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I want to pick up on the point that Jackie Dunbar touched on in relation to the opening of the energy transition skills hub in Aberdeen. It is a fantastic example of a college moving forward in a time of skills shortages. However, NESCol warns of a key problem, as do many colleges, with college credits: indeed, it will get no credits for those additional courses and places and it will have to flex—hairdressing might have to be cut to have those potential courses delivered. What is your view on that? If we are to meet the challenge of those skills shortages, we need a different system for credits.

Thanks, convener.

I want to stick with the interests of your board members, because it is quite clear that some of those individuals are principals of institutions that are in financial difficulty. What policy does the Scottish Funding Council have in relation to those individuals and discussions about their institutions with regard to any conflicts of interest?

Good morning. I have a couple of questions about colleges. You will probably have heard over both panel sessions about the real concern that exists for our college sector. The report, which is really stark, mentions four institutions that are facing financial difficulty. I have been on the committee since November, and it feels as though our college sector is the Cinderella of our education system. I want to see that change, and I hope that the minister does as well. Minister, what assessment have you made since your appointment—that might be literally over the weekend—of where the college sector is, what you want to see change over the next six months, and what opportunities there are to get the sector into a much stronger place?

We heard in our first evidence session today about the impact that college credits are having. I note that the First Minister was in Aberdeen this week to open the energy transition skills hub and I welcome that. I have met with the college there, and committee members regularly promote the hub.

Are you looking at a fundamental review of how college credits are being provided? That is one of the big asks of every college that I have spoken to. I am sure that there is a better way of making sure that we are meeting the skills gap in our economy by doing something specifically with credits. Is that something that you are starting to look at?

Thank you.

Last week, we heard from Kate Sanger about her daughter, Laura. The petitioner, Beth Morrison, and her son, Calum, have driven the campaign. What would you say to them? In both cases, the children are non-verbal. They have returned home with physical marks, and their subsequent behaviours have resulted in challenging situations for the family and also when they go back into education. Saying that we need more guidance and that we should wait and see is not enough for the campaigners. Policies have clearly failed that group of children and young people. Why have we not been recording the incidents? Why has best practice not been put in place to tell parents what has been going on?

My final question is about the role that the inspectorate has played to date in considering this issue. Where do you see it acting in future to support schools on training, so that restraint is used properly, and on the recording of incidents? There are past and future elements to that question.

As I said on the record last week, it is interesting that the Care Inspectorate has reported a 40 per cent reduction in the use of seclusion in the institutions that it inspects.

Willie Rennie has touched on a really important area—I know that from some of the conversations that I have had with Beth Morrison and Daniel Johnson about it.

There is some concern about one aspect of the bill in relation to schools, although I know that Beth is keen that the campaign is not framed around it. You have outlined really well the situation with children with additional support and complex needs. Restraint and seclusion should not be taking place in Scotland today, but they are. Sadly, we have violent behaviour in our schools, and we have heard from teachers who want to know whether, if a pupil comes to hit or punch them, they can hold that individual and what restraint can be used.

The position needs to be clarified. Such incidents need to be recorded, but they are not, and the level of attacks on teachers is totally unacceptable. As Suzi Martin outlined, guidance can provide clarity. However there is a lot of concern in the teaching community that we could say that they are not allowed to touch anybody. Kate Sanger gave the example of grabbing someone who is running into the road. Let me turn that around: if someone tries to physically attack a teacher, what would it be appropriate to do, in your view? The guidance cannot be woolly in that area. We have to make sure that we get it right.

It is also important to know where the element of self-defence is for a member of staff. I am not necessarily talking about children with additional support needs; I am talking about teachers who tell us about a disruptive teenager being violent in school. We need to be clear about what would be acceptable in such a case and what that would look like. In many cases, such situations are not being regulated—it is purely about self-defence and those situations are not being recorded. I am not sure what you would suggest that a teacher in a school could do.