Seòmar agus comataidhean

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the “It’s Our Future” report. I spend much time thinking about the future of my children and grandchildren, all eight of whom have made or are currently making their way through the Scottish education system.

This fully comprehensive report spans 152 pages, but I wish to focus my remarks on the elements that strike a personal chord with me and that I know will strike a chord with many families across Scotland whom I have had the privilege of working with throughout my time in politics. The points that I wish to focus on are about how we can better support children and young people who have neurodivergent conditions to not just get by but fully participate and thrive on their educational journeys.

Recommendation 1, “Change Qualifications and Assessment in the Senior Phase in Scotland”, is very welcome. The report notes that many learners who were spoken to as part of the review reported high levels of stress caused by the overt focus on examinations. I agree that

“change must be carefully planned and resourced.”

We know that stress and anxiety are often one of the major aspects of having a neurodivergent condition. Supporting neurodivergent children in our education system demands a holistic and inclusive approach that not only recognises their unique ways of learning and interacting with the world but their unique ways of showing and understanding their learning. It is about creating environments where neurodiversity is seen as a valuable perspective that enriches our whole system and not a barrier to success.

Allowing for more long-term overviews of the educational progress of children and young people will, in my view, result in a fairer picture of their progress. By fostering that inclusive approach, we can ensure that our education system is not merely inclusive by design but empowering in practice. To allow neurodivergent children to flourish academically and socially, without there being the pressure of what is to come, assessments could be immersive and integrated into learning.

Recommendation 7 states:

“All learners should be offered a broad range of courses including academic, vocational, professional and technical courses.”

That will ensure that our children and young people reach their full potential and are able to do what they need to do in order to have their needs met.

I have had many interactions with children and young people over the years—as well as being a mother and a grandmother, I was a young women’s leader for a few years and ran a local playgroup—and it is obvious, when interacting with a wide range of young children, from many different aspects of life and from different demographics, that one is no more or less worthy than another when it comes to showing either academic abilities or vocational talents. I welcome the report’s remarks on parity of esteem for each learning pathway.

On that point, I look forward to visiting local businesses in my Banffshire and Buchan Coast constituency next week as part of Scottish apprenticeship week. Such businesses support many of our local young people through the valuable learning opportunity of apprenticeships.

Our aim should be for young people to leave our Scottish education system with the tools that will help them to navigate their personal and professional lives. More important—this is vital—they should be able to look back at an experience that has had a positive impact on their life. For that to happen, we must ensure that, when building or reforming our education system, we build it not to be modified but in an inclusive way from the foundations up.

Good morning and welcome to the sixth meeting in 2024 of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. We have received no apologies.

Our first agenda item is to decide whether to take in private item 3, which is consideration of today’s budget evidence. Do members agree to take that item in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you, minister. I welcome your statement.

I will kick off the questions. First, I want to look at the level 4 figures. Could you explain why the equalities budget has fallen and the human rights budget has increased?

There was no explanation of the fact that the connecting communities funding had been integrated into mainstreaming and inclusion. Why was that done?

We move on to questions from Meghan Gallacher.

We now go to Kevin Stewart.

Will you talk us through the decision-making process that is used to set the equalities and human rights budget?

Our second agenda item is the final of our budget scrutiny evidence sessions. I refer members to committee papers 1 and 2.

I welcome to the meeting Emma Roddick, the Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees. The minister is accompanied by Scottish Government officials Rob Priestley, who is the head of the mainstreaming unit, and Jamie MacDougall, who is the deputy director of budget, pay and pensions. Good morning to you all.

I invite the minister to provide an opening statement before we move to questions from the committee.

Two members have indicated that they would like to come in with questions. We will go to Annie Wells first, then Kevin Stewart.

As there is no indication that anyone else wants to come in, that concludes our formal business this morning. I thank the minister and her officials for their attendance.

We now move into private session to consider the remaining items on our agenda.