brown
For all SSIs, we are required to produce an impact assessment in relation to the UNCRC and to be satisfied that they are compliant. That is what has been don...
The Convener
Con
I will move the discussion away from the Promise bill, because I understand the complexities that the cabinet secretary is, quite rightly, faced with in that...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
The Government always listens to concerns that are raised by stakeholders. The general point is that ministers are not able to take forward bills that are no...
The Convener
Con
Will officials come back to us on that? You will have seen that we mentioned the issue in our stage 1 report on the Education (Scotland) Bill. It has been hi...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
We can take the general point away. A couple of issues have come up today that I will write to the committee about. If we can loop the point into our respons...
Willie Rennie
LD
On a different subject, one of the criticisms of the old SQA was that it was slow to update national qualifications. Ken Muir referred to it as sometimes int...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
I agree with Professor Muir’s observations. Some of the engagement with the profession was pretty challenging, which led to the challenges that were experien...
Willie Rennie
LD
Thank you.
The Convener
Con
There are no further questions from members, so I invite the cabinet secretary to move motion S6M-19851. Motion moved, That the Education, Children and You...