HM Inspectors of Education

Issued 7 March 2024

Strategic planning

1. HM Inspectors welcome the Scottish Languages Bill in that its intended purpose is to continue enacting key reform to secure the future of the Gàidhlig language. The legislation has potential to enable stronger leadership of Gàidhlig. This is through the use of strategies and other statutory instruments to strengthen Gàidhlig Education and increase community empowerment of Gàidhlig. It will create new opportunities to monitor and offer scrutiny of national and local governments, Bòrd na Gàidhlig and the public authorities who have Gàidhlig Language Plans. Gàidhlig needs this legislation to assist with its embedding further within Scottish education and communities.
2. The proposed legislation is reliant on the use of new powers to create secondary legislation. These are described as regulations, standards, guidance and strategies. HM Inspectors identify as an area for further clarification that there is transparency in how secondary legislation will drive change, the pace of this change, how data will be used to identify the focus of secondary legislation and what will be prioritised.
3. Generally, within the Bill, and its associated papers, there could be more urgency in arresting language decline and creating a faster rate of sustaining the language. Measurable targets in increasing the numbers of fluent speakers of Gàidhlig, able to sustain the language’s future, need to be clearer. HM Inspectors note that the newly introduced National Gaelic Language Plan, under current legislation, would run for its natural duration. As a result, the first Gaelic Language Strategy will not be introduced until 2027/2028. This pace could be brisker given the urgency of the challenges facing Gàidhlig at this time and the need for solutions.
4. The Bill largely consists of a series of amendments to the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, the Education (Scotland) Act 2016 and the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. There are also additional provisions connected to the Schools (Consultation) Scotland Act 2010. Having new legislation based on a series of amendments may restrict its scope and potential. HM Inspectors suggest that further consideration be given to ascertaining that the Bill is sufficiently ambitious and aligned with Scottish Government’s extensive reform programme in being radical enough to reshape Scotland’s educational infrastructure.
5. HM Inspectors note that the Bill focuses on Gàidhlig language in isolation of interconnected factors that strengthen languages, such as socio-economic challenges facing rural and island communities, housing, infrastructure, connectivity and employment. Similarly, from a national perspective, Gàidhlig needs considered across policy. It is a long-standing issue that new policy is often published without consideration of the distinctive approaches to Gàidhlig language and education. This reduces the pace of implementing change for Gàidhlig.
6. HM Inspectors welcome that Gàidhlig is given official status. It would be useful to have a bespoke impact assessment to accelerate progress with successful implementation of the official status. HM Inspectors suggest that the wording of the Scottish Languages Bill, as introduced, consistently reflects official status.
7. HM Inspectors welcome that the strategic planning for Gàidhlig becomes a responsibility of Scottish Ministers. This results in the National Gaelic Language Plan being replaced with a National Strategy for Gàidhlig. HM Inspectors believe that this has potential to increase engagement with Gàidhlig through Scottish Ministers’ influence. However, conditions must be in place to enable this change to be impactful and not merely a change to a planning process. It would be essential to ensure that specialists in Gaelic Education are involved.
8. HM Inspectors recognise that the new strategy needs to be bold, ambitious and outcome focused for Gàidhlig. Consideration should be given to identifying a headline target for the extent to which speakers of Gàidhlig will be increased. This creates a goal and a way of measuring success.
9. The new legislation requires Bòrd na Gàidhlig to produce a corporate plan, which is then approved by Scottish Ministers. Bòrd na Gàidhlig have to scrutinise and report to Scottish Parliament on Scottish Ministers’ progress with the national strategy for Gaidhlig. HM Inspectors welcome the required scrutiny. It would be advisable to ensure that this maintains independence and integrity across both processes.
10. There are a few stakeholders listed across the draft legislation with whom the government must consult in formulating standards and giving directions. HM Inspectors would welcome further discussion on how inspection evidence can inform this work.

