 The first item of business this afternoon is portfolio questions, and as ever, short succinct questions and answers would be appreciated. Question number one, Jamie McGregor. To ask the Scottish Government how it supports the teaching of foreign languages in schools. Minister Alistair Allen. Presiding Officer, we want all young people in Scotland to have excellent language learning opportunities from a young age as a normal and expected part of a broad, relevant school education, and that's why our one plus two languages policy is supporting local authorities in schools with significant extra funding, £9 million over two years, and it's why we're working closely with Education Scotland, Scotland's national centre for languages and others to create the conditions where early and continued language learning becomes the norm. Jamie McGregor. Yes, I thank the minister for that answer. Does he agree with me, and the findings of the foreign language learning inquiry conducted by the Parliament's European Committee last year, that foreign language assistance can play a very important and cost effective role in helping our school pupils learn a modern foreign language? Does he therefore share my concern that the number of foreign language assistance in Scotland schools in 2013 to 2014 was done by almost three quarters compared to 2005 stroke 2006? What action will the Scottish Government take to reverse the situation and ensure that as many pupils as possible can benefit from working with a foreign language assistant? I shared the member's enthusiasm about the importance of native speakers in the class. As he knows, I met the cross-party group on German about this and other issues only last week. It is important to mention that, in the last year or so, the numbers overall among language assistance has actually gone up. I appreciate that there is much to be done, but it is also worth saying, because I know his particular interest in German, 30 German trainees who have been brought into the system as well. The Scottish Government works with the British Council and others to make sure that we continue to improve the availability of modern language assistance throughout the school system. Does the minister agree that the One Plus Two policy is the most ambitious language learning programme in the UK and that the economic and cultural opportunities that can be gained from learning a second or third language in addition to mother tongue are extensive? Yes, it is true that the benefits are very extensive indeed. Across the chamber, we can probably agree on that, cognitively and culturally and economically, it is in Scotland's interests that we develop a culture of language learning much earlier than has been the case in the past. I appreciate that that will require a lot of work for all of us together in the education system, but I believe that the end is very much worth doing that. To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to combat bullying in schools. Our national approach to anti-bullying, developed in partnership with stakeholders, sets out the common vision and aims to make sure that work across all agencies and communities is jointly focused on tackling all types of bullying. To support the implementation of the national approach, we have established and wholly fund respect me, a national anti-bullying service, to build confidence and capacity to tackle all types of bullying effectively. We are committed to refreshing the national approach to ensure that it remains current and reflects policy developments and a working group will be set up early in 2015. The minister will be aware of Enable Scotland's new campaign, Be The Change, which is aimed at tackling abuse of an offence of language about people who have learning disabilities. Enable Scotland, working in collaboration with a number of partners, has developed a school resource for teachers of S1 and S2 pupils, which will raise awareness of learning disability and take an early intervention approach to promote positive attitudes to learning disability. Does the minister therefore support Enable Scotland's campaign and what action will he take to encourage local authorities to implement the four-week lesson plan in secondary schools that will focus on educating children about learning disability from the 2015-16 academic year? The member is right to point to the particular importance of ensuring that young people grow up with a respect for and an understanding of the issues faced by people with learning disabilities. One of the things that the Scottish Government and the education system more generally now focuses on is promoting positive behaviour. That is central to what we do and it is central to our understanding of the kind of dignity that everyone has to expect and should respect as they are right within our schools. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address teachers' workload issues. The Scottish Government is working with teachers representatives, local authorities and other partners to address teachers' workload issues. That includes an unprecedented package of support and resources to implement curriculum for excellence. Our curriculum for excellence working group on tackling bureaucracy is taking forward a strong set of actions to support schools in reducing unnecessary bureaucracy. I thank the minister for that answer, but does he share the concerns of the EIS who say that there is a workload crisis in our schools, Scottish schools, or with the NASWUT who said that the Scottish Government is facing a ticking time bomb? The cabinet secretary's predecessor said that he wanted to maintain or increase teacher numbers every year since 2007 that there has been a decrease. In fact, there are 4,000 fewer than when the SNP took office. On top of that, there are cuts in classroom assistance and support to our staff. Are teachers' unions right to voice their concerns? Will the cabinet secretary inform Parliament whether he intends to reverse the cuts, maintain the current level or to continue to cut teacher numbers even further? The numbers have stabilized since 2011. The member is aware of course of who the employers are. The employers are local authorities. The Government does work with local authorities to ensure that, as I am sure, local authorities