 o fwy o ddynuno Gwg dispute' i'r ddynuno sector. Fy gyd yn sicr o'r ddebyg o'r ddynuno sector diwrnod, ond nid roedd y ddebyg yn cyd-degyndd, i paesfyn arherfodd yr oesigol a i ddysgu'r ddynuno sector diwrnod. Mae'n ddysgu'r ddynuno sector diwrnod, ond mae'n dda i'n meddwl i Waid Ate, a ddynuno sefydlu diwrnod o'r ddynuno sector diwrnod. I want to thank Gillian Hunt, who is in the gallery, for all her encouragement and enthusiasm in terms of me lodging the motion, which is behind this debate this evening. I also want to thank David Mitchell, who is the head teacher of the new grammar school, who I will mention a few times during my speech. He is also in the gallery always making his way there. I think the early decision time might have caught him on the hop. He and a group of young people from Dunion Grammar, who have been in the Parliament this afternoon, are also in the gallery. Deputy Presiding Officer, Dunion Grammar achieved so much under the leadership of David Mitchell and his staff. In my time as an MSP, I have submitted eight motions recognising various successes, such as the sheer number of achievements of the staff and pupils of that school over the years. This is the school at the heart of its community. It is also a school that is very open and welcoming to politicians. In fact, my first experience of the school was at a hustings in the 2016 election campaign. I have spoken alongside Mike Russell, former Cabinet Secretary and MSP for our Garland Buteter, a class for modern studies pupils in that school. Such are the successes of Dunion Grammar that it has been the first-ever Scottish school to be named in the European Entrepreneurial School of the Year awards in 2019 for its work in promoting entrepreneurial initiatives. Teams of pupils have won awards at the apps for good UK showcase over the years with two teams from Dunion Grammar winning prizes in 2023. Dunion Grammar is a regular entrant at the Scottish Education Awards with David Mitchell nominated last year and a school winning the Gallic Education Award in 2022. Perhaps most notably, Dunion Grammar was named the world's best school for community collaboration in 2022 by the global teaching platform T4 education. None of those achievements have been accidental and all have happened because of that school's relentless focus on being an institution that actively collaborates with the community that it serves. There have been a number of such collaborations. My apologies to Donald Cameron for that intervention. I absolutely recognise the glowing way that he is speaking with regard to Dunion Grammar School. Many of my visits have had the same positivity. I wonder if Donald Cameron would like to agree with me and express our thanks to the following teachers, specifically Paul Galina, for the work that he did with regard to entering the school, but also Scott MacKinnon and Pam McNaughton on developing the future workforce, the youth and the young workforce. Donald Cameron. I'm, of course, grateful to Jenny Minto for mentioning those two teachers. It's really important that we get on record the names of not just the head teacher but other leaders in the school who have driven it forward. I was discussing the community collaboration. I should focus on one project. There is an empty toy library in Dunion that was owned by our Garland Bute Council, and that has been passed to the school with plans for it to become a new community facility. Pupils will play an integral role in the success of the project. There are plans for it, for example, to host adult learning classes delivered by young people, a garden run by the school's learning centre and a community cafe where young people can learn skills for future life. Not only is that a positive project that is being pursued for the benefit of pupils, but it is giving back to the local community and bringing an empty space into good use. Gillian Hunt. I thank the member for taking his intervention. I agree with him that, in focusing on the SCQF framework and the need to offer alternative courses for young people, exactly the sort of description he has just described around the community focus and the award-winning school that it is, would he agree with me that that framework is a useful framework for young people who need all sorts of support to achieve the best that they possibly can in school? I agree that the breadth of subjects that are available is intrinsically important to young people. The member will know the challenges that we all face in subject choice at schools in Scotland. I think that the point that I would like to make is that this is a project, for instance, that gives back to the local community. There was a report done by Gillian Hunt in 2023 entitled High Dunoon, which explains that work and those projects and why it has been such a success. It has been taken up by the respective think tank Reform Scotland, which was a report that featured in a number of national newspapers last year. In the 40th report, it is written in a Dunoon context that the word community is widely cast as you will see drawn out, draw out an exemplary environment for young people to learn, grow, find future opportunities and contribute their own ideas. The teachers are encouraged to think for themselves and take an outward looking approach to their job. External partners in the public, third and private sectors have become part of the Dunoon grammar family. That sums up what Dunoon grammar does and how it could be a wider model for other schools across Scotland. That is not to say that the school is perfect and it would be wrong not to acknowledge that, like many other towns in rural Scotland, there are deep-seated