 The first item of business is portfolio questions. We'll start with question number one from Alton Harris. Minister, mawr Ithod. We remain on track to deliver the 1140 hours' expansion. This programme is ambitious and challenging but we are working hard with local authorities and delivery partners to create the workforce and physical capacity required. r unanim sydd oedd maen nhw i gael o'i gweithio edrych o bwrdd a'u osgole, yma, a thaw i sefyllio fy swyddo o'u cyfnodau metodol, ac mae'n ddylocki am y gweithio'r gynnwys ffrerwyr yn amlwg na wneud amser mewn cydfyrdd Cymru, oherwydd eich mynd i gael o'r unrhyw ymgyrchu'r, oedd o'r c racefonoch i gael o ran o'r couldau. Alison Hullirk y ffordd fawr i'r ddechrau i gydych chi'n cyffredinollegau gyda Caerdydd raised concerns that the planned rollout is bypassing them. Nurseries who are supposed to be partner providers alongside local authorities are struggling to stay afloat because the Scottish Government's rollout is weighted heavily in favour of local authority nurseries and providers. Can the minister advise if the closure of private nurseries as a result of the growing flaws in this rollout will really help parents and children going forward? First, can I be absolutely clear that partner providers are crucial to the delivery of this policy in terms of delivering excellence and delivering flexibility? Our new provider neutral funding follows the child model, which we are working towards in 2020, will provide private and third sector settings, including child miners, more opportunities to participate in the expansion. That will be underpinned by a national standard, which ensures quality. We are also simplifying the process, making it much more proportionate in terms of bureaucracy than it is at the moment. We are about to embark on a programme of communication to parents so that parents are absolutely sure that they are able to choose any provider to deliver this early learning and childcare. Gillian Martin Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can the minister confirm that nurseries in Scotland are exempt from paying business rates under a scheme introduced by the SNP Government, yet those in England are not under the Tories and this greatly supports the private nursery sector? Yes, absolutely. On 1 April 2018, we introduced a new 100 per cent rate relief for private properties that are wholly or mainly used as day nurseries. We estimate that that relief will remove the burden of rates from up to 500 businesses. That relief will run for a period of three years. I can also confirm that that is contrary to the situation in England where nurseries are not exempt from business relief. You are quite right to say that, in Scotland, we recognise that our partner providers will be crucial to the successful delivery of this policy. I gather that the National Day Nursery Association and the Federation of Small Businesses are campaigning down south to urge the UK Government to follow our example in Scotland. Mary Fee Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can the minister give an update on the size of the early learning and childcare workforce? I certainly can. As you know, we have been running a recruitment programme for a number of years, and we have already recruited several thousand new entrants. We have been running a campaign to increase the number of places for apprentices, to increase the places at college, to increase the number of places at university. We have run a campaign for school leavers and for professional entrants. In 2017, there were 95,000 registrant ratios for ELC. 10 per cent of the entire two-year-old population was registered. In terms of the workforce, we have in place increased capacity by 650 additional HNCs, 350 graduate-level places and, as well as local authorities, we have provided £21 million for expanding and training the workforce. We are meeting our workforce target. As I mentioned in my answer to Ms Harris, we have set up a delivery board where we will be monitoring this. Our first meeting is on 31 October, and we will be monitoring monthly at that meeting just exactly how many staff are in place. Thank you very much. I forgot to remind members earlier, but that was a good example. I will keep all answers and questions nice and succinct. From the chair, I will not interrupt any members asking questions. Peter Chapman To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to encourage universities in the north-east to provide BGCE qualifications on technical subjects. Richard Lochhead The University of Aberdeen offers a postgraduate diploma in education for local authority staff, which was developed using Scottish Government funding. That programme is offered in a range of subjects, including technological education. In addition, the University of Highlands and Islands also offers a postgraduate diploma in education as well. As a new minister, I am hoping to discuss expansion of the provision with universities and local authority partners, always with the caveat that we must maintain the quality of students undertaking teacher education programmes. Peter Chapman I thank the minister for that reply. I mean, technical classes in my constituency have decreased or stopped altogether in some schools due to a lack of technical teachers in the area. In Peterhead academy, for instance, has lost three of its five technical teachers in the last month, meaning that middle-class and middle-work classes have now ceased in Peterhead academy. As pupils are not able to take up their relevant courses at their school to qualify for an apprenticeship, there is a knock-on effect for local engineering businesses. Will the minister act now to end this cycle, get more teachers trained through local universities and