also want to see that numbers are maintained in line with the existing teacher pupil ratio. In the broader issue of workload that he raises in his question, I have never been someone who tries to shy away from the fact that the introduction of a completely new set of qualifications has involved work for teachers. However, I think that the work that has been done since the successful implementation of those qualifications to involve the teachers and the teacher unions and planning a way ahead is entirely positive. Does the minister agree with the comments by Terry Lanigan, the Executive Director of Education in West Dunbartonshire at the Education and Culture Committee, 30 September, when he stated that, having worked in education for 37 years, there has been no initiative in Scottish education during that time about which there has been more communication or more support? I certainly welcome the spirit and content of those comments. Of course, they tie in with other comments from elsewhere in the sector. For instance, Ken Cunningham, the general secretary of schools leader Scotland, mentioned that the preparation and consultation in that area has been more than I can ever remember, and the amount of effort that has gone into this knocks the others into the corner. Again, I do not take away from the work that has been involved, but in all parts of the education sector, the work that has gone in has been significant, and we have all benefited from that. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Falkirk Council regarding its obligation to provide a flexible approach to parental choice for early learning and childcare. The Government meets regularly with local authorities and discusses a range of issues that include childcare. It is for each local authority to implement the provisions in the Children and Young People's Scotland Act relating to early learning and childcare, taking into account local needs and priorities. That includes a new duty on local authorities to increase flexibility year on year, based on consultation with representative local populations of parents and to publish plans showing how they are doing so. I thank the minister for her reply. She may be aware of a privately funded nursery that serves my area, the Little Stars nursery, which has been trying for seven years to gain partnership status with Falkirk Council, but it has been refused despite rating standards of four and five. Parents claim that this is discrimination as it has denied their children access to local education services. There is no doubt that Falkirk Council has fallen short of the Scottish Government's objective in that regard. What can the Scottish Government do to ensure that Falkirk Council enables proper parental choice through a flexible approach? I thank the member for raising the issue. We expect local authorities to meet their statutory responsibilities and it is for each of them to decide how best to do that to meet local needs. That includes using a mix of providers such as family centres, childminders and private providers, such as the member who mentions that he knows well locally. Local authorities are now required to consult with groups of parents at least once every two years on patterns of childcare provision that would best meet their needs. That should introduce greater levels of flexibility and choice in the system as we work with local government to further develop and expand the provision that is so important to so many families across the country. However, I would be happy to meet the member to discuss the issue further if he thinks that that would be helpful. To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce software engineering as part of the school curriculum. Curriculum for excellence enables young people in schools to develop their skills and focus on the learning that is needed for our modern dynamic economy, consistent with the developing Scotland's young workforce agenda. Within the curriculum framework and through the suite of computing science national qualifications, learners have many opportunities to develop the understanding and skills that will enable them to take up careers in software engineering and programming. He will be aware that, despite the considerable efforts over recent years, we are still well short of producing the numbers of software engineers in Scotland that we require. Estonia seems to have made great strides in establishing a world-class reputation for producing software excellence in software engineers. What more does the minister think that we might be able to do to raise the profile, particularly in schools of careers in software design, so that youngsters can see the fantastic career opportunities that lie ahead? I am always happy to learn from the experience of other countries. Certainly it is worth saying that, in Scotland, £250,000 has been provided recently to BCS to provide learning opportunities for teachers, as part of our plan C project, about making sure that the skills and the confidence are there among teachers to keep up with this fast-changing subject. In terms of teacher numbers, the Government recognises that this is a subject that deserves some priority, given the demand that exists for it. It is also true to say that understanding the career opportunities that are there is an important message to put out in the curriculum that has been reflected in national career events. Could I ask the Scottish Government whether it has given any thought to the call from the Royal Society of Chemistry to broaden the science curriculum to include subjects like engineering and to start with having dedicated science teachers in primary schools? The Royal Society for Chemistry and others have made very important contributions to the debate about science, particularly as the member mentioned in primary. I think that there is now a much wider acceptance of, but more importantly, understanding of the need for science in primary. A great deal of work goes into creating the skills and the confidence to use those skills amongst primary classroom teachers to ensure that science is firmly grounded in the primary curriculum. To ask the Scottish Government how the raising attainment for all programme is raising the standards of education in schools. Raising attainment and