Labour MSP Jenny Marra says "by its own report card" the government's own record on education "is not good".

Ms Marra says the SNP has a manifesto pledge for class sizes of 18 for primary one to three and they have only managed to meet this for 12.7% of those pupils across Scotland.

"This is a broken promise and a huge failure," she says.

Ms Marra says this government has undermined ADS staff and "stripped them" from Scottish education.

SNP MSP Gillian Martin says she met with teachers recently and what struck her was the dedication they had for their pupil's attainment. 

Ms Martin says one head teacher she met talked about playing the role of social worker where she actually had to knock the door of pupils and get them ready to go to school in the morning. 

The SNP MSP says the government's increase in childcare provision funding is an important step and giving teachers more autonomy with funding is "absolutely the right thing to do".

Ms Martin says "we should all be asking for more welfare powers to be devolved to Scotland" because, she says, deprivation is not a priority of the UK government.

Tory MSP Miles Briggs says it is a matter of "deep regret" that 10 years of the SNP government has seen a decline in education.

Mr Briggs says additional support staff numbers have declined across the country to 2,896 and there has been an increase in pupils requiring additional support.

The Tory MSP says it is concerning that the number of school inspections has fallen. 

Mr Briggs says "education is fundamental to the success of our society and economy." and "it is failing" under the "SNP's stewardship" 

Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott says John Swinney says the Herald has some very thoughtful coverage of education in Scotland showing children in poorer backgrounds do worse than those from better off backgrounds.

Mr Scott says the table in the paper shows "the attainment gap is wide and shows little sign of closing".

Image source, bbc

He says classroom assistant numbers are down and there are increased class sizes.

The Lib Dem MSP says schools face cuts and the exam system has changed as well and the implementation of CfE is challenging.

He says there needs to be a change to the culture of conformity and the encouragement of innovation.

Tory MSP Jeremy Balfour says early learning and childcare teachers are down since 2007.

Mr Balfour says there has been a significant decrease in nursery teachers. 

He says the lack of flexibility in childcare is affecting many children.

He says the Enable Scotland report says inclusive education is still a long way off for many children with additional support needs.

"We need to revisit mainstreaming," he says.

Mr Balfour says he hears horror stories concerning bullying and lack of achievement because a child has been moved from a special school to a mainstream school. 

Image source, bbc

Education Secretary John Swinney raises a point of order about what he says is the "serious allegation" by Johann Lamont that government ministers would somehow go after teachers for what they said in their response.

The deputy presiding officer says that is a point of debate not a point of order.

Ms Lamont says she is happy to withdraw her comments if that is they are being interpreted.

She says she made a simple point that when teachers made raise their voices in this report it is suggested their motives are because they have other axes to grind.

Labour MSP Johann Lamont says education secretary is one of the best jobs in government and she is disappointed that "it is not Mr Chips that made it along today, but Mr Angry". 

Ms Lamont says that saying the Labour party are talking down Scotland does not make it so and because she "loves the country" is why she raises these issues.

She says MSPs are letting themselves down with this sort of rhetoric.

SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor intervenes to ask who was at fault for the education figures in 2007.

Ms Lamont says Mr MacGregor has just made her point.

She says there is an issue about confidence among teachers in schools. 

"It will not do to belittle the motives of those raising concerns," she says. 

Greens MSP Ross Greer says he believes this parliament remains completely unconvinced about governance.

Mr Greer says there isn't the evidence to suggest that standardised assessments for six-year-olds is required.

The Greens MSP says his party will continue to oppose standardised testing.

Image source, bbc

Mr Greer says essential LGBTI training of teachers and pupils is needed. 

Tory MSP Jeremy Balfour intervenes to say that there should also be training around disabilities and ethnic minorities.

Mr Greer agrees saying there should be training for all groups.

Education Committee Convener James Dornan says much of his speech will be from the point of view of the committee convener.

He does however say that he will take the opportunity as an SNP member to acknowledge the negative tone of the Labour party. 

He accuses Labour of criticising teachers in Scotland. 

Following two interventions from Labour's Monica Lennon and Daniel Johnson on local government funding, Mr Dornan says Scottish Labour never criticise the UK government for the lack of funding.

Now, he says, "I'll put on my convener's hat", saying he's heard having "two faces comes in handy for a politician". 

Mr Dornan says he is delighted by the progress the committee has made for children in Scotland. 

The number of Scottish school leavers staying on in education, getting a job or doing voluntary work is up slightly.

In 2015/16, 93.3% of youngsters were in a "positive destination" three months after leaving high school. That was up from 93% in 2014/15.

The  Scottish government figures, external  also showed that those taking up training was 2.6%, down from 3.8% in 2014/15.

The data is based on what happened to 52,249 pupils in S4 to S6 attending council-run and grant aided schools.

Image source, Getty Images

Minister for Further and Higher Education and Science, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said the statistics showed that the government was making real progress in enabling young people in Scotland to realise "their full potential".

She added: "It is especially encouraging to note that the proportion of school leavers in our most deprived areas going on to a positive destination is at a record high.

"I am also pleased to note that the proportion of school leavers going directly into higher education has reached its highest ever level."