§ Sir Hector MonroTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has completed his consideration of the inspectors' report on provisions for Gaelic education in schools; and if he will make a statement. [27566]
§ Mr. Michael ForsythI have now considered the inspectorate report on Gaelic education and have taken into account the views of the 123 organisations and individuals who submitted comments on it. I was pleased 379W to note that the report highlighted the impressive progress which has been made in developing Gaelic education since the mid-1980s.
The report provides an invaluable picture of the strengths and the weaknesses of Gaelic education at this juncture and I am anxious to use it to determine the best way forward. With all resources for education coming under pressure from competing priorities, it is important that resources for Gaelic education are used in the way that best supports the future of the Gaelic language. The Government wish to build on the successes of the last 10 years and to this end I propose to increase funding for Gaelic education by 10 per cent.—by £200,000—from 1997–98. Our aim is to strengthen the existing provision and to enable it to grow steadily, assuming that the level of parental demand is maintained, while securing its quality.
While the report was generally reassuring on the quality of the existing provision, that provision is the result of very rapid growth, and the Government have already acted on one of the report's recommendations by funding research into comparative attainment levels in Gaelic and English-medium schooling. Professor Richard Johnstone of Stirling university will work with Leirsinn—the research unit at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, the Gaelic college on Skye—and the Scottish Council for Research in Education on a project which will report in 1999.
The inspectorate report pointed out that the development of good-quality Gaelic-medium education suffers from a number of constraints, some of which derive ultimately from the small number of Gaelic speakers—a total of 69,510 at the time of the last census, many of whom are elderly. The Government are determined to address these constraints in consultation with the Gaelic community and the local authorities and we believe that co-ordinated planning and careful targeting of resources will be crucial to long-term success.
A key area needing to be tackled is the shortfall of teachers able to deliver Gaelic-medium education. To that end, we have already taken, and will continue to take, steps to encourage the teacher education institutions to increase the number of Gaelic speakers on pre-service training courses to meet the needs of the Gaelic-medium sector. We have decided to make exceptional postgraduate grants available, where necessary, to Gaelic-speaking graduates undertaking the one-year postgraduate primary teacher training course. Unfortunately, in the case of some courses, not enough Gaelic speakers apply for places and the Gaelic-speaking community itself can help by encouraging students to enter the teaching profession. We have funded publicity measures to assist with this and would be happy to do so again.
The report highlighted the contribution which the development of pre-school education has played in both stimulating interest and providing a useful preparation for entry to Gaelic medium primary education. Gaelic pre-school education will continue to be the main feeder for Gaelic-medium primary units and its growth should take account of available Gaelic-medium primary provision. We will therefore be encouraging education authorities to be more proactive in providing advice on pre-school provision in their areas.
380WThe inspectorate recommended that, in order to improve the range and quality of Gaelic teaching materials at all levels, a national resource centre should be established which would produce teaching materials and arrange for their dissemination. I endorse this recommendation and will make funds available for this purpose. I shall be consulting local authorities and relevant Gaelic organisations about the remit of and location for a centre.
In the face of significant practical difficulties, the inspectorate recommended against the extension of Gaelic-medium education to secondary level, proposing instead additional provision for Gaelic medium tuition in the first four years of secondary education, including certificated courses on aspects of Gaelic culture in S3/S4. It has to be said that these recommendations met with widespread opposition from the Gaelic community, but after lengthy consideration the Government have decided to accept the inspectorate's advice on this matter as offering the best way forward. We shall issue an early invitation to the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum and the Scottish Examination Board to set up a joint working party for the creation of the new courses. I appreciate that the additional provision envisaged falls short of the aspirations of the Gaelic community, but I am satisfied that the new courses will consolidate and extend the benefits gained by children attending Gaelic-medium primary units. In view of the teacher supply issues, it will be difficult to achieve the necessary consolidation at primary level and to devise and introduce the new secondary courses. I am confident that, by capitalising on the expertise of the available secondary teaching force the new courses will offer quality Gaelic-medium education at secondary level.
The report recommended that the scheme of specific grants for Gaelic education, which has been instrumental in encouraging education authorities to develop Gaelic-medium education, should continue. We have carefully considered this and accept that the specific grants have a key role to play in supporting Gaelic education and should continue. From 1997–98 the element of specific grants devoted to production of teaching materials will be diverted to the proposed new resource centre and the element which is currently used by authorities to support Sabhal Mor Ostaig will be transferred to the Department and added to its grant to the college.
Finally, the inspectorate found that voluntary organisations had played a major part in promoting the speaking of Gaelic and in raising its profile in education and in the wider community. It felt, however, that some duplication between the organisations had hindered the pace of development. It recommended a review of the Government's financial support for the language and culture with a view to securing improved co-ordination between local authorities and Gaelic organisations, thereby ensuring that available resources are used to best effect. I endorse this recommendation and such a review will be undertaken by the Scottish Office in consultation with the organisations and the education authorities during the next financial year.
The measures I have announced today will consolidate the work which has already been done to support Gaelic by providing an improved base for the provision of quality Gaelic education into the next millennium and additional 381W resources will be committed to the area. Ultimately, the future of Gaelic lies in the hands of the Gaelic community themselves, but these measures demonstrate yet again the Government's commitment to assist them in their efforts to maintain their language and culture.