Parliamentary questions
Pam Duncan-Glancy
1,119 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
12 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has explored the potential for a collaborative approach between universities to lead the Centre of Teaching Excellence.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23878 on 8 January 2024. 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-committe…
12 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken of any impact of school staffing on children's access to occupational therapy services.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Occupational health therapy services are provided by NHS Boards in Scotland, therefore there is no school staffing impact in respect of these services. The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 places NHS Boards under a duty to supp…
12 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that it will publish guidance on the use of mobile phones in schools, as stated by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills in her ministerial statement on 12 December 2023.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Updated guidance on the use of mobile phone technologies in schools is expected to be published in Spring 2024. The current guidance to education authorities and schools on this issue remains available from Guidance on Developing Policies to Promote the Safe…
12 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the legislative framework is for providing young disabled people with a plan for their transitions from school to adulthood, and what its position is on whether it should include a guarantee that it is started from no later than their 14th birthday.
Answer · Natalie Don: The Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 sets out clear timescales for post school transition planning. In the accompanying statutory guidance , schools are encouraged to plan for transitions well ahead of the statutory timescales, which apply from the …
12 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to CALL Scotland in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government has provided £367,177 of grant funding per year to CALL Scotland in the last five years. This grant is for services which deliver a positive and enabling impact on the provision of support to children and young people, who can benefit …
12 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many probationer teachers have filled vacant teaching posts in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The assignment of probationer teachers to individual schools is a matter for each local authority.
12 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to carry out a review of the preference waiver scheme, in light of reported concerns that probation teachers are less likely to opt-in following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government continues to keep Preference Waiver Payments (PWP) under review through the Teacher Induction Scheme Ongoing Review Group and Strategic Board for Teacher Education. The Strategic Board for Teacher Education, which is made up of a rang…
7 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what additional costs have been incurred from phase 1 and phase 2 of the Learning Estate Investment Programme projects as a result of any changes in material or build costs.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: There has been a period of exceptional market volatility due to a range of global factors such as the Covid pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine as well as the impact of Brexit. As a result of this, projects have experienced cost pressures out-with normal inf…
7 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any additional costs associated with the phase 3 bids for the Learning Estate Investment Programme as a result of the delay in communicating who had been awarded funding.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The projects which form Phase 3 of the £2bn Learning Estate Investment Programme continued their development activities while the funding process was being assessed. This included a range of work specific to each location, for example, site selection, survey…
7 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made regarding any potential impact of a reduction in university applications from international students on the long-term sustainability of higher education institutions in Scotland.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council continue to support universities in developing their own mitigating strategies to minimise any negative impacts on long-term financial sustainability. This includes any reduction in international studen…
7 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of pupils currently learning in temporary (a) buildings, (b) classrooms and (c) schools that are not part of their own campus.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: It is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage their school estate. Therefore, the Scottish Government does not hold this information.
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with LGBT Health and Wellbeing regarding its New Scots strategy.
Answer · Emma Roddick: The Scottish Government is currently working with our partners at COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council to refresh the New Scots strategy and we are undertaking a series of engagement events to enable both refugees and people seeking asylum to inform the str…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it has equipped local authorities to support children who did not experience transition stages of education from (a) nursery to primary and (b) primary to secondary school as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government COVID-19 guidance for schools supported schools and local authorities in the delivery of education to support outcomes for children and young people, in a proportionate and responsible manner. This included setting out the importance o…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of the consequences of the disruption to education during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what (a) action it has taken and (b) specific funding it has allocated to mitigate these.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government recognises the impact which the Covid-19 pandemic has had on children and young people in Scotland, particularly the closing of schools and learning lost as a result. This is in common with children and young people across the world an…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the reported gap between the number of available speech and language therapists in Scotland compared with the demand, and what plans it has to address this issue.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The 2021 Programme for Government included a commitment to review Allied Health Professions (AHP) Education in 2022. To deliver on this, the Scottish Government worked in collaboration with a wide range of partners including the Royal College of Speech and La…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to provide an update to the Parliament on its national action plan on violence and behaviour in schools.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: We are currently working with the Scottish Advisory Group for Relationships and Behaviour in Schools to develop a national action plan which we expect to be published early in the new year. We will update parliament on the action plan in due course.