allow young people in the north-east to pursue the careers that they want? Richard Lochhead The member highlights an important subject and, as he knows, the challenge of attracting teachers into STEM and, indeed, into courses at our universities and colleges is a challenge not only in Scotland but in many European countries at the current time. That is why there is a STEM strategy in Scotland at the moment. We are taking a number of actions at the moment to improve teacher recruitment in those challenging subject areas. We support universities in the development of new routes into teaching. We offer bursaries of £20,000 for career changers to do teaching training in certain STEM subjects. We are delivering our teacher recruitment campaign, teaching makes people, which of course focuses particularly on STEM and other subjects where the demand at the moment is the greatest. I can assure the member that we are taking a lot of action at the moment. We are always open to new ideas, but this is a very important subject that the member highlights that needs to be addressed. Johann Lamont To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report regarding the experiences of autistic children missing school, not included, not engaged, not involved. Cabaret Secretary John Swinney Presiding Officer, we welcome the report from children in Scotland, the National Autistic Society and Scottish Autism into the experiences of children with autism who are missing education. We have a number of interventions under way to try to address the issues that are raised. I want the organisations involved in the survey to have confidence in those measures. I will be meeting with the organisations concerned on 1 November to discuss their nine recommendations and to determine what further action is required. Johann Lamont I thank the cabinet secretary very much for his response. At the launch of the report, authored, as you have said, by Scottish Autism, the National Autistic Society in children's Scotland, we heard emotional and powerful testimony from parents about unlawful exclusion, lack of specialist staff, lack of training and many other issues, many other ways in which too many young people in their families are being denied the opportunity to learn. That is, as you have indicated, confirmed by the study research in the report. Will the cabinet secretary make a commitment not just to read the report and to meet with the families whom I very much welcome? Will he confirm that he will report back to the Parliament on the nine calls, which I believe are an essential blueprint to address the problems that families have identified in ensuring that their young people achieve their full potential? John Swinney I am very happy to do that. I have looked with great care at the report, which has come forward. I have studied all the recommendations already, and I have mapped that against the interventions that the Government is already taking. However, as I said in my original answer, that is all very well for me to say here. It has to command confidence among the individuals and organisations concerned. I was troubled by the evidence that was marshaled by the report, which is why I will engage with the organisations and why I will happily come back to Parliament to report on my response to those issues. Emma Harper Thank you. Students from the north-west community campus in Dumfries have been temporarily moved to neighbouring schools due to the campus closure. I have had concerned parents' contact me about the impact that this disruption might have on their child's learning. Can the cabinet secretary outline what discussions he has had with Dumfries and Galloway Council to ensure that all young people at the schools, particularly those with additional support needs, have adequate support in place to ensure minimal disruption to their learning at this time? Cabinet secretary, it is absolutely vital that the needs of all young people are met within the education system. That is what underpins my approach to the handling of the issue of inclusion. Therefore, the question about the particular requirements of children with additional support needs is very significant in the period of disruption arising out of the north-west community campus temporary closure. As Emma Harper will know, I have been in touch with Dumfries and Galloway Council to make sure that the needs of all learners are being met. This is a responsibility for the Council and I assure her of my continuing, on-going interest in making sure that that is the case. Oliver Mundell Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the cabinet secretary, given that this is the second report that highlights the widespread use of unlawful exclusions, whether or not the Government will urgently investigate those claims and work out just how widespread that problem is and what action if the reports are confirmed will be taken. The essential thing is to recognise that the strategic guidance that the Government has given in this area directly contradicts the practice that is recounted in this report. The Government's position is that the experience that has been recounted in this report should not be happening and that young people should be included in education with proper support. I want to make sure that we properly explore all the concerns that are raised in this report, that we engage with the organisation's concerns. If we need to strengthen guidance, we will strengthen guidance. If we need to investigate practice, we will investigate practice. However, I want to make sure that we properly and fully understand all the issues and, crucially, that we take into account the steps that the Government has already taken to strengthen practice to try to overcome those issues. As I said in my response to Johann Lamont, I will happily report back to Parliament in due course. