Education Portfolio

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning

  • Teacher and School Workforce Issues
  • School Infrastructure (Building Programme and Technology)
  • School Closures
  • Performance Improvement and Reform of School Education (Including Governance Options)
  • Educational Attainment and International education and Benchmarking
  • Relations with Local Government
  • The Scottish Funding Council (Liaison, Functions and Membership)
  • Universities
  • Further Education Colleges
  • Higher Education Student Support
  • Further Education Student Support
  • Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
  • Economic Recovery Plan
  • National Economic Forum

Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages

  • Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) (including CfE programme, curriculum areas and excellence work, literacy and numeracy, senior phase, support for all, pedagogy health and Wellbeing in the curriculum)
  • Commercialisation and internationalisation of Scottish School and Vocational Education/Qualifications)
  • Class sizes and placing requests
  • National Qualifications and Assessment
  • Scotland’s Languages (in particular Gaelic and Scots)
  • Modern Languages and Scottish Studies (including introduction of new courses)
  • Set up of Education Scotland
  • Sponsorship of Scottish Qualifications Authority
  • Behaviour, Bullying
  • Adult Literacy and Numeracy and English for Speakers of Other Languages
  • Young People who need more choices and more changes: co-ordinated delivery with CfE
  • Inclusion
  • Mental Wellbeing
  • Free School Meals
  • Additional Support for Learning and Grant Aided Special Schools
  • Parental Engagement in Education
  • Policy and Development of Science Strategy
  • Science Education in Schools
  • Public Engagement in Science

Minister for Children and Young People

  • Social Services Workforce
  • Childcare and Pre-School
  • Early Years/Early Intervention (Including Parenting and Play)
  • Protection of Vulnerable Groups and Child Protection
  • Young People who Offend
  • Looked after Children (including adopting and fostering)
  • Safety of Children in Care (Kerelaw and Historic Abuse)
  • Children’s Rights
  • Getting it Right for Every Child
  • Children’s Hearings and SCRA and CHS Sponsorship
  • Community Learning and Development and Literacy
  • Youth work
  • Asylum and Immigration (impact on Children and Young People)
  • Care Inspectorate Activities (Including Inspection and Scrutiny)
  • Nutrition
  • Economic Recovery Plan
  • Workforce (Children and Young People)
  • Regeneration (Children and Young People)

Minister for Youth Employment

  • Skills Development Scotland (Delivery of national Training Programmes and Careers Information, Advice and Guidance Services)
  • Individual Learning Accounts (Flexible Training Opportunities and the Training for Work Programme)
  • Education Maintenance Allowance Programme
  • Engagement with third sector organisations on the delivery of Youth Employment Programmes
  • Engagement with Local Authorities, Community Planning Partnerships and More Choices More Changes partnerships on transition planning for young people in line with 16+ Learning Choices policy framework
  • Engagement with employers and employer bodies to encourage practical support for young people seeking to move into work
  • National rollout of Activity Agreements
  • Engagement with Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentre Plus Scotland on issues relating to 16-24 year olds, including delivery in scotland on Uk Work Programme and UK Youth Contract
  • Union Learning
  • Liaison with STUC on Lifelong Learning
  • Workforce Development (Including leadership and manager development, Investors in People and employee engagement)
  • Skills development support for specific industrial and service sectors, particularly but not exclusively the economic growth sectors
  • Support for those employees facing redundancy
  • Alignment of adult (18+) employability and skills services
  • UK Commission for Employment and Skills and the Sector Skills Council
  • Support to help disabled people into work (all age)
  • Women’s Employment – all age

Page updated: Friday, November 16, 2012