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• Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross accused Nicola Sturgeon of being "in denial" about the grading process set up by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, which the first minister admits is a "highly imperfect" situation.
• Anas Sarwar, leader of Scottish Labour, pointed out that the Scottish government made some of the same mistakes in the pandemic as the UK government. Ms Sturgeon said she had never shied away from that.
• Greens co-leader Lorna Slater questioned the first minister over Scotland's commitment to a public energy company ahead of the COP26 summit in November.
• Conservative MSP Oliver Mundell asked for assurances about class sizes in Scottish schools for the next academic year.
• Ms Sturgeon committed to looking into whether there should be an apology to the women forced to give up their babiesfor adoption
• And she discussed the efforts being put in to reach ethnic minority groups as part of the Covid vaccination programme.

That's all from our live coverage of First Minister's Questions. Join us again next time.

The SNP's Craig Hoy asks about "deeply disturbing" waiting times for children's mental health services.

He says one in five children are still being turned away from referrals and asks what is being done to improve the situation.

Ms Sturgeon says there is ongoing work on "rejected referrals" and more investment into Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), as well as plans to redesign the service to make it more available within the community.

Christopher Sleight
BBC Scotland News

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The link between Covid cases and hospital admissions appears to be weakening, despite restrictions being eased as Scotland enters a potential "third wave" of the virus.

Many areas of Scotland will remain in level two to tackle the rising numbers of cases in the central belt.

Public health officials are increasingly confident that the vaccination programme is relieving the pressure on NHS Scotland.

The figures look optimistic, but it is too early to say definitively that the link has been broken between cases and hospital admissions.

Read more here

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Labour's Foysol Choudhury brings up vaccine uptake among particular ethnic groups. He asks what translations are available for public health information targeting these groups, particularly the vulnerable.

Ms Sturgeon says she will put the health secretary in touch with Mr Choudhury to provide the information and says, as an MSP with a diverse constituency, she understands the importance of the programme being accessible to ethnic minorities.

She says basing health services in the Glasgow Central Mosque is part of a targeted approach that will be rolled out across the country.

Labour's Neil Bibby brings up the issue of forced adoption. He asks if the Scottish government will make a formal apology to the women forced to give up children.

The first minister says it is important that if something formal like that is done, then it must be "done right" and gives her commitment to look at the issue.

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Oliver Mundell, Conservative MSP for for Dumfriesshire, asks what steps will be taken to ensure schools do not exceed class size limits in the next academic year.

He says many schools are cramming more than 30 children into classrooms.

The first minister says class size limits are mandatory, there are more teachers at any time since 2008 and more funding is being given to councils to help with staff recruitment.

Ms Sturgeon adds that councils have a legal duty to ensure class size limits are adhered to.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

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The new education secretary has joined Nicola Sturgeon in saying she has full confidence in the Scottish Qualifications Authority and that she takes "full responsibility" for this year's awards system.

Shirley-Anne Somerville told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland that Scotland had a fair, credible and a consistent assessment policy despite growing anger towards the SQA.

The Greens have tabled an amendment to Thursday's education debate expressing "lack of confidence" in the agency and asking for individual circumstances to be taken into account in the appeals process.

The Scottish government announced its overdue appeals process for Higher and National 5 candidates on Wednesday, to widespread criticism from pupils, parents and teachers.

Read more

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Ms Slater pressures the first minister over Scotland's commitment to a public energy company.

She says Scotland is a world leader in tidal energy but will lose this industry to other countries if it doesn't act now.

Ms Sturgeon says she will take forward a range of ways Scotland can pursue its renewable energy potential. She says there is "lots of work" to be done in the lead-up to COP26 in Glasgow later this year.

Greens co-leader Lorna Slater asks about economic recovery ahead of Ms Sturgeon attending the four-nations Covid recovery summit.

The first minister says, while she is maximising the Scottish government's investment in recovery, she will ask the UK government for an extension of furlough and commitments on public spending.

She will also ask for clarity that we will not see a return to austerity cuts.

Ministers from the three devolved administrations will take part in a Boris Johnson-chaired virtual meeting later on how to emerge from the Covid pandemic.

