Tory MSP Miles Briggs asks what plans the government has to expand the number of places at medical schools for Scottish-domiciled students.

Education Secretary John Swinney says the Scottish government will give the report full consideration.

Mr Greer says this report is not the only one to highlight the poor working conditions for teaching.

He asks why the government is not taking an evidence led approach to education reform.

Mr Swinney insists the government is.

He says: "School empowerment is at the heart of the government's education reform agenda."

Image source, Thinkstock

Earlier this month, The Scotsman reported:

"Over 40 per cent of Scotland’s teachers say they plan to quit their jobs over the next 18 months due to “extremely poor” working conditions, according to a major independent study.

"Researchers said Scottish teachers were suffering a range of difficulties including high levels of demands, poor support from management, and are exposed to a lot of organisational change without consultation.

"On average teachers work at a minimum 11 hours more than they are contracted to each week."

Read more here., external

Green MSP Ross Greer asks what consideration the government has given to recent research from Bath Spa University suggesting that exposure to high levels of organisational change without listening to the views of teachers is contributing to extremely poor working conditions for teachers in Scotland.

Employability and Training Minister Jamie Hepburn says Paisley has received £7.8m extra resources through pupil equity funding from the attainment fund.

Mr Adam says Invest in Renfrewshire is part funded by the EU social fund.

Mr Hepburn says he is aware of the initiative and says Renfrewshire has had the biggest increase in youth employment for three years running.

SNP MSP George Adam asks how the government is investing in supporting young people in Paisley.

Mr Swinney says the government has provided £24.5m towards the North West Dumfries Campus and Dalbeattie High School.

The education secretary says the government is considering the options.

Mr Swinney says the government has been saddled with a large amount of PFI debt, bequeathed to the SNP by Labour.

Labour MSP Colin Smyth asks what plans the government has to provide additional funding for the Schools for the Future programme to allow phase 2 of the Dumfries Learning Town Project to go ahead.

Image source, Getty Images

Police have raised concern at a rise in young people potentially falling victim to sexual offences linked to social media and mobile phone apps.

Dumfriesshire area commander Ch Insp Stephen Stiff said the trend was not immediately apparent in the latest local figures for indecency.

However, he said they were dealing with more cyber crimes or communication offences with a sexual element.

Ch Insp Stiff said the issue was "very concerning" given the risks involved.

"Some of the offences that might take place are perhaps about name-calling or bullying but a growing percentage of those crimes, sadly, are involving a sexual element," he said.

Read more here.

John Swinney says bullying of any kind is entirely unacceptable.

Mr Swinney says the theme of the this year's Anti-Bullying Week is "All Different, All Equal".

The education secretary says inclusion for all is at the heart of the education agenda.

Tory MSP Annie Wells says new figures show that cybersex crimes are on the rise.

Mr Swinney says tackling cyberbullying will be at the heart of the government's approach.

Image source, Getty Images

Almost half of LGBT young people in Scotland are bullied at school, a new report has suggested.

Stonewall Scotland research found 48% were bullied for their sexuality in 2017 - a drop from 52% in 2012.

And more than 63% frequently or often heard homophobic language in school, with 91% regularly hearing phrases such as "that's so gay".

The Scottish government said bullying of any kind was unacceptable and must be addressed quickly.

Researchers also found that only a third of the youngsters, aged between 11 and 19, said teachers intervened to stop bullying if they were present.

The proportion of those bullied soared among trans young people, with 71% reporting bullying and 65% saying they were unable to use the toilets they feel comfortable in at school.

The survey found that 96% of trans respondents had deliberately harmed themselves, while 43% had attempted to take their own life.

Read more here.

Image source, AFP

In November we reported that Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pupils are still experiencing high rates of bullying in schools, according to campaigners.

LGBT Youth Scotland said the pupils were also not confident about reporting abuse to staff.

The charity called for strong leadership from schools and local authorities on the bullying.

The Scottish government said a new anti-bullying strategy had been developed with LGBT organisations.

Read more here.

SNP MSP James Dornan asks how the government will support the respectme Anti-Bullying Week in November 2017 to help promote respect for LBGTI people in schools.

Labour MSP Iain Gray calls on the minister to restore the cuts to student grants to help the poorest students complete their courses.

Higher Education Shirley-Anne Somerville says she awaits the independent review into student support.

Higher Education Shirley-Anne Somerville says the government accepted all 34 of the Widening Access Commissions' recommendations.

Ms Somerville says she has also established the Access Delivery Group.

Mr Greene says twice as many disadvantaged students in England are going to university than in Scotland.

Ms Somerville says she is not complacent about making sure every young person in Scotland can apply for university.

She says Scotland has the lowest student debt in the UK by some margin.

In December we reported that the chances of a Scottish university applicant being offered a place have slipped, according to official figures.

Data from admissions body Ucas suggests the number of places available has gone up but demand is rising even faster.

The figures also showed a further rise in the number of people from disadvantaged areas being offered places.

The Scottish government said it was committed to delivering access to higher education for all.

According to Ucas, the "offer rate" to Scottish applicants was 59.6% - a 1.6% drop on last year.

There was a similar drop last year.

• Free university tuition comes at a price

Tory MSP Jamie Greene asks what action the government is taking to ensure that young people from Scotland are not limited in their ability to go to university.

Childcare and Early Years Minister Mark MacDonald says entitlement is being increased annually for those eligible until they reach 21 years old.

The minister says the statistics will be published in 2019.

Ms Dugdale says, having asked all 32 councils and heard back from 32, 99% of people eligible for continuing care are not getting it.

The minister says he is happy to speak to Ms Dugdale about this.

Image source, Getty Images

It takes a village to raise a child, so the saying goes. In Dundee, a £1m scheme launched this month aims to harness a city-wide mentoring network to support and encourage vulnerable young people, including those who have had experience of the care system.

The idea of Breakthrough Dundee is to give them the tools to beat the odds which can be stacked against them.

"Some of them maybe have three or four different carers and three or four different homes in a very short space of time," says Fiona Low, deputy head teacher at the city's Morgan Academy.

She adds that mentors meeting up with them each week, along with school itself, could be a constant in their lives.

The school is the first in the city to be involved in the scheme. It has a high proportion of looked-after children, although the project is aimed at a wider group too.

It was inspired by a similar scheme in Glasgow and it was speaking to a couple of young people there which really convinced Fiona Low that mentoring could be valuable.

Read more here.