Pam Duncan-Glancy

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates guidance on the new maths national thematic inspection will be issued to (a) schools, (b) local authorities and (c) HM Chief Inspector of Education.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: As announced in the statement to the Scottish Parliament on 12 December 2023, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education has arranged for HM Inspectors to carry out a national thematic inspection of mathematics in 2024. The report from the thematic inspection…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which maths specialists it contacted before 12 December 2023 with a view to inviting them to lead the maths curriculum review.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: No individual has been or will be, invited to lead the maths curriculum review by Scottish Government. The appointment of a national maths specialist will be open and transparent, following established Scottish Government recruitment procedures.

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timeline is for the review of the maths curriculum.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: As announced in the statement to the Scottish Parliament on 12 December 2023, the review of the maths curriculum framework will begin this year (2024), with a revised maths curriculum to be tested with teachers before the end of the year.

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the planned timeline is for the launch of the Curriculum for Excellence improvement cycle.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: As set out in my statement to Parliament on 12 December 2023, Maths will be the first curricular area to be revised as part of the new systematic curriculum improvement cycle. The update to the Maths curriculum will begin in 2024 and will begin to be tested …

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which stakeholders it (a) engaged with and (b) informed of its announcement, on Curriculum for Excellence improvement cycles, in advance of the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills' statement on 12 December 2023.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The initiation of a systematic curriculum improvement cycle announced on 12 December 2023, stems from the OECD 2021 report “Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: Into the Future” and its specific recommendation for Scotland to "develop a systematic approach t…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government with which stakeholders it plans to engage ahead of the launch of Curriculum for Excellence improvement cycles.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The initiation of a systematic curriculum improvement cycle was announced on 12 December 2023, however the background to the cycle stems from the OECD 2021 report “Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: Into the Future” and its specific recommendation for Scot…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it plans to launch the Curriculum for Excellence improvement cycle.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: As announced in a statement to Parliament on 12 December 2023, Maths will be the first curricular area to be revised as part of the new systematic curriculum improvement cycle. The update to the Maths curriculum will begin in 2024 and will be tested with Sco…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills plans to meet the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) director of education and skills.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I have greatly valued discussions with the OECD to date and my next meeting with the OECD is scheduled for Wednesday 21 February.

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding the use of mobile phones in schools.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Work to refresh guidance on the use of mobile phones in schools is underway. There have been high level discussions with local authority and school representatives as part of that process. The Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools,…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its position on whether sanctions should only be imposed on local authorities that do not protect teacher numbers in the event that the national average drops, as opposed to for individual reductions within local authority areas.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Having reviewed the information presented by local authorities, the Scottish Government has confirmed that we will not withhold funding in 2023-24 from those who did not maintain teacher numbers. While the Scottish Government remains disappointed by the smal…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what reporting mechanisms it has in place with local authorities to assess how the £145 million provided for the protection of teacher numbers has been spent.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The requirement for local authorities to maintain teacher numbers at 2022 census levels was assessed against teacher numbers in the Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland 2023, and subject to mitigating circumstances presented by individual councils.

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the £145 million provided to local authorities to protect teacher numbers.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Since the introduction of this additional funding from 2020, teacher numbers have increased from 52,247 in the 2019 teacher census to 54,033 in the 2023 teacher census.

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it next plans to meet the chief executive of Education Scotland to discuss education.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Education Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government and as such there is regular engagement between Scottish Government and Education Scotland officials on a range of education matters. Senior Scottish Government officials will next meet the …

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL) data, what specific action it is taking to address any attainment gap between pupils with additional support needs and pupils without such needs in (a) literacy, (b) numeracy, (c) writing, (d) listening and (e) talking.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Children and young people with additional support needs continue to achieve and we continue to prioritise reducing the attainment gap in Scotland. The Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL) data shows that the attainment gap between mainstream…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish an update on its reconsideration of delivery options to meet its commitment to support the update of pupils' digital devices when necessary, in light of its announcement that the £13 million allocated for this has been identified as a necessary saving.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: An update on the provision of digital devices was given in the 2024-25 Scottish Government Budget. In order to maximise the impact of capital funding available, we will seek to provide support at a household level, targeting investment specifically at disadv…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of modern languages being classified as a priority for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) intakes, what analysis it has undertaken of its publication, Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group: initial teacher education intake figures 2022, showing that the actual intake of modern…