challenges within that community. Fundrable people still need support. The mental health of young people still needs addressing. The point that he is making about the transformative power of a school, the pivotal thing, the thing that makes this all possible, would he agree, is leadership. That is what we have in Dunoon grammar. We have leadership. We have a leader and a leadership team. Does every school in Scotland have that empowered sense of leadership and autonomy, even? Does he believe that we could transform every school in Scotland into a Dunoon grammar? I am firmly aware of that view. The member says eloquently what I personally believe. I am not saying that Dunoon grammar is unique. There are plenty of other Scottish schools that have a similar level of engagement with their communities or allow their teaching staff to think creatively. Other schools do remarkable things. I am sure that members will draw that to their attention. It is very fortunate that, in Stephen Kerr's leadership, David Mitchell is the headteacher there. It is no wonder that he was shortlisted for headteacher of the year in 2023. I can give Mr Cameron a wee bit of extra time because he has been generous with interventions. I thank the member for giving way. My apologies for missing the start of the debate. I just want to put on record that the headteacher, David Mitchell, cut his teeth in Dumfries and Galloway. Dunoon's gain is certainly Dumfries and Galloway's loss. The culture around the school is something that is admired everywhere. I think that Dumfries and Galloway could certainly take some lessons from what is happening in Dunoon. I did not know that. I thank Finlay Carson for that information. Given much of the decision-making around education, it is obviously the responsibility of local authorities. It is down to the leadership of those authorities to make or break innovation in education. It is important to recognise that all the many achievements of the new grammar have occurred under existing structures and systems. However, if there is greater freedom and greater empowerment of headteachers, then even more things could happen. I must draw my remarks to a close. Can I lay a direct challenge to the cabinet secretary who I am delighted to see is here? What will the Scottish Government do to learn the lessons of the new grammar of success and ensure that in any way it can, that success can be replicated across Scotland? It is a brilliant example of what can be achieved when teachers are given the freedom and support to think and act creatively. It is a brilliant example of what can be achieved when pupils are made to feel part of something bigger and are encouraged to think about social good. I should mention that there are currently new grammar pupils in Tanzania undertaking work there. It is a brilliant example of what can be achieved when the local community has a stake in the success of their school. To help to new grammar, David Mitchell, his team, his leadership, his teachers, his pupils' passing presence have achieved so much and will no doubt go on to achieve much more. To help to new grammar and every other school in Scotland, it is imperative that we in the Parliament remove the barriers to success and let our schools flourish. Thank you. We now move to the open part of the debate. I call Emma Harper to be followed by Liam Kerr, Ms Harper. I want to take the opportunity to congratulate Danone Grammar School as well. I also congratulate Donald Cameron for securing this debate. I am happy to support his motion. I want to add my thanks to all at Danone Grammar School for their hard work, dedication and commitment to the community. I also want to provide the school-age learning experience, which spans a lifetime for the pupils. The many achievements of the school, which have been well rehearsed by Donald Cameron, are testament to the school's ethos of continually improving and doing all the time to ensure the best outcomes for young people. Danone Grammar School has a very long and distinguished history spanning over 350 years of growth, of which high standards of academic and personal development have been the hallmarks. A huge well done goes to all the school community. When preparing for this debate, I had a wee discussion with my head of office, who attended Air Grammar School. We had a blether about the history of grammar schools in Scotland. Scotland has many schools such as Air Grammar and Dunbar Grammar in my South Scotland region, which are called grammar schools but are now essentially the same as other state schools. Although historically, those grammar schools would have acted independently and were, and in some cases, are still viewed as providing high quality academic education. It is important to note that those schools are not the same as grammar schools in England and Northern Ireland. With that in mind, I want to share some of the exceptional work of schools in the South Scotland region, which are working to provide the best possible educational outcomes. One such school is Lockerbie academy in Dumfries and Galloway under the leadership of Brian Asher. Lockerbie academy is very much an integral part of the town and embraces fully the town motto, which is forward, building on their vision around improving the future of the local area for pupils and community. Lockerbie academy's twin purpose to be a place where pupils feel cared for and above all to learn drives their desire to be the best that they can be. The academy has, every year since the Lockerbie air disaster, has worked with Syracuse University in New York as part of an exchange programme. Two pupils from Lockerbie travelled to Syracuse and vice versa