 The next item of business is a statement by John Swinney on Scotland's plan to improve the educational experience of LGBTI young people. The cabinet secretary will take questions at the end of his statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on John Swinney for up to 10 minutes please. The aim of this Government's education policy is to achieve excellence and equity for all of our children and young people in a high-performing education system. Equity for all can only be achieved through an inclusive education system. Today, I am delighted to inform Parliament of the progressive and world-leading set of recommendations to improve the educational experience of our LGBTI young people. I am proud of this Government's record on LGBTI rights, but we must recognise that there is more to do. We rightly abhor homophobia by phobia and transphobia whenever it occurs, but exclusion, isolation under representation and silence are more subtle forms of discrimination. They can be equally damaging to children and young people's health and wellbeing and have no place in our education system. It was to address the passionate and powerful campaigning of Jordan Daley and Liam Stevenson of the time for inclusive education TIE campaign that, on 19 April 2017, this Government announced our intention to form an expert group to provide advice and recommendations on the aims and pledges of TIE. That advice, which would also include the voices of organisations that have tirelessly campaigned for LGBTI equality for decades, would provide a foundation to improve the educational experience of LGBTI children and young people in Scotland. I am grateful to Christina McKelvey MSP, who is Minister for Older People and Equalities, for the key role that she played during her term in office as convener of the Parliament's and human rights committee in helping to establish the working group. Christina McKelvey has stonsly supported the aims and objectives of the TIE campaign over many years, and she ensured that LGBTI issues remained at the top of the political agenda, galvanising this Parliament and, through my own party's policy process, helped to ensure that we make changes for the better. Today, I can inform Parliament that the Scottish Government will accept, in full, all of the recommendations of the LGBTI inclusive education report. I am delighted that, in the year of young people, we can present to thousands of children and young people across the country a strong and powerful message of inclusivity, tolerance, respect and equality. This groundbreaking report includes 33 detailed recommendations that outline how we can, in partnership, improve the educational experience of LGBTI children and young people in Scotland and, hopefully, provide other countries around the world with a model for improving the learning experience of LGBTI pupils. The availability of appropriate guidance for local authorities, schools and other education providers is essential. I can confirm that the Scottish Government, in partnership with COSLA, will provide initial guidance to education authorities, making it clear that education should be LGBTI inclusive and encouraging schools to work together and in partnership with children and young people to enhance LGBTI inclusion. That guidance will signpost teachers towards supporting resources. In addition, we will work with key partners to fully update the existing statutory guidance on conduct of relationships, sexual health and parenthood education in schools, originally published in 2014, to use a thematic outcomes-based approach and to ensure that it covers themes relating to LGBTI equality and inclusion. Those include understanding LGBTI terminology and identities, representations of LGBTI people and their relationships, recognising, understanding and addressing homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, and an awareness of LGBTI equality's movements. The Scottish Government will evaluate the impact of the updated guidance within five years of publication. To assist with the inclusion of LGBTI content in curriculum for excellence, Education Scotland will review and develop specific LGBTI experience and outcomes and benchmarks that are appropriate to learners' ages and stages of development. Those will be developed in collaboration with schools, teachers and LGBTI organisations. Education Scotland will also work with the Scottish Qualifications Authority to ensure appropriate inclusion of LGBTI content in the development of new or adapted course specifications and relevant guidance that will ensure that LGBTI inclusion is embedded across the curriculum. I recognise and value the work undertaken by initial teacher education providers throughout the country in relation to LGBTI inclusion. Nevertheless, the Scottish Government can provide additional valuable support. We will therefore work with our colleagues in further and higher education to ensure a long-term, sustainable approach to LGBTI inclusive education within initial teacher education provision. That will ensure that teachers of the future are equipped with the skills and attributes to deliver LGBTI inclusion within any education setting and better support the children and young people whose lives they set out to positively influence. I also recognise the importance of developing suitable career-long professional learning opportunities for our existing education staff. I can confirm that