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered introducing anonymised national reporting from schools on violence and disruptive behaviour.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Last month concluded a series of summits I held with a wide range of stakeholders on behaviour in schools. Members are aware that September’s summit on relationships and behaviour in schools focused on recording and monitoring incidents. My aim from the summi…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it anticipates that local authorities will require any additional resources to support the strengthening of an evidence base on school behaviour trends.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government is currently considering the findings of the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research and outputs from the relationships and behaviour summits which, will inform the actions that are included in the national action plan. This will includ…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to publish a national action plan on behaviour in schools.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23491 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…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement Education Scotland had with teachers to develop the practical materials “on areas such as expectations and consequences” that the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills referred to in her statement of 29 November 2023.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Education Scotland engaged with a wide variety of stakeholders including teachers to develop the practical materials which form part of the behaviours and relationships theme of its professional learning framework. Engagement and evaluation with our teacher n…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting local authorities to engage in collaborative action to reduce instances of low-level and serious disruptive behaviour of school pupils.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government is currently considering the findings of the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research and outputs from the relationships and behaviour summits, which will inform the actions that are included in the national action plan. This will includ…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out the level of funding required by Education Scotland to develop the practical materials “on areas such as expectations and consequences” that the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills referred to in her statement of 29 November 2023.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Education Scotland will continue to develop practical materials to support teachers’ professional learning needs and practice, including those which form part of the behaviours and relationships theme of its professional learning framework. These resources ha…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what direct action it will take to encourage local authorities to collect more accurate recording of inappropriate, abusive or violent behaviour in schools.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I was clear in my statement to Parliament on 29 November that I encourage, in the strongest possible terms, more accurate recording of all incidents of inappropriate, abusive or violent behaviour in our schools. Recording and monitoring plays an essential rol…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to distribute the £900,000 for local authorities to offer support training for staff to tackle post-COVID-19 pandemic challenges in schools, as announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 29 November 2023.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: We are currently in discussions with COSLA regarding the distribution of this funding. We will write out to local authorities in due course to set out our expectations regarding the use of the funding.
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the £900,000 for local authorities to offer support training for staff to tackle post-COVID-19 pandemic challenges in schools, as announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 29 November 2023, whether it will instruct local authorities that this support shoul…
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I set out in my statement my expectations for how this funding should be used, which reflected key themes from the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research. We are currently in discussions with COSLA regarding the distribution of this funding and we will write …
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to issue national guidance on behaviour management policies in schools, and how it will support local authorities to implement any such guidance.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: We published guidance in 2017, ‘ Developing a positive whole school ethos and culture: relationships, learning and behaviour’ to support local authorities, education settings, practitioners and partners to further improve the ethos and culture, and relations…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to monitor whether local authorities and schools review their policies on relationships and behaviour, and what action it will take to encourage them to do so.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Last month concluded a series of summits I held with a wide range of stakeholders on behaviour in schools. The Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research was also published and considered as part of the final summit, which set out that while the majority of pupil…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to involve children and young people directly in the development of a national action plan on violence and behaviour in schools.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: It is essential that we hear directly from children and young people as part of this work. The recent series of summits held with a wide range of stakeholders to discuss concerns around relationships and behaviour included representatives from a range of chil…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which stakeholders it believes have a role in the improvement of behaviour in schools, including reducing violence, and how it expects these stakeholders to participate in achieving this.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I have made it absolutely clear that our schools should be safe and consistent learning environments for all, and that violent and abusive behaviours towards pupils or staff is unacceptable. I have recently concluded a series of relationships and behaviour s…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to engage with trade unions on the development of a national action plan on violence and behaviour in schools.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: In my statement to Parliament on 29 November, I confirmed that we will develop a multi-year plan to tackle instances of challenging behaviour, working with local authorities, trade unions and others. We are committed to working with trade union partners on d…