to lay a wreath on behalf of the town in remembrance of all those who died in the air disaster. It is massively appreciated by the town and the wider community and has led to the school being nationally recognised by Education Scotland for their leadership with the scheme. Another fantastic example is Dumfries high school and Kyle academy in air, both of which have been leading the way with the vision school Scotland programme. The programme aims to encourage and empower Scottish schools to enshrine Holocaust education into the curriculum to ensure that every young person learns of the horrors of the Holocaust. Just last week I had the opportunity to meet with S6 Dumfries high school pupils Brogan Matthews and Katie Donald and their teachers, Lizzie Smithard, who is the history teacher and Phillip Cubbin, who is the head teacher. I met them at Dynamic Earth for a Vision Schools award ceremony. Brogan and Katie have been leading the way with Holocaust education in the school and had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz earlier this year. This is vitally important work and I thank the pupils and school communities of Dumfries high and Kyle academy for their work. Finally, I want to give mention to Strunar academy, which was recently awarded the young enterprise team programme award. Strunar academy is where my first secondary school was a long time ago now, presiding officer, but what they have done there is they have a programme that ran over a full academic year. It involves students from S5 and S6 starting their own student company over the course of the academic year. That company, what they did was through key milestones, they developed an idea, conducting market research, they created a product or a service and it's ultimately, there was then promoted and then traded for it. So the award that they've received is well deserved. So presiding officer, in closing, I put my thanks on the record to all our fantastic schools and of course Donald Cameron for securing this debate and raising the profile of Dunoon grammar and raising this motion this evening. Thank you. Thank you, Ms Harper. I now call on Liam Kerr to be followed by Rosa Grant. Mr Kerr. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you to Donald Cameron for bringing this debate to the chamber and giving me an opportunity for a brief contribution. Last May, Chris Dearin, the director of reform Scotland, made what I think is a very important point when he said in the High Dunoon report that we heard about, there is much focus in the media and elsewhere on what is wrong with Scottish education, but it's also important to talk about the success stories, those projects from which others can learn and benefit. He makes an important point because we all know that, as David Mitchell, the head teacher, put it, the current financial situation makes it even harder to provide a wide range of opportunities for young people as do the many other issues impacting Scottish education at this time, which we've rehearsed in this chamber many times. Yet Dunoon Grammar School has achieved all that it has, quote, without additional resources or any special measures, so says Gillian Hunt, the educational consultant who authored this report. That's why it's so crucial that this Parliament not only celebrates Dunoon Grammar's success today, that we've heard so much about and will do. Not only that we commend the pupils, staff and partners who've made it all happen, some of the examples of which Donna Cameron gave earlier, but also ensure that we find out what is working and explore and evaluate what makes this model of success. Crucial to that seems to be this idea of an education system or a facility which doesn't exist in isolation, that doesn't exist in a silo, but rather works and exists as part of an ecosystem. What we've seen is a school in Dunoon Grammar School which already operates in that way, one which exemplifies the idea of taking a village to raise a child. As the High Dunoon report put it, the school sits at the heart of this environment and its purpose is clear to provide everything that students need to thrive and be successful. A huge part of that is making sure that this environment and wider community can thrive and be successful, too. I will. I warmly endorse Mr Kerr's sentiment that we should be more positive about the achievements in schools throughout the whole country. I claim no moral superiority in casting stones on anyone else here, so let me say that. Does Mr Kerr not agree that the nature of negativity, which far too often characterises the debate about education in this chamber, does none of us any good and perhaps does the institution as a whole considerable gratuitous harm? It's a very interesting point and I'm grateful for the intervention. I think that, as I alluded to earlier, there are significant challenges facing the Scottish education system. In this sort of debate, I don't think that it would be right for me to go into what some of those are and what I believe that some of those are, but it is the responsibility of this Parliament to address those challenges by setting them out clearly and trying to work cross-party to find those solutions. I absolutely agree that where success, such as we're seeing from Dunwine Grammar School, is apparent, it absolutely deserves to be celebrated but also aired in exactly the same way in order that the lessons of Dunwine Grammar School can be learned because some of those successes we actually heard about earlier. One of the results, of course, is that the School 1 T4 Education World's Best School Prize for Community Collaboration in 2022. Presiding Officer, there are only five categories