Cross- Party Group on Dyslexia in the Scottish Parliament Minutes of a meeting of the held in the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood, Edinburgh on Tuesday at 3.45 pm 1. Welcome and Apologies The Convener, Margaret Mitchell MSP welcomed all to the meeting. (A list of those in attendance and apologies received for absence is attached.) 2. Minutes of Previous Meeting (already circulated) The Minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2008 were accepted as a correct record. The adoption of the minutes was proposed by Mary Evans and seconded by Sheena Teague. 3. Introduction of Guest Speakers The Convener introduced the guest speakers, Sir Jackie Stewart, and Adam Ingram MSP, Minister for Children and Early Years. 4. Address by Sir Jackie Stewart Sir Jackie began his address by outlining the background leading up to the diagnosis of his being dyslexic. To make a significant difference, dyslexia had to be tackled at government and education authority level. Taxpayers should expect governments to take responsibility for education and referring to the term, Social Inclusion, everyone had a right to be educated. Sir Jackie s circumstances enabled him to have access to the Scottish and Westminster parliaments in connection with his efforts to assist young people. Education was important for our future and for the economy. High quality education for teacher training establishments was a major priority and all seven in Scotland had agreed in principle that at the very minimum, every teacher should be trained to recognise the need for inclusive practice, including dyslexia. An announcement was expected in April 2009 at the Scottish Teacher Education Committee annual conference regarding the proposed infrastructure for Framework for Inclusion. If there was unanimous agreement, Scotland would be the first country to achieve this. had been a major part of the process. With regard to qualified teachers, courses were also available although some resistance to change was to be expected. Page 1 of 7
Sir Jackie cited studies which estimated that around 10% of the population were dyslexic. If this were the case, some 500,000 people in Scotland could be affected. It was unacceptable, and unaffordable for such a number of people not to be educated or fulfil their potential. The future cost to the nation was unaffordable, for example, if so many young people were unemployable or turned to crime. With commitment and investment, Scotland would have the ability to produce a model that other countries could adopt. The Teacher Training initiative (Framework for Inclusion) should be implemented as soon as possible and new ways forward should be identified so that children were not lost in the system. Education Authorities would have to respond to children s needs more quickly. In conclusion, Sir Jackie emphasised the need to challenge the assertion that dyslexia did not exist. All parties were required to drive the initiative and use their best efforts to make it happen. 5. Remarks by Adam Ingram MSP, Minister for Children and Early Years The Minister thanked Sir Jackie for his address and for his support in the international environment. He appreciated the work of the Cross Party Group especially regarding the development of the definition given that as yet there was no international consensus on a definition of dyslexia. The process had given all stakeholders a focus for discussion. has been asked to build on the working definition and undertake work to identify and provide advice on the most effective assessment tools/techniques that would help teachers plan appropriate programmes and support for the learner. The Scottish Government has agreed to provide funding this financial year to enable to establish a small group of stakeholders to take this forward and to develop a more detailed work plan and outcomes to be taken forward in 2009-2010. Dr Margaret Crombie would be advising the Minister of more details on this work. The Scottish Government welcomed the HMIe Report which found examples of outstanding practice but also highlighted where improvement was required. The Secretary for Education, Fiona Hyslop, expected the profession to fully take up the challenges identified. The Scottish Government expects all teachers to be able to recognise and know how to support pupils with additional support needs including dyslexia. In initial teacher education, the work of STEC (the Scottish Teacher Education Committee) is progressing well. STEC is developing A Framework for Inclusion Page 2 of 7
which promotes the principle that achieving inclusion is the responsibility of all teachers in all schools. The Framework will also provide the basis for an extensive web-based resource for all teachers and will provide ease of access to a wealth of relevant, high quality CPD materials and good practice. This is currently under development. The Scottish Government is committed to this Framework being developed and has provided central funding to allow university staff to be released to work on it. The Framework will be launched at the national STEC Conference in April 2009 which will be opened by the Cabinet Secretary. Unfortunately Sir Jackie cannot attend but he is making a video presentation for the conference. Officials advise that representatives from STEC would be happy to come to a future Cross Party Group to provide an update on progress. The Government recognises that Initial Teacher Education alone can only prepare teachers to enter the profession. Schools and local authorities have a key role to play in providing teachers with appropriate, continuing professional development. There is a National CPD framework to help teachers to continue to develop their skills to achieve better outcomes for learners in schools. A National CPD Team is also in place to support a network of local authority CPD co-ordinators to help share best practice. The team has particular expertise in additional support needs. Officials from Support for Learning Division will be meeting shortly with the national CPD team co-ordinator to discuss how they can better take forward the ASN/inclusion agenda. The Minister referred to Curriculum for Excellence (language and literacy) and the Early Years Framework which would give every child the best start in life, based on the principle of early intervention. In his address, the Minister had highlighted the action taken as the basis for development. He would continue to work with stakeholders across all sectors and with Sir Jackie. 