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to encourage outdoor learning in preschool and early years primary settings. The significant expansion of funding in early learning and childcare provides an opportunity to define the type of experience we offer children during their early years. As part of that, we are supporting eight local authorities across Scotland to develop and increase access to the outdoors as a focus of the expansion. Outdoor play and early learning is embedded within the curriculum for excellence, within the theme of learning for sustainability. We will work to further promote the prominence of outdoor learning by taking forward all of the recommendations for the learning for sustainability national implementation group. I thank the minister for that response. I welcome the increase in focus on outdoor learning. My own child is at nursery and, as part of his weekly curriculum, includes a forest school, which is a huge educational value to him. Can the minister outline what is being done to further encourage play-based outdoor and in general learning in early primary years? Play-based learning is an effective and an appropriate way to deliver education and curriculum for excellence gives teachers the flexibility to introduce play in early primary and beyond. We have highlighted the importance of active play based on learning in our national guidance document building the curriculum active learning in the early years. In addition, to further support teachers in the delivery of play-based learning, Education Scotland continues to provide support and advice in play-based learning to schools and local authorities, engage in professional dialogue with teachers on the subject as part of the inspection process and continues to publish good practice examples of play-based learning in the national improvement hub. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that pupils in Lothian have access to as broad a range of exam-level subjects as possible. Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and Schools are responsible for the management and delivery of the curriculum in Lothian and across Scotland. We want all of our young people to be encouraged to take advantage of the best educational opportunities. We are working with the Scottish Qualifications Authority and others to ensure that there is a breadth of high-quality awards and offers available in Scotland to meet the different needs, abilities and career aspirations of learners, as well as the needs of our economy. Miles Briggs I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Research by Professor Jim Scott of Dundee University found that 54 per cent of Scottish schools only offered six qualifications for S4 pupils. Professor Scott's previous work found that some schools here in Edinburgh were offering as few as five qualifications and others were offering as many as eight. Is the cabinet secretary content with such a postcode lottery of subject choice for pupils attending schools here in the capital only a few miles apart from each other? Miles Briggs I think that what I would say to Mr Briggs is that the Conservatives often make the case for schools to be much more in control of the choices around curriculum. I agree with that model. That is what I am making sure is the case across the country, because I agree with it. So it is therefore difficult for Mr Briggs to then come here and complain about the consequences of decisions taken at school level and about the composition of the curriculum. I have looked with great care at the analysis that Professor Scott has undertaken. I do not think that it looks at the right question, because Professor Scott is looking at an S4 experience and outcome in two entirely different curricular systems. Under curriculum for excellence, we encourage schools to operate a three-year broad general education so that young people are experiencing three years of a broader educational experience than would have been the case when I was at school, and a three-year senior phase, which enables young people to broaden their attainment. What we see on attainment is very significant rises in attainment over the past 10 years in Scottish education in the senior phase, and a near doubling of the number of skills-based qualifications, which are essential attributes for young people entering the labour market and strengthening their employability skills as a consequence. Iain Gray Two weeks ago, Dr Marina Shapira of the University of Stirling told the Education Committee of this Parliament that, in general, the trend is towards narrowing of the curriculum, and on average there has been a reduction in the number of subject choices across the entire secondary sector in Scotland. However, the reduction is larger in schools in higher areas of deprivation. Dr Shapira called us quite striking and very worrying. Surely the education secretary must be worried about this as well. Can he tell us what he is going to do? Dr Shapira I certainly intend to explore in much closer detail the research that Mr Gray highlights, because it indicates a pattern that I would find to be of great concern, because I want young people in all circumstances, in all backgrounds, to have the maximum educational opportunities. I reiterate the point that I have already made that young people under curriculum for excellence are exposed to a broader general education for a longer period, but they must also be able to attract a range of skills-based qualifications into the bargain. In that substantial increase, the doubling of skills-based qualifications since 2012 is a significant indication of progress that has been made for a number