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The Gaelic Language Bill
Consultation Paper

Section 7: Education

In 1872 when the Education (Scotland) Act was passed the Gaelic speaking population was around 250,000. This Act made no provision for Gaelic. Despite many demands and some concessions it was over 100 years later that education through the medium of Gaelic was available and by this stage the census had recorded a decline in the Gaelic population to below 80,000.

Since 1986 Gaelic medium education has been popular and successful. Yet it has been perceived by the Gaelic community as fragile and vulnerable. There is a strong view from the Gaelic community that Gaelic medium education is of critical importance for the future of the language in Scotland. The Executive shares this view. At present, provision is at the discretion of local authorities and support from the Executive is available through specific grant.

The Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Act 2000 set new requirements for education authorities to plan for and secure improvement in school education and makes specific provision relating to Gaelic medium education. The 2000 Act sets out three specific issues which must be addressed in an education authority's annual statement of improvement objectives, and in their annual progress reports also. One of these is:

'the ways in which or the circumstances in which they will provide Gaelic medium education and, where they do provide Gaelic medium education, ... the ways in which they will seek to develop their provision of such education.'

An authority's annual statements of improvement objectives and progress reports must also have regard to the National Priorities in Education. These include paying particular regard to 'Gaelic and other lesser used languages'. The performance measures for the National Priorities published under the 2000 Act include the number and percentage of written requests for Gaelic medium education which were met by the authority.

These are significant duties placed on education authorities and were specifically designed to recognise Gaelic medium education and encourage its development. Only in recent months has the Executive been able to begin to assess the impact of the 2000 Act through the first set of reports from local authorities about progress on their improvement objectives.

Several local authorities have been able to report that they have met all or the overwhelming majority of parental requests for Gaelic medium education. Many authorities have also used the improvement framework to embed their policies around Gaelic medium education fully into their wider strategy for school education. However, the Executive feel that there is scope for many education authorities to improve further their policy consideration of Gaelic medium education.

Accordingly, Peter Peacock MSP, the Minister for Education and Young People, announced on 17 September this year that existing statutory provision will be used to strengthen Gaelic education in Scotland. First, he has instructed his Departmental Officials to ensure that within the process of feedback on their improvement plans, education authorities should be clearly reminded of the duties which flow from the 2000 Act in relation to Gaelic medium education. It is his clear expectation that education authorities should account fully for those provisions within their planning framework. This will highlight the need for authorities to establish thresholds against which they will assess parental demand for Gaelic medium education within their area.

Secondly, he has asked Bòrd na Gàidhlig and the Management Review Group of local authorities to set up a joint subgroup to review the performance measure for Gaelic within the national priorities framework. The subgroup will be asked to suggest revisions they believe will support a better measure of the outcome to be achieved for Gaelic medium pupils.

It is still early days in the new improvement planning arrangements flowing from the 2000 Act, and the first plans from education authorities have only recently been assessed. However, the 2000 Act empowers Scottish Ministers to issue further guidance to education authorities in relation to Gaelic medium education to which they must have regard. The Minister for Education and Young People has made clear that the Executive will not hesitate to use their powers to issue such guidance on Gaelic education if the further development of education authority improvement plans demonstrates that is needed.

Further, the Minister has indicated a willingness to invite Bòrd na Gàidhlig both to advise education authorities in developing Gaelic medium plans under the terms of the 2000 Act and to assist the Executive in assessing those plans, should that be seen to be helpful.

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