the Scottish Government will fund sustainable LGBTI training that is accessible to all teachers and school staff in Scotland. We will also lead and resource a new free-to-access basic awareness LGBTI inclusion training course that will be suitable for all schools in Scotland. That course will be piloted in 2019 and, following evaluation, will be made available nationally during 2020. The Scottish Government will ensure that adequate funding is in place to enable those programmes to meet demand. To ensure that all schools have appropriate LGBTI teaching resources, we will review existing resources and fund the development of new teaching resources to support LGBTI inclusive education. Those new learning resources will focus on LGBTI curricular inclusion from early years to senior phase. We will also work with our partners to develop a new toolkit to enhance the LGBTI inclusive education at a whole school level. That will help to increase staff confidence in addressing instances of prejudice, bullying and engagement with parents and carers of LGBTI children and young people. That toolkit will build upon respect for all, our national approach to anti-bullying. Inspection has an important role in evaluating how well schools are developing and improving LGBTI inclusion. I can confirm that Education Scotland will continue to provide training for school inspectors to ensure that they are able to engage in professional dialogue about LGBTI equality and inclusion and have an understanding of what LGBTI inclusive education looks like within different educational settings. Those actions comprise a new national framework to support consistent and effective delivery of LGBTI inclusive education in all Scottish schools. The working group recommended those actions as an alternative to legislation as they believe that they are achievable by the end of the current parliamentary term. Nevertheless, the Scottish Government will consult the working group on further measures should progress be insufficient within this timescale. The Scottish Government and COSLA have demonstrated through the successful implementation of the school clothing grant and educational psychologist training that swift and effective progress can be made through partnership working in place of legislation. As outlined in the chamber in this debate in April last year, action is needed now. The Scottish Government and COSLA will shortly plan the practical delivery of those recommendations. The working group recognises that the Government's desire to implement their recommendations as quickly as possible to ensure that they are implemented before the end of the current parliamentary term in May 2021. I can therefore announce that they will reconvene as an implementation group to drive this work forward whilst providing accountability and oversight. I am aware that some may say that LGBTI inclusive education could undermine the values of their faiths or beliefs. I do not take this view. Human rights and the values of respect and tolerance are universal. Children and young people should feel happy, safe, respected and included in their learning environment, and all staff should be proactive in promoting positive relationships and behaviour in the playground, classroom, wider learning community and society. That is central to the delivery of curriculum for excellence and the implementation of getting it right for every child. Action remains by far the most effective means that we have to improve the life chances of all young people. The actions that I have outlined today will ensure that all young people have the opportunity to excel in a way that works for them as individuals. I am confident that this is the right approach for Scotland to continue to get it right for every child. Finally, I thank each member of the group and all who have contributed for their energy, commitment and determination to improve LGBTI inclusive education over the last year. Reaching consensus among such a diverse group was not easy. Individuals would understandably come to the table with their own perspectives, priorities and concerns. There would be a great strength of feeling around the table, driven by the passion and importance individuals attach to their work and to their role, and nobody is wrong to feel like that. Through a process of patient and respectful dialogue, members of deeply varied perspectives unanimously agreed the delivery of a world-leading set of recommendations that will make a real difference to the educational experience not just for LGBTI young people but for all children and young people in Scotland. That is an immense achievement. It is one that each member of the group has contributed to achieving of which each member of the group should be immensely proud and which this Parliament should value, commend and embrace. One of the most enduring and, for me, inspiring characteristics of Scottish society is our belief in equality. It is the beating heart of our country's approach to education. It is a value enshrined in our approach to social security. It drives our route to creating an inclusive economy. It is central to the importance that we attach to our human rights. Today, we take another step forward by ensuring that all our children and young people will have the opportunity to better appreciate LGBTI issues within our education system and that our country will be the better for it. Before I move on, can I say to