UK ministers and the first ministers from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales will be among those taking part.

Downing Street said it was an opportunity to share information and ideas on the way ahead.

Read more here

Anas Sarwar points out that 47,000 fans attended a European football match in Glasgow on 12 March 2020 and at the time the Scottish government said “stopping mass gathering was not the best way to contain the virus”.

He also points out that untested patients were sent into care homes, and one in 10 care home patients died.

“I take responsibility for those decisions and I will live with them for as long as I live,” Nicola Sturgeon says.

She says the government made those decisions in the light of the information they had at the time and she would act differently if she could turn the clock back.

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Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar raises the statements made by Dominic Cummings last week.

He says Boris Johnson's former political advisor pointed out "almost criminal levels" of failure in the UK government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Does she accept that many of the same decisions were made by the Scottish government?" he asks.

Nicola Sturgeon replies: “I have always accepted that we made mistakes in the handling of this pandemic. I have never tried to shy away from that."

The lesson to be learnt was the importance of making quick decisions, the first minister says, adding that there will be a process of full, robust scrutiny to help learn lessons for future generations.

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Douglas Ross asks the first minister if she will guarantee that no pupil who makes an appeal will have their qualification downgraded.

Ms Sturgeon says it is extremely rare for any grade to be marked down.

She accepts the model being used is not perfect but that no better option has been suggested

Mr Ross says the first minister's view of the SQA will not be shared by tens of thousands of pupils "let down" by the "exam grades disaster" of last year.

He accuses Nicola Sturgeon and the SQA of being "in denial" about the situation.

Ms Sturgeon says it is her duty to persuade pupils and parents that while no government can take away the impact of Covid, this government is doing "everything it can in a highl- challenging set of circumstances" to deliver fairness for pupils.

She says they will continue to listen to young people and teachers.

The FM defends the appeals process, saying there is no appeal on the basis of exceptional personal circumstances, eg a bereavement, because this is already built into the system. She says a pupil has a window of time to put an assessment in if this happens.

She admits it is a "highly imperfect" situation and she takes seriously the need to listen to young people.

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Douglas Ross joins the chamber remotely from a hotel room where he is self-isolating.

The leader of the Scottish Conservatives is isolating after Scotland Office minister David Duguid tested positive for Covid.

He asks if the first minister has confidence in the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

"Yes I do", she replies.

The FM acknowledges it is a difficult time for young people who should be sitting exams.

She says she will try to answer questions clearly and stay away from partisan politics because the arrangements being put in place are similar to those being adopted across the UK.

She quotes Jim Thewliss from School Leaders Scotand saying the system replacing exams was never going to be perfect, but that all along no-one has come up with a better system.

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Nicola Sturgeon is about to take this week's session of First Minister's Questions at Holyrood.

School qualifications and Scotland's financial recovering from the pandemic are likely to be high on the agenda.

Stick with us here.

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Ms Sturgeon is also expected to be quizzed on financial support for businesses affected by the pause in Scotland's lockdown easing.

The Scottish government announced on Wednesday that the hospitality, events, weddings and soft play sectors in level two areas will benefit from extra funding of up to £12m.

Lucy Whyte
BBC Scotland education correspondent

Senior school pupils are in the middle of sitting assessments which will decide their qualifications.

Formal exams were cancelled for the second year in a row because of disruption caused by the pandemic.

The replacement system is meant to be based on "teacher judgement" backed up by assessment. So how is it going?

Read more here.

Today's FMQs comes a day after Scotland's new education secretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville, announced details of the appeals process for this year's school qualifications.

Ms Somerville told MSPs that pupils' assessment grades could be revised up, down or stay the same.

Read more here.

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Good morning and welcome to BBC Scotland's rolling coverage of First Minister's Questions on Thursday 3 June 2021.

Nicola Sturgeon will face questions from party leaders and MSPs at Holyrood from 12:00.

The FM is also expected to outline the latest developments around the coronavirus crisis.

You can follow the latest developments right here and watch or listen live by clicking on one of the tabs above - for coverage on BBC One Scotland or BBC Radio Scotland.