reducing educational inequality is a top priority for the Scottish Government, Education Scotland and all our partners. The raising attainment for all programme was launched in June this year. It involves more than 150 schools from 12 local authorities. The programme brings a structured approach to improvement into Scottish schools. The raising attainment for all programme will complement the other work that is announced in the programme for government, including the Read, Write, Count campaign and the creation of attainment advisers for every local authority through Education Scotland. May I very much welcome the minister's answer and its ambition, but can she further explain how the programme is going to make a real difference to break the connection that currently exists between social deprivation and educational achievement for too many pupils? Poverty does not stop at the school gates. We know that poverty very much can undermine our efforts to make progress. Of course, Westminster policies are undeniably making the situation more challenging. However, education brings choices and opportunities, it brings routes out of poverty for children and young people, and it can and should be the key in breaking the cycle of generational poverty, which can be all too real in modern day Scotland. The raising attainment for all programme and the other interventions that I have mentioned will indeed help schools to relentlessly focus on doing everything that they can to erode that connection between deprivation and poor educational achievement. I congratulate the cabinet secretary on her appointment and wish her well in her new role. Last week, the First Minister said that, against every main measure education was improving. We would of course expect that after being in government for seven and a half years, but it is not true, because in areas such as numeracy, the Scottish Government's own figures show that standards are actually falling. Therefore, I ask the education secretary whether she counts numeracy as a main measure of educational achievement, and what action is the cabinet secretary going to take to address numeracy standards? Absolutely. Numeracy is an important priority. It has to be viewed with the same parity of esteem with the importance that we place on literacy. Numeracy is indeed at the heart of curriculum for excellence, and we have committed £1.2 million over the next three years to accelerate the development of local authority numeracy hubs, and there are currently six numeracy hubs led by various areas up and down the country. However, it is true to say that our attainment record in Scotland is good and improving when you look at PISA results, when you look at the attainment gap and where it has closed in terms of maths, reading and science, whether you look at school leaver destinations or, indeed, the record number of passes that are higher and advanced higher, but, nonetheless, the inquiry of attainment for all and closing the equity gap is my top priority, and we must pick up the pace. In terms of attainment, 35 per cent of S2 pupils in 2013 were not working at the expected level of numeracy compared with 2 per cent of P7. Why is there such a deterioration in only two years, cabinet secretary? Mrs Garland makes an important point that when you compare the progress of the similar surveys for literacy, progress and attainment remains at a good level of attainment remains at 80 per cent plus. There is, indeed, something that happens perhaps between that transfer between primary school and the first few years in secondary school, but, as I have already indicated in my answer to Mr Bibby, numeracy is, indeed, a priority for this Government, for the actions that I have outlined. Numeracy, along with literacy, is absolutely at the core for ensuring that all our children attain more and are prepared for the world of work. To ask the Scottish Government how it assists general teaching staff in helping them to ensure that pupils with autistic spectrum disorders receive full support. To help teachers and educational support staff meet the needs of pupils with autism, the Scottish Government funded Scottish Autism to produce the autism toolbox website. This online national tool will encourage best practice for all education staff in schools to support pupils with autism. The toolbox website will also provide a forum for continually updating and disseminating good practice. Scottish Autism has offered all education authorities awareness sessions on the autism toolbox. I thank the minister for that and reassure him that some of the teachers and parents that I have spoken to welcome the toolbox website. However, it is the case for many children in the autistic spectrum that homework is a very stressful time, which often strays into some of the challenges that young people with autism spectrum disorders have out of school. It is welcome that the minister is saying about the toolbox. Can the minister join me in asking what work can be done to help support children better with autism spectrum disorders in dealing with work that they have to undertake away from the structure of the classroom? The member rightly points to the fact that homework can provide a particular source of stress for children and young people with autistic spectrum disorders. For that reason, the Government and the education system are keen to provide support. One of the most important forms of support is continuing professional development of teachers. Through the autism strategy that was launched in 2011, there are a number of one-stop shops aimed at providing many forms of support, not least one that exists within Lanarkshire. I am dealing with a constituency case involving a teenage autistic boy who considers that his teachers do not understand his literal interpretation of remarks nor his lack of tact. That has led to him becoming disengaged educationally. Can the minister advise what support is in place to enable existing teaching staff to gain greater understanding through CPD and for new teaching staff through teacher training to be given a greater understanding so that, when they start in post, they have a much firmer understanding of autism and autistic spectrum disorder? As the member rightly says, one of the biggest tasks is to make sure that teachers understand what autism is and what it can mean for a child or a young person. One of the central tenets of the standard for full registration is that new teachers identify barriers to learning that may exist and respond to those appropriately. The autism toolbox, I believe among many other functions, does perform an important role in ensuring that teachers understand what autism is. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the accompanying guidance for the Children and Young People Scotland Act 2014. Statutory guidance on part 6, the early learning and childcare of the Children and Young People Scotland Act 2014, was published in August 2014 to coincide with part 6 coming into force. The remaining statutory guidance to accompany the act will be formally consulted on prior to publication with the appropriate timescales ahead of commencement of the relevant parts of the act. The minister will know from her recent meeting with the Scottish Kinship Care Alliance how strongly kinship carers feel about some of the proposed changes to the support that they receive. The girthlike provisions within the Children and Young People Scotland Act are vital for many kinship carers. Could the minister give more detail on the guidance being developed around the child's plan and any other aspects of the guidance that could determine what support will be available to kinship care families? I thank the member for her replies, and I might be able to follow some of the more detailed issues around the implementation and consultation on guidance in writing to her. However, certainly the statutory guidance on parts 4, 5 and 18 of the act, which includes child's plan and wellbeing, will be, we intend to consult on from February to April next year, which I think should give some clarity for the kinship carers as well. Not least as well, we will be bringing forward consultation on the guidance that is to accompany the kinship care order as well for the act. However, I am happy to continue to engage with the member on the different timescales for the different parts of the act, which all have their own different times of commencement. I will keep in touch with the member on those points. Many thanks. Question 9 has been withdrawn for understandable reasons. I turn to question 10. James Dornan To ask the Scottish Government for an update on its getting-at-right-for-every-child strategy. Aileen Campbell The key driver of our getting-at-right-for-every-child approach is the Children and Young People Act, which received royal assent in March this year. The GIRFFEC duties in the act are to be implemented in August 2016. James Dornan I thank the minister for that answer. Does she agree with me that a large share of the credit for the success of GIRFFEC to date is the role that voluntary bodies such as Homestart, which does invaluable work in my constituency, play in the strategy? Will the minister agree to visit Homestart to see for herself the good work that it does? Will she update the chamber on what the Scottish Government is doing to continue to ensure that this aspect of GIRFFEC continues to thrive? I thank the member for raising the good work that Homestart has done in his constituency, and I am also aware of the good work that happens in other parts of this country, as well, not least in the Highlands, to support families with young children, helping to ensure that parents have the skills and the confidence necessary to build better lives for their children. The work that Homestart and other non-statutory bodies do is a crucial component of getting-at-right-for-every-child and young person in Scotland, and that is why we have a number of key relationships with a number of groups and organisations that are taking forward the good work that James Dornan outlines as being carried forward by the Homestart. I am happy to take forward a visit. I am not sure if it will be me, or it could be my maternity replacement if I am a cloud, but nonetheless, regardless of who it is, we would both be very pleased to come and see the work that James Dornan has raised to stay in the chamber. To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to encourage people to attend for their education courses. Our reforms mean that courses are increasingly tailored to student and employer needs, making them more attractive to people who want to progress to good jobs or further study. The developing the young workforce programme will build on that, providing more and better pathways for people to benefit from a first-class vocational education, closely linked to labour market need. Neil Findlay. Often it is short, non-certificated courses that is enough to begin a person's journey back into education. The minister will know that her Government's 140,000 cut in college places is having a serious impact on adult education. What is the Government doing to support adults into the FE sector and support courses that were crudly and outrageously described by some of her colleagues as hobby courses? The Scottish Funding Council has undoubtedly moved away from very short courses. Nonetheless, very short courses remain where they have a huge benefit in terms of access, or indeed have an economic benefit. It is not true to say that we have moved entirely away from very short courses. They do still exist. Of course, we have worked hard to get the right balance of provision. I make no apologies for prioritising young people, because it is indeed young people at the end of the day who are always hit the hardest in times of recession. We should be proud of our record in terms of young people and further education, more young people studying full-time courses that lead to recognised qualifications, that boost their prospects of getting good work and sustainable employment at that. To ask the Scottish Government what the budget priorities are for the education and lifelong learning portfolio in 2015-16. The First Minister made clear last week in publishing the programme for government that attainment is our top priority. The full budget priorities are set out in the budget document published on 9 October 2014. What happens in real terms to the higher education resource budget in 2015-16? The Scottish Government is very proud to continue to invest £1 million in higher education. That