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group figures are indicative and are provided by universities at the start of the academic session. The Higher Education Statistics Agency will publish official data for 2022-23 in April 2024. These will provide the mos…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children are currently supported by the Active Play Development Project.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government recognises the important role Active Play has in providing children with the opportunity to develop physical skills in their early years and to encourage a long-term relationship with physical activity. The Active Play Development Proj…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children currently have free access to sportscotland's Active Schools programme.

Answer · Maree Todd: Scottish Government have committed to ensure that sportscotland’s Active Schools programme is free for all children and young people by the end of this Parliament. While there are still a small number of cases where charging remains, it is not currently possi…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the exact number is of Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) probationers who have deferred or withdrawn in each of the last five years.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The number of withdrawals and deferrals from 2019-20 – 2022-23 are in the following table: 2023-24 data is not yet available. Year Withdrawals Deferrals 2019-20 232 282 2020-21 91 311 2021-22 324 330 2022-23 295 340 2023-24 N/A N/A

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23885 by Jenny Gilruth on 23 January 2024, how many surplus teachers are currently allocated to local authorities.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government does not allocate fully registered teachers to local authorities. Statutory responsibility for the recruitment and employment of teachers and all other support staff in local authority schools sits with individual councils. Probatione…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide any details of the key stakeholders that it is currently engaging with as part of its preparations for the Centre of Teaching Excellence.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government is providing a variety of ways for teachers and practitioners to feed into the design process, including working with the following stakeholder groups: • Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) • Scottish Council of Deans of…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to (a) launch and (b) complete the co-design process for the Centre of Teaching Excellence.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: We have begun engagement with trade unions and other stakeholders in preparation for the wider co-design process which will start this month. We anticipate the design process will take approximately six months to ensure this is a collaborative endeavour. This…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the absence of information on gender-based violence from Education Scotland's guidance on behaviour in schools, whether it plans to develop separate guidance on this topic.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23510 on 19 December 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-commit…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what gender impact analysis was carried out in relation to Education Scotland's guidance on behaviour in schools.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Education Scotland do not undertake individual characteristic impact analysis on our resources. The new draft Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equalities Professional Learning Framework will be reviewed in April through to June 2024 and user feedback will be include…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it expects its national action plan on behaviour in schools will be published.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The national action plan will be developed in collaboration with the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS), which met to discuss the draft action plan on 12 December 2023 and 31 January 2024. It is expected that the acti…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of reported claims that there is inequality in the support offered by Education Scotland on the curriculum. 

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government is unaware of any such claims.

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish its paper on developing a Curriculum for Excellence review cycle. 

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The initiation of a systematic curriculum improvement cycle announced on 12 December 2023, stems from the OECD 2021 report “Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: Into the Future” and its specific recommendation for Scotland to "develop a systematic approach t…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its explorative work regarding building consistency in teacher judgement across all curriculum areas. 

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I am advised that Education Scotland established a National Timetable Group in October 2022. This brought together experienced timetablers from across Scotland. I am advised that the group has met on a number of occasions and has considered the practicalities…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out the mechanisms used by Education Scotland to consult on its Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equalities Professional Learning Framework.  

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: As noted in the answer to question S6W-24947 on 19 February 2024, the draft Professional Framework will undergo further evaluation and consultation about ease of use from now until March 2024. This evaluation evidence will be used to inform further developme…

29 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which stakeholders it engaged with regarding Education Scotland's Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equalities Professional Learning framework. 

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I am advised that Education Scotland’s draft Professional Learning Framework has been an iterative process, developed as a result of formal and informal feedback from a wide range of practitioners and other users who have participated in Education Scotland’s …