and they are open worldwide. To put this in context, the year they won it, the runners-up were from India and Brazil. It is truly incredible. We've heard some of the key factors and we will no doubt hear further the key factors this afternoon in the process and they might be summarised as truly collaborative partnerships in the community and an outward-looking approach and a focus on how sectors can learn from each other and apply that learning. I have to say, one thing is clear, whether from the report, from what we'll hear in this debate, from the various commentaries that I've looked at when researching my remarks today, at the heart of all this is the headteacher David Mitchell who's joined us in the gallery today and has even described rightly, it seems, as a local hero. Although, of course, many have contributed, for example, Jenny Minto raised to others earlier in her intervention. Presiding Officer, I want to close with the words of Gillian Hunt, writing for Reform Scotland last year in her paper Making Effective Collaboration in Scotland a Reality, because I think it embodies what we are discussing today. She said, I challenge the new First Minister and the education secretary to refocus attention on education and to ensuring that all of our children and young people succeed. I urge them, she says, to recognise the need to create a new system, an ecosystem and to actively promote and support the contribution of third sector organisations to this ecosystem. That seems to me inarguable. I look forward very much to hearing the cabinet secretary's response to that challenge later this evening. Thank you. Mr Kerr, I now call Rhoda Grant to be followed by Arianne Burgess, Ms Grant. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I want to add my congratulations to Donald Cameron for securing the time for this debate, but also to congratulate the Noon Grammar School, that had teacher staff and pupils on their huge achievement winning the award best school in the world for community collaboration. I also want to recognise the role of Hergail and Bute Council in supporting them. They have done a number of projects that they have taken part in, streaming Bingo and other games to local care homes during Covid, which must have been a lifeline for the people in the care homes, as well as strengthening the intergenerational bonds in that community. They have also launched an app to reduce food waste. Probably the most important thing of all, they have a student advisory board for the Doonoon project. The Doonoon project is looking at an awful lot of things that will help to put Doonoon on the map and make it a centre for excellence for outdoor activities and other things as well. Being on the advisory board allows them to work closely with the project. It is not only helping Doonoon right here and right now, but it is also helping Doonoon in the future and providing a future for those very pupils because it will provide them with job opportunities in years to come as well as the skills that they are learning every day as part of that. Learning in different ways benefits all young people because they learn in a way that suits them best. I will take on information in a very different way, but seeing different ways of learning actually motivates everybody and means that everyone can be part. If you are not very good at book learning, you are certainly very practical. All those skills come into play when you have a rich diversity of the way you learn. I quote the head teacher saying allowing students to take part in activities that are learning experiences. They may not feel like that, they may not seem like that, but they are and they add to people's knowledge. I really congratulate them on that. Everyone does win from this. An issue that I have taken on board for a long period of time is rural depopulation. We know that young people are pushed out of their communities because of depopulation. Indeed, in Ireland, we saw 2.4 per cent population fall. It is so important that those young people are part of that future, that they are building the future for themselves and that they are creating opportunities that will allow them to stay at home. Last week, we saw the Herald Ranna major week-long series on the population crisis in the Highlands and Islands. A bit north from Denun and Fort William is based in Fort William. We saw for ourselves what is required to retain young people in our communities. First and foremost, of course, it is at home. It is also about feeling part of your community and having the same opportunities in that community as you would if you moved elsewhere. That is why the work of the school is so important, because not only are those young people the imagination to create opportunities for themselves. They are actually being part of that as they learn. I think that other schools could learn from what Denun Grammar is doing. Yes, I will give way. I am most grateful to Rhodogran for giving way and concerning our remarks about population and depopulation in the Highlands and education and in particular the excellent series of articles by the Herald on problems facing particularly more remote Highland communities and islands is the serious risk of massive further depopulation of 10, 15 per cent, not perhaps the most serious threat to education because of the risk that schools will simply close because of the dwindling school roles and therefore repopulation with development in the Highlands encouraged and enabled by this Government is absolutely essential. Rhodogran, I absolutely agree because we don't want to halt depopulation by keeping our young people in their communities if that is somehow a lesser