The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, commonly referred to as the Education Secretary, is a position in the Scottish Government Cabinet responsible for all levels of
education in Scotland
Education in Scotland is overseen by the Scottish Government and its executive agency Education Scotland. Education in Scotland has a history of universal provision of public education, and the Scottish education system is distinctly diffe ...
Minister for Children and Young People
The Minister for Children and Young People is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the Minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet. The post was created in May 2007 after the appointment of the Scottish National ...
which are both junior ministerial posts.
The current Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills is
Shirley-Anne Somerville
Shirley-Anne Somerville (born 2 September 1974) is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament ...
, who assumed office on 20 May 2021.
History
The position was created in 1999 as the Minister for Children and Education; it was renamed as the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs in 2000 and given more responsibilities; those were taken away from the post in 2001 and it was renamed again as the Minister for Education and Young People. The current position of Cabinet Secretary was created following the 2007 election.
Overview
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills include:
* school standards, quality and improvement
* school infrastructure & staffing
* educational attainment, qualifications and closing the attainment gap
* National Improvement Framework
* teaching profession
* behaviour and measures to combat bullying
* modern languages and the Gaelic and Scots languages
* Named Person
* Skills Development Scotland
* non-advanced vocational skills
* historical abuse enquiry
Public bodies
The following public bodies report to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills:
*
Scottish Children's Reporter Administration
The Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, with responsibility for protecting children at risk. SCRA was formed under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1994 ...
Scottish Qualifications Authority
The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA; Gaelic: ''Ùghdarras Theisteanas na h-Alba'') is the executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for accrediting educational awards. It is partly funded by the Ed ...
*
Scottish Social Services Council
The Scottish Social Services Council is responsible for raising standards in the country's social service workforce.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) was established in October 2001 by thRegulation of Care (Scotland) Actand is resp ...
*
Student Awards Agency for Scotland
Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) is an Executive agency of the Scottish Government. It supports eligible Scottish students by paying their tuition fees, as well as offering bursaries and supplementary grants. It also assesses students ap ...
Education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...