those in the public gallery that we do not allow clapping, cheering, jeering or otherwise? I am so pleased to refrain. The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues raised in the statement and I intend to allow around 20 minutes for those questions. Would members who wish to ask a question please press their request to speak buttons. I call Annie Wells. I would like to thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of his statement. As someone who has been on board with improving the education experience of young LGBTI pupils since day 1 of being an MSP, I sincerely welcome his statement today. I, too, wish to put on record my thanks to those individuals and organisations who have helped us to reach that point. I appreciate that the aim is to ensure that the recommendations are in place by the end of the parliamentary session. Can I ask the cabinet secretary when he expects us to see a published timetable for implementation? Can I ask the cabinet secretary how the Scottish Government will ensure consistency across all local authorities and how it will be ensured that it is not just led by an individual teacher and TED teachers who are passionate about the cause and will teacher training be mandatory and accessible to all school staff? Finally, will parliamentarians have the opportunity to review progress regularly in an entirely transparent process and at what stage will the cabinet secretary step in if not enough progress has been made? John Swinney. I thank Annie Wells for her endorsement of the direction of travel here. I assure her, as I hope that my statement has done today, that the Government and our partners who have worked together in producing this report are intently serious on making sure that this happens and happens as quickly as possible. The whole nature of the recommendations from the working group are to make early and swift progress, and I embrace that as an objective. I give Annie Wells the assurance that we will come to Parliament with a timetable for implementation as soon as we can possibly agree that with our partners. Obviously, I have said that the working group will continue to essentially oversee the process as an implementation group, so I suspect that if there is any slackness in the timescale, I will not just hear it from Annie Wells, I will hear it from the implementation group as well, and rightly so. As for the question of consistency across all local authorities, I think that that gets to the nub of some of the dilemmas that we wrestle with in this institution at all times, that the Government sets out guidance, we look to local authorities to take it forward in a consistent fashion, but of course there are checks and balances in the system such as, for example, the inspection role of Education Scotland who can give feedback on whether or not they see changing practice on the ground within our school community. Training will of course be accessible for all staff and I am in Parliament's hands as to how much information Parliament wants to see on this. I will happily report to Parliament periodically by placing information in Spice. I am very happy to perhaps, in due course, we should have a debate about progress in Government time, which would enable us to take stock on whether sufficient progress has been made in due course, but I certainly give Annie Wells the commitment and the Government's part that we will do all that we can to move swiftly on this agenda. Iain Gray Thank you, Presiding Officer, and my thanks to the cabinet secretary for early sight of his statement. Let me begin by associating those benches with the cabinet secretary's praise for Jordan Daley and Liam Stevenson and the TIE campaign. It was indeed powerful and passionate, but it was also tactically astute to carefully cross-party and as a result, as we have seen today, very effective indeed. The Government's expert group and acceptance of that group's recommendations should certainly mean a significant stride forward in LGBTI young people's right to fair, inclusive and equal educational experience, safe from bullying and discrimination. We can all be proud of that, but none more so than Liam and Jordan. I ask two questions of clarification. What level of resource does the cabinet secretary envisage being made available to cover the costs of in-service training, learning materials and other costs? When the cabinet secretary says, he will work with key partners to update statutory guidance for schools, can he tell us which key partners he envisages and assure us of the breadth of that engagement? On the question of resources, the costs will be conditional on the manner and method of our implementation, which will obviously take time to discuss with our local authority partners as to how best we can proceed on those questions. As consistent with my answer to Annie Wells, I will happily come back to Parliament to share that information in due course. On the question of further guidance, what I have tried to do here is to take as broadly inclusive an approach as I possibly could do. I am profoundly grateful to organisations of different backgrounds and perspectives who have come together to take this agenda forward. That is the spirit in which I want to proceed for further stages. That is by far the healthiest way that we can proceed. I will ensure that, clearly, our local authority partners will be absolutely central to the implementation of this