Subject Choice

Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at 2:00 pm on 10 October 2024.

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Photo of Pam Duncan-Glancy Pam Duncan-Glancy Labour 2:00, 10 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether young people have the opportunity to study subjects that they are interested in. (S6O-03829)

Photo of Jenny Gilruth Jenny Gilruth Scottish National Party

Under Scotland’s curriculum, pupils should be able to have appropriate personalisation and choice during both the broad general education and the senior phase. Timetabling, staffing and resourcing issues may mean that that is not always possible. Where a subject or course cannot be offered by a school, national guidelines encourage flexibility and collaboration with other local schools or colleges or through online and digital approaches.

Photo of Pam Duncan-Glancy Pam Duncan-Glancy Labour

The cabinet secretary will be aware of concerns dating as far back as the report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and earlier that subject choice in the senior phase has narrowed and that, most worryingly, it has done so at a faster rate in schools in deprived areas.

The cabinet secretary confirmed, in response to the Hayward review, that there would be

“a degree of rationalisation of the senior phase”,—[Official Report, 19 September 2023; c 73.]

and people have become concerned that the Government’s mistakes, which led to a narrower curriculum, could now become Government policy. What did the cabinet secretary mean by

“a degree of rationalisation of the senior phase”,

and does she plan to further narrow subject choice?

Photo of Jenny Gilruth Jenny Gilruth Scottish National Party

I think that the member raised that issue with me in the chamber when I spoke about the Government’s response to Professor Hayward’s review.

I know that Parliament debated the issue of narrowing subject choice during the previous parliamentary session, but subject choice has been widened under the curriculum for excellence because the broad general education means that a wider range of subjects is on offer to our young people until later in their academic life.

However, I think that there was a clash of cultures between a senior phase dictated by a final exam system and the broad general education, which is about taking broad approaches to curriculum areas. We have not managed to resolve that, which is the point that I was trying to convey in relation to Professor Hayward’s review. Rationalisation was one of the key recommendations in her response.

We know that a number of subjects that are now being delivered in the school context should perhaps be delivered elsewhere, such as in a college setting. When we talk about rationalisation, that is really about ensuring that the qualifications that are being delivered in our schools are appropriate for that environment. I hope that that gives the member some degree of comfort with the Government’s approach.

Photo of Clare Haughey Clare Haughey Scottish National Party

Will the cabinet secretary set out the breadth of subjects that currently exists in Scottish education, and will she say what impact colleges, community campuses and virtual education have had on the provision that is available to pupils?

Photo of Jenny Gilruth Jenny Gilruth Scottish National Party

As I suggested in my response to Pam Duncan-Glancy, the curriculum for excellence provides pupils with a broad general education across eight curricular areas. Schools and local authorities continue to improve access to different learning opportunities and to a wider range of qualifications and courses in the senior phase by having strong partnerships with colleges and community campuses, and through virtual education.

One excellent example of that collaborative approach is the delivery that we are seeing at Dunoon grammar school, which was voted the best school in the world for community collaboration and which I visited earlier this year.

In addition to funding local online learning provision, the Scottish Government funds the national e-learning offer and has increased access to digital devices. That collaborative approach to delivery has meant that, since 2014, we have seen a sizeable increase in the number of vocational qualifications.

Photo of Willie Rennie Willie Rennie Liberal Democrat

The cabinet secretary is cautious about the recommendations of the Hayward review. What does that mean for parity of esteem between academic and vocational subjects and what is she doing now to encourage greater take-up of vocational opportunities in schools?

Photo of Jenny Gilruth Jenny Gilruth Scottish National Party

The member will be aware that this year’s exam results showed another substantive increase in the number of vocational and technical qualifications, which is to be welcomed. That shows the strength of the pathways that are now on offer in our schools.

That work cuts across the work on post-school educational reform that Mr Dey is leading. We want to ensure that that parity of esteem is reflected in the Government’s response to Professor Hayward’s report. Part of that is about education reform and about reforming the very bodies that I discussed with the Education, Children and Young People Committee yesterday. I look forward to working with Mr Rennie to ensure that the reform of those bodies meets the aspiration for parity of esteem.