Areas of linguistic significance

12. HM Inspectors welcome that “areas of linguistic significance” are to be established. These areas need a clear purpose and criteria to ensure impact. Areas of linguistic significance should include traditional areas of indigenous speakers. In addition, collaborative communities of fluent speakers and partners should be built around children, young people and lifelong learners in Gàidhlig Medium and Learner Education. Such approaches provide long-term solutions to challenges in curriculum planning, as well as promoting equity and excellence. These approaches will require strategic planning, resources, evaluation and funding to be successful. The new National Gaelic Language Plan 2023-28 refers to ‘Community Gaelic Plans’. The layers of planning for Gàidhlig need to set direction and be manageable, without being overly bureaucratic.

Education reforms

13. HM Inspectors welcome that new legislation places duties on the Scottish Government and education authorities to ‘promote, facilitate and support’ Gàidhlig Medium and Learner Education. The amendment to the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to clarify that all education authorities have a duty to provide Gaelic Learner and Medium Education should increase equity. HM Inspectors also welcome that this amendment applies to further education. We would suggest that further education is captured to mean all adult learning of Gàidhlig, which may or may not be in a further education establishment.
14. HM Inspectors welcome the clarity that the Bill gives in identifying that all education authorities must plan for Gaelic Education. This is a provision where we recommend some further statutory instruments assist in connecting and streamlining all of the required planning, while maintaining purpose and focus on Gàidhlig. It will be beneficial that HM Inspectors are consulted, as detailed in the provisions. We recommend that other organisations, both national and local, are consulted too to increase collaborative, collective leadership and assist with planning the curriculum. A much stronger focus is needed on the curriculum, particularly at the secondary stages. Education authorities should also plan for having sufficient Gaelic schools and placings to meet demand.
15. Provisions in the Bill need to be more clearly connected to increasing the speakers of Gàidhlig. HM Inspectors welcome the increased status given to Gàidhlig Learner Education. There should be a presumption that all education authorities prioritise Gàidhlig Medium Education for its impact in creating, at pace, fluent speakers of the language, who accrue all the benefits of bilingualism. There should be more emphasis on providing continuity in learning from three to 18 and beyond, with qualifications. Additionally, there could also be much more emphasis on integrating learning about Gàidhlig language and culture into all children and young people’s education. This should address the very high proportion of young people who leave statutory education without a thorough awareness of Scotland’s official languages.
16. HM Inspectors welcome the provisions to assist parents, children and young people access Gàidhlig Medium Education. These benefits relate to establishing a process to request sgoil-àraich (early learning and childcare), benefits of catchment areas, increased clarity on transport and, generally a more strategic approach to Gàidhlig. HM Inspectors would have welcomed more rights to Gàidhlig in education, as is the case in other countries. The extent to which parents have to campaign for access to Gàidhlig should be reduced by Gàidhlig being embedded in Scottish Education. This is particularly pertinent as more rights-based legislation is enacted.
17. Given the views that HM Inspectors have detailed in the previous paragraph, we recommend the new legislation arrangements for establishing sgoil-àraich be more strategic. Data from the implementation of the free 1140 hours of free childcare and learning, and the survey results from the Children and Young People Act, 2014 could direct that sgoil-àraich is set up when there is Gàidhlig Medium Education at the primary stages. Children’s earlier commencement of Gàidhlig Medium Education reduces gaps in fluency and attainment as they move through the primary stages. A more strategic approach to Gàidhlig Medium Education is dependent on more teaching and non-teaching staff.
18. HM Inspectors welcome the further considerations around the Schools Consultation Act 2010. We evidence how provisions for Gàidhlig Medium Education having catchment areas, enrolment policy, placing requests, and efficient and realistic travel and transport areas is impactful. Scottish Government should advise further on catchment areas in rural areas where some children and young people stay too far from their nearest Gaelic Medium provision to make enrolment feasible. The suggested timescales of two years for all education authorities to undertake statutory consultation may need to be extended.