4. To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to implement the recommendations of the Enable Scotland report, “#IncludED in the Main?!”. (S5O-00512)

The Scottish Government will consider the recommendations of the Enable Scotland report “#IncludED in the Main?!” in conjunction with the advisory group for additional support for learning and other key stakeholders.

The Cabinet secretary will be aware that more than 80 per cent of the education workforce who participated in the Enable Scotland national conversation felt that we are not getting it right for every child with the presumption that all children should be taught in a mainstream setting.

Does he agree that, in some cases, mainstreaming can intensify the feelings of isolation and exclusion that are experienced by some children with a learning or physical disability, and that a child’s educational requirement should be based on their individual needs and background? Does he agree that the time has come for the Scottish Government to review the current guidelines, not just looking at what happens in the classroom but taking a holistic approach to the whole school day?

I agree with a lot of Mr Balfour’s analysis. We have to make individual judgments about the educational needs of every child; that approach is at the heart of the getting it right for every child agenda, and it should be applied in all circumstances.

I am still a firm believer in the presumption of mainstreaming, but I would not want that to be perceived as ruling out provision in a special educational setting that meets the needs of individual young people. In principle, I pretty much agree with the analysis that Mr Balfour described.

With regard to the wider exercise of our responsibilities in respect of additional support for learning, ministers have reviewed performance in that area on a five-year basis. I intend to continue to look very closely at those issues, recognising the interest that the Parliament’s Education and Skills Committee has taken in the matter and the wider issues that the Enable Scotland report raises, and I will continue that dialogue in the period ahead.