agenda, as will our work with professional associations, with the interested stakeholder organisations and the implementation group that I am continuing to work with. I will give Parliament the assurance that my intention is to be as inclusive as I possibly can do to make sure that we have agreement about how to proceed as we have managed to get to on this point. I have a lot of members who wish to ask questions, so I could ask people to be concise in both questions and answers. Ruth Maguire, followed by Jamie Greene. I support the Thai campaign because I believe that our young people have the right to see themselves and their families respectfully and honestly reflected in what they are taught in school. I agree with the cabinet secretary that human rights and values of respect and tolerance are universal. Can the cabinet secretary provide information on how the Scottish Government will ensure that private schools are monitored to make sure that their provision of relationship, sexual health and parenthood education is inclusive, is appropriate, respectful and, importantly, meeting the needs of all young people in their care? It was very good, but it was hardly concise. John Swinney. I will try to do slightly better to not incur that. Obviously, Education Scotland has a role within the private sector in undertaking school inspections and the issues that I have raised here and the perspectives that I have brought to Parliament will be reflected in inspections. Independent schools have, in many respects, a lot of good practice in this area. A number of independent schools have been recognised with LGBT Youth Scotland Gold Charter Awards as an indication of their commitment to the agenda, and I am quite sure that independent schools will wish to be part of the inclusive approach that the Government is taking forward. Jamie Greene, followed by Monica Lennon. Was the fact that we need statements like that of today's still saddens me, the fact that we have it greatly encourages me, and I thank the cabinet secretary for his words today. I will push a little bit further and check and clarify that, if the guidance and training that he has announced today will be mandatory in all schools in Scotland for all teachers and all school staff, and if the cabinet secretary is not happy that the spirit of today's announcement is not being delivered on the ground in practice, what additional legislative options are available to him to ensure that every pupil in every school in Scotland receives the support that they deserve? Mr Greene's question gets to the nub of some of the challenging issues about the way in which our education system operates. As I have rehearsed with Parliament before on different topics, our education system operates on the basis that we create a framework with which individual schools operate, but we expect individual schools to operate consistent with that framework, but not to essentially deliver exactly the same practice in every individual schools, because context will vary from school to school. I think that there are two elements of that issue, which I think should give Parliament confidence. One is that we have gone to great lengths to create an inclusive process across all different perspectives that would get us to the strongest point of agreeing that framework, and we have now got to that point and are very much welcome, Mr Greene's welcome of that process. The second thing that should give us confidence is that the guidance that we take forward on all aspects of education is, in my opinion, broadly taken forward by individual schools. When we look at Education Scotland inspection reports, I see them every single week in life just as they are being published. They demonstrate to me that schools operate within the framework of the advice that we give, and we expect schools to be able to do that. I hope that that gives Parliament some confidence. On its final point about what other mechanisms are available to me, there is always the mechanism of legislation, and we can enforce it on to the face of law. I think that what this approach allows us to do is to get on with it faster. We demonstrated with the school clothing grants that we were able to go from identification of the challenging issue to a solution within six months. That is the type of pace that I want to try to set to advance on those issues. Monica Lennon, followed by Jenny Gilruth. Thank you, Presiding Officer. That is very welcome news from the cabinet secretary. I learned a debate on the Thai campaign in Parliament last year to promote its aims, and today's statement is a monumental victory for the vibrant campaign led by Jordan, Liam and others. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that it is crucial now that the momentum behind the Thai campaign is not lost? How will the Scottish Government help to ensure that the movement to secure long-lasting change in our society continues to go from strength to strength? John Swinney Presiding Officer, the measures that I have set out today in responding and accepting all the recommendations of the working group are designed to essentially give us that opportunity to proceed and advance on those questions. I have put in place sufficient checks and balances to make sure that that is the case, but, as I said in my response to Annie Wells, I am very happy to come back to Parliament for a stock-take debate in Government time and due course to assess the level of progress that has been made and to ensure that the commitments that have been made here begin to be reflected on the ground. In fairness to many of our schools around the country, I see a lot of that practice reflected on the ground already. A lot of schools have not been waiting for, with the greatest respect to the fine words of the working group, many schools are embarking on that activity. I saw some fabulous work in that respect at Creswick academy when I was there last week and I see it reflected in many schools across the country. Indeed, Cercody high school just won a prestigious award from COSLA for the work that they have undertaken on LGBTI awareness and I had the opportunity to congratulate the head teacher on that award just the other day. A quick reminder of brevity, please. Jenny Gilruth, followed by Ross Greer. Thank you Presiding Officer. I also welcome this afternoon's statement, both as a member of Scotland's LGBTI community and as a former teacher. Under curriculum for excellence, health and wellbeing is the responsibility of all. Therefore, how will the Scottish Government ensure that all teaching staff have the necessary knowledge, skills and expertise to deliver LGBTI inclusive education in every single one of Scotland's secondary schools and will the Government seek to monitor the impact of any agreed training on people's experience of their educational journey? John Swinney? There are essentially two critical aspects to how we proceed on the agenda about teacher education. The first is obviously about ensuring that initial teacher education is correctly focused to accommodate all of those questions. That will be one of the priorities for new teachers, but obviously many existing members of staff will require support and I am very pleased to see the comments of the educational institute of Scotland recognising the approach that the Government intends to take in that respect to support that work. In relation to Jenny Gilruth's point about the opinions of pupils, one of the priorities that I am keen to take forward is the strengthening of pupil voice within our education system. Again, I see many very strong elements of the articulation of that pupil voice in the time that I spend in schools. I saw it vividly at New Battle High School yesterday in Midlothian, and I would expect through the channels of pupil voice to hear that articulation of pupil experience, and it is vital that we listen and hear that experience. Ross Greer, followed by Alex Cole-Hamilton. Thank you. I congratulate Jordan, Liam and everyone who has delivered something that will not just transform lives but will save them as well. Can I ask the cabinet secretary when he says that Education Scotland will continue to provide training for school inspectors that this training will change in line with the higher expectations that we now have of our schools and that the framework for inspections will change as well as the training for inspectors? Obviously, the framework for inspection reflects the priorities that we expect to see within Scottish education, so that will follow from the statement that I have set out to Parliament today. In relation to the support for inspectors, we want to make sure that our inspectors, as they do in all questions, assess the education system consistent with the frameworks that we put in place for this important activity. Alex Cole-Hamilton, followed by Gail Ross. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Congratulations to the Tide campaign, looking forward to celebrating with you all later. Is the cabinet secretary aware of the unspoken pressure that is still felt by some teachers in Scottish faith schools to avoid inclusive education, caused by the tension that exists or is felt to exist between the promotion of LGBTI rights and the teachings of the church? Further to Ross Greer's question, will he expand on recommendations 30 and 31 so that the delivery of inclusive education is now a key standard against which schools are scored in the inspection regime? John Swinney. First of all, schools are not scored. I want to make that point absolutely crystal clear. Schools are not scored is a rather old-fashioned concept, if I may say that to Mr Cole-Hamilton, a very old-fashioned concept. The purpose of inspection is to assist schools in improving performance to meet the needs of young people, as described in the frameworks of education, and that is the purpose of inspection. In relation to the issues in faith schools, I have been deeply appreciative of the breadth of opinion that has come together in the working group. I highlight that in my statement of people from very different perspectives and backgrounds. The success of the working group is that those individuals have been able to come forward, including the Scottish Catholic Education Service, to reach a point of agreement that is deeply valued by the Government, and I commend every organisation that contributed to that. It is an indication of the willingness of everybody across the broad cross-section to make progress on the vital issues of LGBTI-inclusive education and to see that reflected in every educational setting. Gail Ross, followed by Oliver Mundell. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I would like to add my warmest congratulations to everyone in the TIE campaign, what a day well done. Deputy First Minister, how will the Scottish Government ensure that the implementation of the whole report is delivered consistently in all schools, so that young people can receive an education that is inclusive of the wider LGBTI community, their history and their contributions to our society? John Swinney? That will be reflected in a combination of the guidance that we make available, and in the resources that are made available. That will be a significant part of the work that has to be done in that respect. I assure Gail Ross that many of those practical and operational questions flow directly from the working group's recommendations, and they will be taken forward as part of the implementation programme. Oliver Mundell, followed by James Dornan. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The campaigners in the third sector organisations have been instrumental in getting us to this point. Can the cabinet secretary outline what day-to-day role he sees them playing in the practical delivery of those recommendations? John Swinney? I think that what I would like to see is the organisations involved in ensuring that we deliver all that, which is very important. We benefit from their input in shaping the approaches that are taken to ensure that the materials, the resources, the training and the approaches that are designed are appropriate to achieve the objectives that have been set out in the report. Consistent with what I said to Ian Gray a few moments ago, I am keen to make sure that that is a very inclusive process of organisations that have contributed so much to getting us to where we are today. I want that to continue to be the sentiment that underpins the approach to implementation. James Dornan, followed by Kezia Dugdale. I welcome today's announcement and congratulate the Thai campaign. Jordan, Liam and everybody else involved for all they've achieved. Scotland has widely recognised as one of the most progressive countries in Europe in LGBTI rights and I think that today's announcement only reinforces that position. What other action does the Scottish Government take to protect and promote the rights of the LGBTI community? Obviously, in response to Mr Dornan's question, the Government has taken forward a range of measures through the funding and support that we make available to organisations that advance the issues and the concerns of the LGBTI community. We take forward also the work to tackle hate crime and prejudice. We take forward a very explicit approach to the tackling of inequalities and the approach on education will be another component of the wider agenda of the Government advances in this respect. Kezia Dugdale, and I hope to have time for David Torrance. What a day, Presiding Officer, and what a distance we've come from section 2A, my sincerest congratulations to all of those involved. Can I ask the cabinet secretary does he accept that cultural attitudes to sexuality have advanced far faster than those around gender identity and what plans does he have to address that and the growing contention around the self-declaration of gender in schools? John Swinney. I do recognise the significant progress that has been made on the question of sexuality and I hope that I conveyed adequately in my statement that the country is the better for it and as a consequence. Obviously, we are taking care to make sure that schools are well supported in dealing with the issues of sexual identity and those issues are currently under consideration actively within government and ministers will come back to Parliament with further updates on the progress that is taking forward in that respect. However, I assure Kezia Dugdale of the Government's determination, as I hope again that I conveyed in my statement to ensure that we are in no way tolerant of the exercise of prejudice towards individuals for the choices that they make. We should take people for who they are and who they believe to be and that should be reflected in the approaches that we take. The last question is from David Torrance. Thank you Presiding Officer. Does the cabinet secretary agree that schools can learn from each other and share good practice? At groups such as Kirkcaldy High School, the LGBTI group in my constituency, we recently won the President's award at the 2018 Coslaw Excellence Awards for a work in providing a safe space for pupils tackling homophobia and their campaigning and training with groups and organisations across life and the rest of the country as an example for other schools to follow. John Swinney. Presiding Officer, I rather got to Kirkcaldy High School before Mr Torrance did, but it allows me to reiterate that it is a significant achievement of the President's award at the 2018 Coslaw Excellence Awards. It is a recognition of the point that I was making to Parliament a few moments ago that many schools are advancing on the agenda far faster than our wider society. They are listening to people's voices and making sure that our schools are safe places for young people, where young people feel at ease and comfortable. I unreservedly commend Kirkcaldy High School on the tremendous achievement that it has made. Mr Torrance is entitled to be very proud of the achievements of one of the secondary schools in his constituency. That concludes questions on the statement about improving the educational experience of LGBTI young people. I will take just a moment or two for people to shift round before we move on to the next item of business.