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John Swinney at education committee: what we learned

John Swinney at education committee: what we learned

Scottish education secretary wants more vulnerable pupils to attend hub schools – but what else did he tell MSPs today?

6th May 2020, 3:14pm

Coronavirus: What We Learned From John Swinney At Today's Education Committee Hearing

Scotland’s education secretary, John Swinney, would be “keen” to see the number of vulnerable pupils attending school hubs rise, he said today.

He also hinted that the Scottish government may not collect data on pupil performance in P1, P4, P7 and S3 this year, and said that it has committed to publishing the review of additional support for learning “as soon as possible”.

Also from today’s committee: Education secretary wants to see more pupils in hubs

Coronavirus: What does the lockdown mean for vulnerable children?

Coronavirus: Swinney’s fears about vulnerable pupils

Here’s a summary of what else we learned when Mr Swinney appeared before the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Skills Committee this morning:

He would be “keen” to see the number of vulnerable children attending school hubs rise but added that it was understandable why families were “unnerved” about sending them, given the messages from government about the importance of staying at home. Councils, schools and charities were, therefore, finding other ways of keeping in touch with families, he added.
He said that some young people who were not previously considered vulnerable would become vulnerable as a result of the trauma of the coronavirus pandemic. He also said that the current situation could make it more difficult to identify children at risk of harm, and that there were concerns about children spending more time in homes where domestic violence was a threat.
He said the Scottish government did not have comprehensive data on pupils’ digital access - but said figures for Scotland as a whole showed 90 per cent of households had some form of digital connectivity and that councils were supporting pupils to access online learning.
He was considering whether it was “practical or possible” to collect the achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels data this year. That “material information” for monitoring the attainment gap was usually collected in June but he hinted it may not be collected this year.
Mr Swinney said he had received Angela Morgan’s review of additional support for learning and would publish it as soon as possible.
Hub schools had continued to run over the Easter break and provision over the summer holidays was being considered, he said, but he gave no definitive answer on whether hub schools would be open this summer - or on whether free school meals would continue to be served.
He refused to back an equalities impact assessment for the new grading process put in place by the Scottish Qualifications Authority to replace the exam diet. School staff are concerned the new system could disadvantage pupils in schools serving deprived areas and could also disadvantage BAME (black and/or minority ethnic) students.
Asked why moderation was necessary in arriving at grades if teachers know their pupils best, he said it was needed to ensure that a B in one part of the country was the same as a B in another part of the country