is £1,041 million. Within that, we have asked the Scottish Funding Council to keep back not to allocate £22 million. That represents 2 per cent of the budget. We want to ensure that we have the flexibility as we move forward with our ambitions for post-16 education and training. There is a commitment to maintain the unit resource for teaching. Question 13, Mike McKenzie. I ask the Scottish Government how much will be invested in the programme Scotland's Schools for the Future. £1.8 billion will be invested in the Scottish Government's Schools for the Future programme in partnership with local authorities and will see the construction of 91 new schools. Further projects to benefit from a fourth phase of the programme will be announced in December, taking that figure well in excess of 100 schools built for over 60,000 pupils by March 2020. I wonder if we could outline how many schools in the Highlands and Islands region will benefit from that funding. The Scottish Government has committed to providing Highland Council with funding of almost £26 million for two secondary schools, that is WIC and Inverness Royal Academy. Moreover, through phase 4 of the programme, Highland Council will receive a further £10 million for a new 3 to 18 campus, which will encompass schools at Tain Royal Academy, Craighill primary, Notbreak primary and St Dothus. To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to making school inspections without giving prior notice. Education Scotland's inspectors carry out unannounced inspections when they are aware of serious concerns about the care and welfare of pupils at the school. Inspectors have carried out five unannounced school inspections in 2014. Education Scotland is currently discussing with its stakeholders how to develop school inspections for the future. Does the minister agree that ordinary school inspections do not give an accurate picture of a school, given that the weeks of notice given creates a flurry of activity to enable a school to look at its best and the work more ordered than might normally be the case, and that unannounced visits, as is the case in the care sector, would better reflect a school for better or for worse? I should say that I have confidence in the inspection regime. I understand the points that the member raises and they have been discussed in the past in Education Scotland and with stakeholders. There are pros and cons arguments that have been put around the proposal that the member makes. The pro being producing stress and creating an accurate impression, but the con being the argument against perhaps what the member is advocating being that we have to be careful about ensuring our relationship between inspectors and the schools and making sure that inspectors are inspecting with rather than merely inspecting schools. There are, however, as I say, five schools that have had a no warning inspection, although I concede that they have been for unusual reasons. Has the minister given any further consideration to whether the state of building should be included in a school inspection? The responsibility for assessing the state of buildings lies with local authorities, but it is worth saying that the work and the money that has gone in has significantly reduced the number of schools that are in either C or D condition and the number of pupils that are currently in a condition C building is now 104,000, condition D 6,000, which are very significant reductions on previous years. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what agreements are in place with COSLA regarding the funding of education services. The majority of funding for education services is provided to local authorities as part of the annual local government finance settlement. However, there are some specific agreements with COSLA with regard to some elements of education funding. The Scottish Government has agreed to fully fund the expansion of early learning and child care introduced through the Children and Young People Act. That amounts to £329 million over financial years 2014-15 and 2015-16. We have provided £41 million in this financial year to maintain teacher numbers in line with pupil numbers and £37.6 million to secure places for all probationers who need one. We have agreed to provide £24.8 million in capital funding this year and a £70.5 million revenue funding over this year and next to cover the delivery of free school meals to pupils in primary 1, 2, 3, starting next January. Thank you, cabinet secretary, for your answer. With particular regard to Stirling Council, and given that the Tory Labour parties on the council voted through a council tax reduction for the financial year 2012-13, would the cabinet secretary agree with me that they should have no reason to reduce education services in Stirling or complain about grant funding levels from Government? As the Scottish Government has fully funded the council tax freeze, that should have no impact on the level of education services as Stirling council was able to reduce its council tax in 2012-13. That would suggest that the money provided by the Scottish Government was more than sufficient for the council to maintain the level of all its services. Question 16 has been withdrawn and a satisfactory explanation has been provided. Question 17, Kezia Dugdale. To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Access to Education Fund it has received, how many were successful and how much has been awarded in grants. There were 609 eligible applications to the Access to Education Fund of which 247 were successful. A total of £1,500,000 to £23 has been awarded to the successful applicants, which will directly benefit 303 schools in every local authority area across Scotland. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Life Law and Learning visited 4th U Primary School in Edinburgh this morning to hear from parents, children and staff how that funding will make a difference to them and their successful application to the fund will enable them to develop a library to focus on literacy skills and focus on a culture of reading across the school and the wider school community. Their strong focus on parental engagement and working with others and the clear commitment to access to education for all makes us a great example of how that funding is helping to break down barriers to learning across communities. I thank the minister for that answer. The Access to Education Fund is obviously for new projects. It is not supposed to supplement core funding. Given the cabinet secretary's answer to Bruce Crawford, can the minister tell me why some schools are asking parents to pay for paper and books and art resources if the council tax is fully funded? Does he accept that that is happening and does he accept that some parents cannot make up the difference? Obviously, the purpose of the funding question is to make sure that nobody faces barriers to education. For that reason, many of the applications that have been put forward successfully have ensured, for instance, that children who face disadvantages are not disadvantaged by some barrier in the form of IT, to ensure that they are not kept from enjoying school trips and to make sure that everyone is fully included in the life of the school. Applications can be up to 5,000 per school, and I believe that they have been successful in ensuring that we have an education system that benefits all. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether modern studies should be made available in all secondary schools of 16 and 17-year-olds have the right to vote in elections. We are delighted but not surprised at how the referendum did engage 16 and 17-year-olds and the thoughtful and impassioned engagement in the debate created an overwhelming case for giving 16 and 17-year-olds the vote in future elections. We are pleased that the Smith commission report calls on the UK Parliament to devolve the relevant power and time to allow the Scottish Parliament to extend the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds for the 2016 Scottish parliamentary elections. All young people learn about democracy and political systems as part of their broad general education. The problem in Scotland is that modern studies is fairly unevenly spread. How many secondary schools are there in Scotland and how many of those provide modern studies courses? The most recent information is that 80 per cent of schools teach modern studies as a specific subject. There are around 70 schools in Scotland that do not. Many of them are smaller schools, and I suspect that that might be what the member is referring to. Although it should be said that democracy and political literacy feature within the requirements of the broad general education up until the end of S3, the Scottish Government takes very seriously the arguments that were successfully put forward that we deserve a generation of young people who are engaged in the political debate. To ask the Scottish Government how it will tackle the link between child poverty and educational attainment. The Scottish Government and all its partners have a strong shared commitment to raising attainment and achievement for all and closing the equity gap between children and young people who are most and least advantaged. We are supporting a range of activities, including raising attainment for all, which is working, as I said earlier, with over 150 schools across Scotland to drive forward sustainable and consistent improvement. The school improvement partnership programme, our access to education fund and, as announced in a programme for government, attainment advisers to be based in every local authority across Scotland, as well as a very clear focus on improving literacy and numeracy in P1 to P3 pupils through our Read, Write and Count programme. Recent reports indicate that students from more affluent backgrounds are 50 times more likely than students from more deprived areas to obtain five higher grades A. Other statistics show huge gulfs between academic achievement from affluent areas to deprived areas. Will the cabinet secretary give us a clear indication today what practical measures are being taken to reduce those gulfs because we cannot allow our education system to maintain such differentials between students with strong academic potential, not achieving their aims and ambitions because of the geographical area in which they happen to grow up? I think that Mr McMahon and I are in agreement that inequity anywhere in our education system is not acceptable. The Government will do everything within our existing powers to tackle poverty and inequality. I have already said to members previously today that my top priority is the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, which is attainment for all to raise that and to do everything that we can to close the equity and attainment gap. I regret that we do not have more welfare powers to tackle poverty. Nonetheless, we will, with the powers that we have, focus on pragmatic measures on the front line within schools that will make a practical difference to the lives of our children on a day-to-day basis and ensuring that more of our children reach their full potential. To ask the Scottish Government how the expansion of funded early learning and childcare will benefit the most disadvantaged. Through the Children, Young People Act, we are investing £329 million in this financial year and next to expand annual funded early learning and childcare for three and four year olds to 600 hours. That represents an increase that will save families up to £707 per year per child. We have extended that entitlement to our most disadvantaged two-year-olds with around 15 per cent becoming eligible in the current school year, rising to 27 per cent next year. That is more than any of our predecessors have done and more hours of childcare than any other part of the UK. I thank the minister for that answer. Could the minister outline what the Scottish Government is doing to raise awareness of funded childcare to parents and carers? Launched the second phase of our marketing campaign to raise awareness amongst parents and carers of the expanded childcare entitlement follows an initial phase of public information that happened in the summer. The new launch of the campaign coincided with the cabinet secretary's visit to Melville Street Nursery in Edinburgh, which I hope will address some of the concerns that the member raises. Many thanks. That concludes questions. I will now move to the next item of business. I will ask members to change places as quickly as possible.