of young people, as well as the increases in attainment. I will look with great care at that pattern, because what I want to make sure is that we have an education system no matter where young people are educated that is driven by the aspirations of excellence and equity for all, and those are the standards that I intend to apply as I work through the challenges in the education system. Gordon MacDonald Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that the vast majority of pupils now stay on to S6? That the proportion of pupils getting passes at a higher level has in fact increased since changes to the senior phase were introduced, and that, crucially, universities will look at qualifications gained when a young person leaves school when considering applications? Gordon MacDonald On the detail of Mr MacDonald's point, in 2007, 44 per cent of pupils in school in S3 stayed on to S6. By 2017, that figure was 62 per cent and an 18 per cent increase. We have seen at a higher level a 10 per cent point increase between 2009-10 and 2016-17 in the proportion of pupils getting passes at a higher level or better, which is my point on the strengthening of attainment. And when it comes to the overall attainment of young people, universities and employers and colleges, we'll be looking at the range of qualifications that young people are achieving across the whole of the senior phase. That is why it's important to look at national qualifications, why we also need to look at skills-based qualifications and why they need to be looked at not in abstract to S4 but in the totality of the senior phase. 6. Julian Martin Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what it's doing to ensure that school pupils have a high standard of literacy. Presiding Officer, literacy is at the heart of curriculum for excellence alongside numeracy and health and wellbeing. We are supporting high standards, including through initiatives such as the First Minister's reading challenge and the school library strategy. We are investing £750 million during this Parliament towards closing the poverty-related attainment gap with many local authorities in schools choosing to use this funding to improve literacy. Education Scotland is supporting continued improvement in standards through inspection and on-going work with schools, local authorities and regional improvement collaboratives. Its national improvement hub hosts resources supporting literacy and English teaching. Julian Martin I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The 2015 report, Improving Schools in Scotland, at an OACD perspective, the OACD argued for a more coherent approach to using data across the school system in order to drive improvement. How is the Government acting specifically on that OACD recommendation? The Government's direct response to that has been to establish the national improvement framework, which provides much greater focus in the steps that are required to improve performance within the education system. Within that, we have established new mechanisms for gathering data on teacher professional judgment on the performance of young people throughout the broad general education. Those judgments are informed by many factors of data, not least the new Scottish national standardised assessments. We are also putting in place a range of measures to support the comparability of schools to aid with the improvement journey and to support self-evaluation for improvement in the school system. Neil Findlay Teaching in schools, literacy levels were greatly improved by the work of some very skilled classroom assistants and teachers who had time to spend with children who needed help. Will increasing class sizes and reducing the number of classroom assistants improve literacy levels, or will it have the opposite effect? I have set out to Parliament the range of measures that the Government is taking to support the improvements in literacy, not least of which the investment of £120 million per annum through pupil equity funding has been used in my experience in a very focused set of ways by different schools around the country to support the improvement of literacy. Some of that may involve the recruitment of specialist staff to assist the building of capacity within schools for the teaching of literacy skills or for wider activities to improve literacy performance. So there are a range of different interventions that can be taken, but Mr Findlay should be assured that there is an absolute focus within the Government's educational agenda on improving literacy measures within Scotland, and that is demonstrated by the clear action that has been taken in implementing pupil equity funding. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the teacher, pupil, ratio or class sizes in primary schools has an impact on learning outcomes. The quality of teaching is the key factor in improving children's learning and the outcomes that they achieve. Having the right number of high-quality teachers with the right skills and places is therefore key to achieving excellence and equity for all. That is why we have provided continued funding of £88 million to local government to maintain pupil teacher ratios. That allows local authorities to take flexible decisions about how best to meet the needs of their schools. Alex Rowley I hear what the Deputy First Minister says, but I have to say to him that I raised this question because the number of parents that say to me that where their kids are having trouble with numeracy or literacy in primary school and they are in large class sizes, the teachers just do not have the time to put off with them. In five, there are 307 primary classes that have more than 25 children in them and 117 have more than 30 children in