I am committed to supporting improved school attendance for all young people. I recently asked Education Scotland to undertake a deep dive to support greater understanding of the issue, and its report includes five recommendations for improving practice. Education Scotland and the Scottish Government are working together to support those actions, including on an online package of support, designed with local authorities and schools.

In addition, Education Scotland is working with councils on providing practical support, with the first cohort of the improving attendance quality improvement programme beginning shortly. I have also asked the chief inspector of education to identify successful approaches that can be shared more widely, as part of inspections.

Finally, I read with interest the Children’s Commissioner for England’s report on children and young people’s attendance, and I hope to meet Dame Rachel de Souza to discuss it soon. Officials have been working with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland on the development of a framework for education to support improved educational outcomes for care-experienced children and young people, including their attendance.