opportunity for those young people. What we have to do is create the opportunities and the future within the communities so that they are not forced out and I hope that the young people in Denun will have choices about where they make their futures and making their future in Denun will be an excellent opportunity for them. I now call Arianne Burgess who will be the last speaker before I ask the Cabinet Secretary to respond to Ms Burgess. I would like to also thank my colleague in the Highlands Islands region Donald Cameron for lodging this motion and providing opportunity to discuss the excellent work carried out at Denun grammar school that demonstrates community-supported education across Scotland. I had the pleasure of visiting Denun grammar in the lead-up to COP26 when I met students who were part of the eco-sustainability group to discuss the action needed on climate and nature and it was a tremendous conversation that I had with them. Also at that time David Mitchell, the head teacher gave me a tour of the school and showed me all these other amazing activities that people were up to and I had the opportunity to talk to other students and also staff at that time and I certainly got a tremendous impression of what's taking place in the school. I'm looking forward to returning to the school soon to meet again with Mr Mitchell and to work with pupils on developing a place plan for their community alongside Denun community development trust and it is wonderful to see Mr Mitchell, pupils and staff in the gallery here this evening. Denun grammar's example doesn't just reflect excellent practice in community engagement it is transforming what a community is perceived to be and how our young people engage with their local environment, neighbours and culture. That community engagement goes much deeper than the fundraising events and occasional open days that we're all probably familiar with. Working with third sector organisations and social enterprises in partnership to achieve common goals inspires pupils and adds to the vibrancy of life in the town. How many pupils know what a place plan is let alone will take part in active will take active part in creating one and yet we all know how vital, safe, connected and flourishing community spaces are to young people. Whether that's creating places that make it easy for them to travel on foot or by bicycle ensuring high quality play and recreation provision or creating environments that are well lit and feel safe for meeting friends. Making our built environment especially in rural areas welcoming spaces for young people is a key but often overlooked aspect of our of rural populations. So too is ensuring there are secure well paid jobs in a variety of sectors and crucially that the young people growing up in rural communities are equipped with the skills that they need to secure them. We know that in the last year jobs in the renewable industry have increased by 50% in Scotland and many of those roles are in my Highlands and Islands region. There's also a growing demand for skilled trades people and engineers to build the 11,000 rural homes the Scottish Government is committed to creating to retrofit and insulate existing homes and to install and maintain low carbon heating systems. Increasingly, we're taking a whole range of new job openings up directly by tackling climate and nature emergencies through peatland and rainforest restoration woodland and deer management and ecotourism. These job opportunities like the development roles in the carbon neutral island scheme give young people the opportunity not just to have fulfilling work within their rural communities but also to play a part in shaping the future of these places and maybe based on this place plan work we'll get a few students inspired to become much needed planners. Education is about so much more than producing the workers for the future. It's about developing creative critical thinkers, nurturing talent and inspiring the next generation through curiosity and a love of learning. Mary Ann Burgess, give way. Fergus Ewing. Mary Ann Burgess talks about the importance of jobs in the highlands. A great many jobs in the highlands consist of people working in the gas industry and who live and commute to work offshore and form a staple part of many many communities. Does the member like me value, cherish support the jobs in this sector which are going to be necessary for some considerable time to come? Mary Ann Burgess. I appreciate the member for that intervention. What I value and cherish is that we have a future for future generations in Scotland and on this planet and what I want to see is a just transition for those oil and gas workers to other sectors. Renewable energy is one of them but there are many other opportunities and that's what we need to get on with. The approach taken at Danoon isn't just about financial resources though investing in closing a poverty-related attainment gap is vital. It's about reassessing that which is truly valuable to a community and ensuring education provision locally meets those needs. Danoon grammar is not afraid to take risks. It tackles challenges head on and empowers pupils and staff to find new solutions and take those risks. As MSPs how can we work with local authorities to ensure more schools can follow Danoon grammar's example? How are we supporting collaboration between schools and community organisations? Crucially, how are we supporting the sharing of knowledge and expertise between schools so that best practice like that at Danoon grammar is captured and innovation is celebrated? Thank you Ms Burgess and I now call on Cabinet Secretary Jenny Garuth to respond to the