1. To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to encourage the uptake of education maintenance allowance among eligible pupils. (S6O-02942)

The e ducation maintenance allowance is vital in supporting young people from lower income households to overcome financial barriers and stay in education. It is a central component of the Government’s support for young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Promotion and awareness raising of the programme locally remains the responsibility of our delivery partners, which are local authorities, the Scottish Funding Council and learning centres, such as colleges and schools, as set out in the annual guidance. However, the Scottish Government continues to work closely with those delivery partners in order to ensure that effective promotion is maintained. I would encourage every young person who is eligible to apply so that they can receive that vital support.

School attendance can be a huge challenge for pupils with additional support needs. Flexibility is key, with many young people requiring reduced timetables to best meet their educational needs.

Recently, I heard that some of those pupils have been told that they are not eligible for the education maintenance allowance. That seems unfair. A part-time timetable is a reasonable adjustment to meet an identified support need. What steps is the Scottish Government taking to ensure that pupils with additional support needs are encouraged to remain in education without compromising access to critical financial support? Is accurate data on part-time timetables routinely available?

I thank Stephanie Callaghan for raising that important issue. I share her concerns if young people with additional support needs are finding themselves in that position, which is even more concerning given the reported national increase in the number pupils with additional support needs towards the end of last year.

The guidance makes clear the need for flexibility when administering EMA for young people with additional support needs, because we recognise that they often require non-standard attendance patterns that might fall short of full-time criteria. We know that institutions are also encouraged to be flexible when they agree on attendance patterns for ASN pupils, and that should be agreed on and written into the pupils’ learning agreements.

We will continue to reiterate the need for that flexibility to delivery partners. In the meantime, if the member has any particular cases in which pupils with additional support needs have found themselves ineligible for the education maintenance allowance, I am happy for her to write to me with details on those matters.