them. The General Secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association says that small class sizes are the main selling point for parents who pay for private school places. They see the value in it and that is why they pay for it. He talks about equity and every child getting the same chance in life. When will children in state schools get the same chance by reducing the teacher pupil ratio in schools? If we look at the pupil teacher ratio, the pupil teacher ratio for all publicly funded schools in Scotland is 13.6. In 2016 it was 13.7. That tells us that we have stability on pupil teacher ratios in Scotland, but in terms of resources, the Government has applied—I just answered some of the details in my response to Mr Finlay—the Government has applied pupil equity funding in a fashion that enables schools to make choices in exactly the circumstances that Mr Rowley recounts to make sure that the needs of young people are met. I have seen excellent teaching practice where additional resources are put into classrooms and young people who require additional support are given that support in more intimate settings than in the whole-class environment and as a consequence their learning is enhanced. All those measures and interventions are available for schools to deploy and I would encourage them to do so. John Mason Thank you. The Deputy First Minister gave the ratios for the last year or so. Could he tell us over the last five years how the ratio has moved and whether there are more or less primary and secondary teachers compared to five years ago? John Mason Obviously, the number of teachers is rising. Last year, we had an increase of 543 teachers, and the number of teachers in Scotland, if my recollection is correct, at the present moment, is the highest level that it has been since 2011. In relation to the history on pupil-teacher ratio, I can only go back in the data that I have at my fingertips to 2016, but I assure Mr Mason that the Government pays close attention to ensuring that we have a strong teaching cohort in place to ensure that the needs of young people are met within our education system. Patrick Harvie Thank you to ask the Government what action it is taking to ensure that consent-based sex education is being delivered in all schools. Presiding Officer, Curricule for Excellence ensures that consent is taught through sexual health and positive relationship learning experiences. A new web-based relationship, sexual health and parenthood teaching resource, which includes consent resources, will be available during 2019. We are also undertaking a national review of personal and social education. That includes how sexual consent is taught in all stages of education and will be completed by the end of 2018. Furthermore, we are considering how to take forward the recommendations of the young women's lead committee report on sexual harassment in schools. Patrick Harvie Thank you. I recognise that there is work under way on that area, but the reality at the moment is that nothing is ensuring that young people get access to that education. Is the cabinet secretary aware of recent research and surveys that have shown, for example, that across the UK a majority of adults believe that, once they have reached the point of getting undressed with a partner, it is no longer okay to withdraw consent? There is no evidence to suggest that that is less of a problem in Scotland. Is he also aware of HIV Scotland's work showing that, while a majority of schools provide sexual education, 14 per cent do not provide it at all and there are serious concerns about the quality of provision in other schools? Does the Government acknowledge how far away we are from a situation in which all young people get access to consent-based sex education in Scotland and the urgency of making rapid progress? Mr Harvie correctly says that there is work under way in that respect. We have completed phase two of the review of personal and social education. What the phase two analysis has shown is that this was undertaken by Education Scotland with analysis of PSE in 55 schools across Scotland, which is—I accept a sample—indicated that there was strength in existing performance in this area, but there was a need to ensure an appropriate focus on the issue of sexual consent, especially in primary schools and in the early stages of secondary schools. That was one of the key findings of the Education Scotland thematic inspection. We are working our way through phase three of the review, and I am mindful of the need to address that recommendation, because I fundamentally accept Mr Harvie's point that we need to have a deeper, stronger understanding of consent issues. That is not just an educational question, because, when I look at the recent crime statistics in Scotland and the rise in sexual crime, there must be a role that education can contribute to stop that increase happening because of better education about the issue of consent. I assure Mr Harvie that that is very much a significant priority for me, not least of which, for the educational reasons involved, but because of what the education portfolio has got to contribute towards creating a better climate in our country on the understanding of sexual consent in the hope that that tackles or has an influence on the instances of sexual crime in our society. I am very happy to update Parliament on those issues as the work completes. Question 9 has not been lodged. Question 10, Linda Fabiani. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making with implementing the universal monitoring approach that was recommended by the short-life working group on recording and monitoring of bullying incidents in schools. The universal monitoring approach has been delivered through the operation of support group, which supports local authorities in the implementation work that is involved. In addition, improvements have been made to the CMOS schools management information system. That allows schools and local authorities to record and monitor any instances of prejudice-based bullying that are reported. As part of the first phase, six local authorities are now using the updated system across all of their schools. 18 local authorities will start this week with the remainder early in 2019. The new system will be fully implemented by August 2019. I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer and say to him that both the recent young woman lead inquiry and local experience has made it very clear to me that there is inconsistency in approach and practice and reporting both within and across local authorities. I am glad to hear from the cabinet secretary that this roll-out is taking place and may I ask that he take all steps to ensure that all victims of bullying have their experiences investigated and dealt with appropriately? I certainly give Linda Fabiani that assurance. Some very swift work has been undertaken to revise the CMOS management system to make sure that that information can be recorded in a comparable and readily accessible fashion within individual schools. Obviously, the changes take time to be applied in management systems, and I am satisfied. I am deeply grateful to those who run the CMOS system for the fact that they have given additional priority to advancing the work in, among other reforms, which they have been undertaking. We will certainly make sure that that information is available, and that will hopefully improve the culture whereby bullying is tackled more actively and more visibly within our society and to ensure that young people do not have to experience those dreadful situations. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that pupils with additional needs receive co-ordinated support plans where appropriate. Education authorities have a statutory duty under the Additional Support for Learning Act to consider whether children or young people for whom they are responsible require a co-ordinated support plan. A CSP enables support to be planned in a co-ordinated way to meet the needs of pupils who have complex or multiple needs requiring significant support from education and another agency. To support those considerations in December 2017, we published the revised supporting learners code of practice, which includes guidance for authorities on meeting their duties under the act in relation to CSPs. Ross Greer. I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer, and he is right to observe the statutory duties on local authorities. However, something is not working here. In 2010, there were 55,000 children with identified additional support needs. In 2017, it was 180,000. In that same period of time, the number of co-ordinated support plans fell by 1,000. That is not a particular problem in one or even a handful of local authorities. It is a problem happening across the board. Will the Scottish Government commit to at least investigate why that is happening? I will certainly look at the detail that Mr Greer has put on the record. As I indicated in my earlier answer, it is a statutory responsibility of local authorities to undertake that work. I encourage local authorities to follow that statute carefully. That is why we have put in place the supporting learners code of practice in December 2017 to assist in that respect. It is important that local authorities realise that the statutory issues that are involved can be considered in a tribunal scenario, which I am not advocating or encouraging, because tribunal situations can be enormously stressful—or the run-up to tribunals can be enormously stressful—for individual families who are concerned about those issues. It is important that the needs of every young person are met in our system under the GERFEC principles and that local authorities act proactively to meet the needs of young people. If that includes producing a co-ordinated support plan, that is exactly what they should do. Can the cabinet secretary confirm whether education authorities have increased or decreased funding for additional support needs and if attainment for pupils with additional support needs is increasing? We are seeing an increase in the attainment of young people with additional support needs. We have seen encouraging data of that performance over a number of years, and that is supported by the further steps that we are taking. In 2017, there were 13,763 support staff supporting pupils with additional support needs in schools, and that was an increase from the figure in the previous year of 12,891. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it is making of the development of initial and transferable skills to support a net zero emissions economy. Skills Development Scotland undertakes sectoral planning, which supports assessment of current and future skills needs. In addition, we are establishing a Just Transition Commission to advise ministers on the move to a low-carbon economy. I anticipate that analysis of current and future labour requirements, including skills, will form part of its considerations. I thank the minister for that answer. In my region of South Scotland, there are fantastic opportunities for people who want valuable and forward-facing skills, be it full or part-time education or to upskill while on the job. Ayrshire College has a full-time course for electoral engineering with renewables and Dumfries and Galloway College has a day release course for solar thermal domestic water systems. How can the Scottish Government be sure that they are co-ordinating those? Will there