debate on behalf of the Scottish Government. Thank you to Donald Cameron for lodging this motion and thank you to colleagues from across the chamber for what has been a really positive debate this evening. As Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills I really welcome the opportunity to celebrate excellence in education and undoubtedly there is so much to celebrate at Danoon grammar school as we've heard today and I have committed to visit the school along with my colleague Jenny Minto as a constituency MSP in the coming weeks. Of course the school's success is really a testament to the hard work of the staff, the teachers in the school and those that have been created as well the opportunities by the senior leadership team working shoulder to shoulder with the local community. It is also of course a testament to the pupils themselves who, like all of our young people have been through so much in recent years but continue to inspire us all. We have heard contributions from members across the chamber this evening I'm going to come to those momentarily before I do so. I want to put on record a welcome to the pupils who are in the gallery today and particularly to their headteacher David Mitchell who I think there was some debate amongst MSPs about where he belonged to in terms of his constituency and his origins but that's what MSPs do. Welcome to our Parliament, this is your Parliament and it's fantastic to see you here this evening. Donald Cameron spoke with great warmth about the reception he received from modern studies pupils and I have to say as a former modern studies teacher I would expect no less the world's best school for community collaboration, what an accolades I'm so looking forward to visiting the school in the not too distant future to see for myself the excellence on offer. Now to respond to some of the points raised in the debate. Emma Harper spoke about the history of the school and I think as we all know Scotland has a very proud educational legacy and we will do well I think to learn from that and to build on that history. She also spoke about the vision schools programme on Holocaust education and I met of course with Kyle Academy at Dynamic Earth only last week I was delighted to be part of the award ceremony which recognised the intrinsic importance of Holocaust education in Scotland schools. Liam Kerr mentioned talk about the educational ecosystem which I know has also been inspired in the report to meet with Gillian Hunter I know is in the gallery today on my visit to the noon in the next few weeks and I say to Liam Kerr as he knows I will always work on a cross-party basis in relation to education but his office is shortly to receive if he has not already an invitation to mind this afternoon which has been extended to members of the opposition to talk to them directly about educational reform and in the coming weeks before I hope subject to parliamentary business being agreed to we will have a wider debate across the chamber about educational reform and I look forward to working with members on that. I am happy to do so. Finlay Carson. I thank the minister for taking intervention. Would you agree with me that a good educational facilities like Denine Grammar underpin the long-term sustainability of areas particularly rural areas not just for the people who are currently living there but those who may be attracted to move to the area more jobs, more businesses more homes and good education is absolutely key to that and if that is the case will you join me in condemning the proposed fast-track moth-balling process for the Rai secondary school in rural Glenkens and encourage a wider community wellbeing consideration for the long-term future of that school similar to what we see with Denine Grammar. I thank the member for his intervention of course he is raising a very specific issue what I would say is that moth-balling of any school would be a matter for the local authority however as cabinet secretary I do retain some powers in this area and when that comes to me I will look at the recommendation of course from school inspections to that end. Much of what we've heard today reflect some of the very best of curriculum for excellence and also developing the young workforce and it's been more than a decade now since we launched developing the young workforce our youth employment strategy and I'm always struck by the debates on school reform which often sit in a rather siloed area. Mr Day of course is leading on wider work in relation to skills reform and I think these two agendas could be better joined up and I look forward to working with the opposition on that point because I think some of what we've heard today some of the real strengths in Scottish education are already doing that work. I do think that curriculum for excellence gives a broad framework which gives teachers that empowerment and that freedom momentarily to give learning and to provide teaching experiences that best suit the needs of their individual young people. It is a far less prescriptive system than existed prior to its introduction. I'm very grateful, I'm enjoying listening to the cabinet secretary's comments I just wanted to make sure she's going to address I thought Rhoda Grant made an interesting point about rural depopulation and one of the other but related challenges is ensuring that rural areas have sufficient teachers so can the cabinet secretary tell me what is the government doing to ensure that new teachers particularly choose to make their lives and careers in our more rural areas to ensure the future of these key parts of our country? Cabinet secretary That's a quick substantive question from the member