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Scotland's biggest teaching union has voiced concern over a proposal to fast-track new teachers into classrooms.

Education Secretary John Swinney has made public his "innovative plan" to "broaden" routes into teaching.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said there was "much to welcome" in the raft of measures which include enticing former teachers to return.

However, it was unhappy at the idea of combining post-graduate learning with the one-year classroom probation.

Mr Swinney believed this particular measure would help to find the right people to teach Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects.

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In October members of the SSTA teaching union took part in industrial action in a dispute over workloads.

The union welcomed moves by the Scottish government to reduce workloads but said it was unlikely to have an impact this session.

It argued that a "very large" number of its members had voted in favour of action short of a strike.

Education Secretary John Swinney said there was "no justification whatsoever" for the move.

A total of 40.8% of SSTA (Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association) members voted in the ballot, 91% of whom voted in favour of taking industrial action.

Mr Swinney says the government has announced changes to National Qualifications which will address the burden of over-assessment for young people and teachers.

This is part of a "relentless drive that I am leading to reduce red tape and ensure teachers are freed up to teach", says the education secretary.

Jamie McIvor
BBC Scotland education correspondent

Scotland is not a star pupil. The country's performance in the PISA assessments is distinctly average. A teacher writing a report card could easily say: "Disappointing performance. Could do better."

The Pisa figures are not the last word on education. They are not a definitive measure. There are many critics. But because they are the nearest thing there is to a fair way of comparing the education systems of different countries they have a huge influence on policy and political debate.

One reason they make for such uncomfortable reading for the Scottish government, is that it wants to be judged by its success on education. It makes much of its commitment to raise attainment and narrow the gap between how well youngsters from relatively rich and poor areas do at school.

The statistics may also provoke debate on how well Curriculum for Excellence is working in practice. Some in the teaching unions - which support C for E - have long made points about its implementation. Questions of workload, bureaucracy and stress come to the fore.

For the Scottish government, the figures highlight why it believes more reforms are necessary.

Next year, standardised assessments in primary schools and the third year of secondary school will start to give more information about how well individual schools are performing.

The government also plans to give £100 million straight to headteachers to spend on schemes to raise attainment. It is also looking at school governance - what powers should lie with schools, councils and the proposed new regional education boards?

The education secretary says the government has launched a wide ranging review of education governance to gather views from parents, pupils and professionals on how education should be run.  

The priority of the review will be the presumption that decisions about children’s learning and school life should be made at school level, says Mr Swinney.  

Mr Swinney says: "Next week, we will launch the first ever national improvement plan for education,  based on the widest range of performance information ever gathered on Scottish education as part of the National Improvement Framework."

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Achievement in Scottish schools is above international averages - but the gap is narrowing, a review found last December., external

Particular concerns were raised about maths where performance has fallen from high to average over the past decade.

The review of the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), external was undertaken by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The international experts said CfE was at a "watershed moment" and changes could deliver a world class system.

Mr Swinney says the government is pursuing a range of actions to improve Scottish education.

The education secretary says the reforms are based on the OECD education policy review.

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

The life chances of Scots are set early. By the time a pupil starts school, those in the most deprived fifth of communities are well behind those from the 10% of areas with the highest income.

On average, the more deprived pupils are 13 months behind in their vocabulary. They are 10 months behind in problem-solving.

Schools can do a lot to help close that gap, and alter the life chances of their students. But do they? The statistics aren't clear, as there is very little comparable testing of pupils as they make their way through school. What is clear is that the gap is much wider by the time pupils leave school.

The national survey of literacy and numeracy, external suggests that it widens quickly during primary and continues to spread during secondary.

Education Secretary John Swinney says Scotland's Pisa figures do not make comfortable reading, but show the need for reform.

Mr Swinney says the results show that closing the poverty related attainment gap is a complex challenge.

• while Scotland remains within the statistical average for the OECD, its relative position against some overseas countries and some other UK administrations has slipped, with the number of countries recording better scores in each subject increasing and the number recording worse scores falling
• in maths, only five countries had better scores in 2000, and 21 countries had worse

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• by 2015, 14 countries recorded better results, while the number with worse scores was down to 10.
• the comparison with other parts of the UK suggest that English pupils were "significantly above" Scots in science while Welsh schools performed "significantly below Scotland" in each topic.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) provides education rankings based on international tests taken by 15-year-olds in maths, reading and science.

The tests, run by the OECD and taken every three years, have become increasingly influential on politicians who see their countries and their policies being measured against these global school league tables.

The UK has remained among the mid-table performers, with Singapore rated at the top and most of the highest places taken by Asian education systems.

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• Could you do better? Try one of this year's science questions from Pisa, external

• Wales gets worse results in UK
• Singapore comes top by investing in teaching
• 10 ways to be the cleverest country

Education Secretary John Swinney gives a ministerial statement on excellence and equity in Scottish education.

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Scotland's schools have recorded their worst ever performance in an international survey of pupils.

Scotland's scores for maths, reading and science all declined in the latest set of Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) figures.

It was the first time since the tests began in 2000 that all three subject areas were classed as "average", with none "above average".

Education Secretary John Swinney said the results made uncomfortable reading.

He said they showed that "radical reform" was needed if Scotland's education system was to become world-class again.

• Pisa tests: UK lags behind in global school rankings

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Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell says the overall health of children will be improved.

Ms Campbell says smoking in cars carrying children can have an impact on their health.

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The Scottish government should ban smoking in vehicles completely, according to the British Medical Association (BMA).

The association has welcomed a new law which now makes it illegal to smoke in a car when children are present.

But Dr Peter Bennie, BMA chairman for Scotland, said ministers should go even further.

Legislation aimed at protecting children from second-hand smoke was unanimously passed at Holyrood in 2015.

SNP MSP Maree Todd asks the Scottish government what the expected impact on health will be from the ban on smoking in cars with children present. 

Labour MSP Claire Baker says a number of "near misses" had serious consequences.

Ms Baker asks the cabinet secretary to come back to the chamber when details of these are published.

Mr Matheson says he will be happy to do so. 

Scottish Conservative MSP Douglas Ross asks if the cabinet secretary would acknowledge the concerns of local police services about staffing in the contact centres.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson says Police Scotland are implementing recommendations to ensure the staffing levels in the contact centres are as they should be.

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Justice Secretary Michael Matheson says Police Scotland continues to take action to strengthen its approach to call handling.

Mr Matheson says the Scottish Police Authority continue to oversee this.

The justice secretary says there will be an updated report in call handling in January 2017.