be an audit of what is there already in order to ensure that what is available across the country can suit all needs? Can the minister give an update on the energy skills partnership? What Claudia Beamish has said out there is, to me, a demonstration of the responsiveness of our college sector responding to the demands of the local economy. In this instance, in terms of the transition towards a low-carbon economy, what we, as I have said out in the initial answer to Skills in London Scotland, have the critical role in planning out working with others to ensure that we can deliver on that is the way that we always move forward. Across the board, I am aware of a range of other activities that are taking place to support the transition to a low-carbon economy. We have set out the skills requirements in the Circle of Economy strategy, manufacturing action plan and the switch to Scotland action plan as well, so she can be assured that we give that the utmost priority and will continue to do so. As the Scottish Government, how many part-time course places have been lost at Dundee in Angus College since 2009-10? Richard Lochhead In the academic year 2016-17, there were 13,879 part-time enrolments at Dundee in Angus College. In 2009-10, there were 29,952 part-time enrolments. That is due to the deprioritisation of short courses by the Scottish funding council, which did not lead to employment or progression. Short courses continue to be funded, and the majority of enrolments continue to be part-time at 73 per cent of all courses. In 2016-17, 97.4 per cent of learning hours were delivered in courses that led to a recognised qualification and an 8.7 percentage point increase. Bill Bowman I thank the minister for his response and I welcome him to the role. Since 2010, the head count numbers at Dundee in Angus College have fallen by 41 per cent, but the SNP says that only full-time equivalent numbers matter. While full-time equivalents are down by 11 per cent, the SNP says that that is mainly from courses that are five hours long. In Scotland, for every hour cut from courses lasting five hours, 78 were cut from courses over 10 hours long in the same period. Can the new minister for further education commit to reversing the destructive college funding cuts that the SNP has inflicted so far? Richard Lochhead I commit to doing what is right for our students, and for our colleges, and for the Scottish economy. I should say that the Scottish Government attaches great value to short courses, leading to employment or progression, with colleges making a vital contribution to the upskilling and reskilling of Scotland's workforce. That is what we have to absolutely focus on. That is why, as I said, the majority of total enrolments at colleges are still on a part-time courses basis, with 73 per cent being such a case in 2016-17. I reiterate what I said in my opening remarks. This is about ensuring that our colleges are focused on what is best for our students' long-term future, for fulfilling their potential and contributing to the Scottish economy. That is why the Scottish funding council took a decision to reduce the number of part-time courses in favour of other types of part-time courses or full-time courses that allow better progression for each student's choices. I should also say that the Scottish funding council has ensured that the colleges in Dundee and Angus college can continue to deliver impactful learning by increasing its core teaching funding allocation to more than £27 million in 2018-19. That was an increase of 9.3 per cent in the previous year in terms of Dundee and Angus's colleges funding. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its approach to preventing and managing school exclusions. In June 2017, the Scottish Government published its refresh guidance on preventing and managing school exclusions, including the Engaged and Evolved Part 2. Since then, the Scottish Government has held a number of engagement sessions with more than 400 stakeholders across Scotland to support its implementation. Education authorities are responsible for developing their own policies on exclusion, taking that guidance into account. Exclusions have continued to fall, and the number of exclusions is less than half the comparable figure from 2006-07. Thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, but he will know that the number of school exclusions for physical assaults involving weapons has risen to a five-year high. What measures is he taking to reduce unacceptable levels of violence against pupils and staff in Scotland's schools? The work is actively explored by the Scottish advisory group on relationships and behaviour in schools, Cegrabus, which has looked in great detail at the implications of particular behaviours in our schools and the dangers associated with the carrying of weapons. The guidance that I talked about was the subject of extensive consultation and dialogue with that group and with many stakeholders. We work very hard in those areas to ensure that we get to agreed ways of proceeding that command confidence across the education system, and I am confident that the guidance that we issued last year carries that confidence. What the Government is focused on is making sure that our schools are safe and supportive places of learning, where young people are included and, as a consequence of that, we have seen significant reductions in the level of exclusions and the purposeful involvement of young people in their learning as part of the education system. Thank you very much. That concludes portfolio questions. We are going to move on to the next item of business, which is a debate, a committee debate on remand, but we will just take a few moments for members and ministers to change the