6. Discussion Opening the discussion, Joe Moran expressed the view that with regard to social inclusion, local authorities should provide the proper resources for educating children with special educational needs within mainstream schools. With regard to national outcomes from Curriculum for Excellence, David Jones asked the Minister whether the support of other Ministers to ensure that the work of the Cross Party Group was taken into account. Page 3 of 7
Libby Bingham was concerned that children would continue to fall below minimum standards because the system was not prepared for these new initiatives and that young teachers were being dumbed down. The Minister paid tribute to the work of Peter Peacock MSP, former Minister, who had introduced the Education (Scotland) Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 and the Standards in Scotland s Schools Act 2000. As a result of this legislation, the onus was now on schools to ensure that every child was educated to fulfil their potential. There was also an entitlement to receive additional support to meet their needs. The Cross Party Group could help to convey this message to parents so that through Parent Councils, they could put pressure on professionals. The Minister further stated that the Scottish Government is considering amendments to the 2004 Act which would enable parents to request as assessment at any time. Sir Jackie advised that he received calls every week from parents who were unaware of the relevant legislation. If the parents themselves were dyslexic, they did not know how to find the relevant information. To illustrate the issue, Nicole Dempsey asked why parents were having to spend so much time teaching their children at home because support was not available in schools. Nicole felt that more information on dyslexia should be provided to the general public, possibly through a television documentary. David Ballantine referred to the current campaign for all children to be assessed, as in his view; the present system is not working. Jim Connelly enquired about what provision had been made to monitor the effectiveness of the present system. Responding to these issues, the Minister stated that the HMIe Report had identified good practice although it would take time for change to take place. The effectiveness of the system would be monitored through the Curriculum for Excellence. Sir Jackie stated that education authorities needed to be monitored and this would depend on the infrastructure. A Working Party may be helpful for this purpose. Meg Houston stated that in her experience as a provider of CPD, some local authorities do not check the quality and relevance of CPD delivery as reported in evaluation forms and she hoped that there would be closer monitoring in the future. Page 4 of 7
7. Vote of Thanks The Convener thanked both speakers for their inspirational presentations and for taking part in the discussion. It was agreed to defer other agenda items until the next meeting on 24 March 2009, and the meeting closed at 6 pm. Margaret Mitchell MSP Convener Page 5 of 7
Cross Party Group on Dyslexia, : in attendance MSPs Margaret Mitchell MSP Adam Ingram MSP Marlene Glen MSP Hugh Hendry MSP Guests Sir Jackie Stewart Oliver Anderson Mike Gibson Robin McKendrick Sandra Manning Scott McNab Emma Seith Non MSPs David Ballantine Libby Bingham Nicola Campbell Catriona Collins Jim Connelly Mig Coupe Dr Margaret Crombie Duncan Cumming Martin Davies Nicole Dempsey Pamela Deponio Fiona Dickinson Elspeth Dow Mary Evans Adam Hannah Meg Houston Hamish Hunter David Jones Jane Kirk Stuart Lucas Cathy Magee Joe Moran Geraldine O'Donnell Bill Sadler David Shaw Liz Tangney Sheena Teague convener Minister for Early Years and Children President, Schools Directorate Schools Directorate Schools Directorate Press Association TES Scotland Independent consultant Dyslexia Ayrshire Mindroom Outreach Service Dyslexia Scotwest Dyslexia Forth Valley University of Edinburgh Adult Dyslexia treasurer Lomond School Army Educational Services minute secretary Co-operative Solutions Chair, Dyslexia Oban and Lorn South East Page 6 of 7
Moira Thomson Julia Trotter Margaret Watson Colin Williamson Mrs Williamson secretary vice-president, Learning Teaching Scotland West Lothian Adult Group Apologies MSPs Peter Peacock MSP Robin Harper MSP Non MSPs Sir Crispin Agnew Lady Susan Agnew Kathleen Clark Allan Cowieson Cath Currie Lynne Dobbie Glenda Hanna Rosemary Hannah Marie Lockhart Anna McGee Patricia McDonald Liz McKelvie Paul Nisbet Hannah Pugh Louise Stafford Liz Rodger Gary Waddell Hilery Williams Strathclyde University North Ayrshire Council Scottish Council for Independent Schools Dyslexia Ayrshire Caledonian University Scottish Qualifications Authority CALL Scotland Development officer, Chair, Adult Network Scottish Prison Services East Lothian Council Page 7 of 7