I would like to give him more of a substantive answer as he may be aware I commissioned work on this very point last year from the student board for teacher education which is to provide me with a report essentially on options to move forward a waiver system which allows probationary teachers to tick the box as I did some years ago and that incentivises young people or maybe older people to go to other parts of the country to learn how to become a teacher. As the member knows we've seen a fall in relation to the numbers of teachers ticking the box and I think part of that has been informed by the pandemic with less people willing to move and might have been prior to the pandemic but I think we will need to look at this work in further detail. The challenge I face as cabinet secretary in this space is not to be an employer of teachers that is a matter for local authority so I need to work with COSLA on this very important matter but that's actually why Verity house the new arrangement we have with COSLA I think will be pivotal to driving some change in this area. The member may be aware that one of his colleagues has been raising questions on this very point in relation to issues in Aberdeenshire which I look to be visiting in the next couple of weeks alongside the GTCS who make decisions in much more detail because I think we can't have a one size fits all policy for the whole of the country we need to recognise local differentiation and different local authorities also can put in place some support we've seen for example some of our island authorities in the past look to provide financial incentives to encourage people to move there and there are I think a range of other opportunities that the strategic board for teacher education is going to give me further advice on. Happy to do so I'm conscious of time I'm most grateful to cabinet secretary and I shouldn't just do this opportunity to ask what progress she's making in relation to the new academy at Aberdeen and every other school in Scotland in promoting the uptake of the indispensable skill of touch typing amongst children in Scotland at something that would be incredibly cheap but enormously valuable as any massive investment in skilling our children for the needs of the century. Cabinet secretary I'm always impressed by Mr Ewing's ability to get touch typing on the official reports pupils in the gallery will understand that Mr Ewing has a key interest in this subject area and broadly I would support him of course the government has invested in digital connectivity there's more we need to do in that regard particularly actually in terms of the changes that are proposed in relation to our qualifications much of which will rely on that digital connectivity. We heard from a number of members today about the breadth of qualifications that are now on offer in the senior phase even compared to 20 years ago. Pam Duncan Glancy made an interesting contribution I thought in an intervention in relation to the SEQF and actually why that framework is so important in giving that parity of esteem across the board where traditional pathways are actually being replaced by much more flexible routes to recognising achievement and that's good for our young people there's not a one size fits all model as we've heard again today. Rhoda Grant talked about the challenges in relation to depopulation and I think that's actually why the flexibility that curriculum for excellence lends is really important so Dunin grammar school I know has facilitated access to over 50 skills based courses to empower students to work in professions vital to the local economy to keep them in the local area and I think that practical experience based curriculum also allows our young people to learn crucial industries like travel and tourism design and maritime studies too I know that the school works really hard to develop the entrepreneurial skills in its young people additionally and that young people at the school have a really key role to play I think that as we've also heard this afternoon in the Dunin project the towns plan to build a massive mountainside tourist attraction creating jobs for Dunin's young people that community collaboration was really a spirit I think in part a theme of today's debate that wider approach to school education which doesn't always just look at the school building itself and it's very clear that with the support from their teachers their support from a strong head teacher I should say and strong leadership but that wider school community has enabled young people to have the best opportunities on offer to them at Dunin grammar school not only in their local communities but more broadly I think and indeed internationally as we have heard through the motion today. From remotely engaging with care home residents as I think we heard from Rhoda Grant during the pandemic to presenting climate change solutions at COP26 as I think we heard from Ariane Burgess the young people of Dunin grammar school epitomise what it means to be effective citizens one of the four capacities which underpins curriculum for excellence and I'm really proud to have recently looked at some of the fantastic work that's under consideration at Dunin grammar school and to ensure that that work helps to inform our education reform plans as we move forward. To conclude Donald Cameron sent me a challenge which I wholeheartedly accept we have to learn lessons from the outstanding examples set by schools just like Dunin grammar school so I commit to visit the school in the coming weeks to ensure that our education reform work is informed by excellence in our classrooms just like that exhibited by grammar school.