Portfolio Questions

Education and Skills Tom Arthur S5O-00549 1. To ask the Scottish Government what contribution music education can make towards closing the attainment gap. Richard Lyle S5O-00550 2. To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish updated guidance on tackling bullying. Ross Thomson S5O-00551 3. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will clarify what the Education and Skills secretary meant by "radical reform of Scotland's education system", following publication of the recent PISA results. Angus MacDonald S5O-00552 4. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Falkirk Council regarding the Attainment Scotland Fund. Jeremy Balfour S5O-00553 5. To ask the Scottish Government how physical education is helping to narrow the attainment gap. John Mason S5O-00554 6. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Board and the City of Glasgow College regarding their relationship with each other. Rachael Hamilton S5O-00555 7. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to close the skills gap. Mark Ruskell S5O-00556 8. To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce a decision regarding tuition fee support for EU students applying for courses for 2018-19. Mike Rumbles S5O-00557 9. To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet representatives from Aberdeenshire Council's Education and Children's Services. Donald Cameron S5O-00558 10. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce teacher workload. Bruce Crawford S5O-00559 11. To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it provided toward the building of the new St Margaret's Primary School in Cowie. Iain Gray S5O-00560 12. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns expressed by the Royal Society of Edinburgh regarding an “absence of a clear rationale” for the school governance review. Margaret Mitchell S5O-00561 13. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to help identify and support children with dyslexia. Mary Fee S5O-00562 14. To ask the Scottish Government how it will support children with additional support needs in light of the reported reductions to local government budgets. Gordon Lindhurst S5O-00563 15. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to assist in the upskilling of workers on an ongoing basis. Rona Mackay S5O-00564 16. To ask the Scottish Government what analysis its education directorate has carried out regarding the number of school leavers who do not go on to further education or reach positive destinations. Joan McAlpine S5O-00565 17. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the proposal by Dumfries and Galloway Council to further reduce the number of classroom assistants in the region's schools despite a reported 60% increase in the number of children assessed as needing additional support. James Dornan S5O-00566 18. To ask the Scottish Government how it tackles bullying that affects LGBTI identifying young people in education. Colin Smyth S5O-00567 19. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Parent Teacher Council’s comments that parents were "puzzled" and "felt excluded" by its consultation on the review of school governance. Jenny Marra S5O-00568 20. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the number of additional support needs teachers in Dundee decreasing by 28% while the number of pupils with additional support needs is increasing.